Best of the Best (apparently)

I'm not sure how many people would have known this, but Papa Murphy's Take N' Bake Pizza is like one of the most prestigious pizza companies. This, based on the always-credible Wikipedia page. Apparently, they were voted "Best Pizza Chain in America" by Restaurants and Institutions Magazine in 2003 along with a ton of other accolades, holding this week's pizza adventure to a high standard. 

Here are some of the awards:

Papa Murphy's won the platinum award for Consumers’ First Choice in pizza chains in 2006.

Winner of Pizza Today's 2001, 2006, 2008, and 2009 Chain of the Year.
Voted #1 Rated Pizza Chain for the third consecutive year, according to more than 10,500
respondents, in Zagat’s 2012 Fast-Food Survey.
In 2013 QSR (Quick Service Restaurant) Magazine, recognized Papa Murphy’s with a 2013 Franchisee Satisfaction Award.
In 2014 as Top Pizza Chain and was rated first for both quality and healthy food.

Look, I get it. I'm an average Joe, just like you. I put my pants on one leg at a time, hopping around on one foot trying not fall, thus smash my head against the closet. We are all in agreement that if we are going to pay delivery price, then it should at least be cooked. I mean, Dominoes couldn't get away with giving me dough, sauce, and uncooked cheese. If any other restaurant charged me what Papa Murphy's does, then I would say you are crazy, yet they seem to make this little experiment work.

The company began in 1995 with a merger of two other pizza places, Papa Aldo's and Murphy's Pizza (you can see where they got the name). There are more than 1,300 outlets in the United States and Canada and is the fifth-largest pizza chain in the United States (again, all information from the Wikipedia). So, yea, you could say that today's experiment is #kindofabigdeal.

But again, I want to return to the "take and bake," idea. I want to already give this place a minus, however, that's not really fair. Also, to be quite honest, it's not like the pizza is frozen and requires that long to congeal. Also, I can order, pick up, and my wife and I can cook when we want. This making Papa Murphy's an ideal pizza place for families.

Set up much like a Subway, except you typically call this in, you can see all the little toppings, all sitting there awaiting the server's choosing. Anyone that has read my reviews thus far knows I am a man of quality and by quality I mean sauce.

PAPA SHOW ME THE SAUCE

Unfortunately they did not.

What they did remind me of was their ability to overload a pizza with more quality toppings than I can recall from any other pizza places without spending double the price.

What my wife and I decided on was a "Stuffed" 5-meat pizza and then 5-cheese bread. The pizza was our focus. Having had it before I knew what we were getting into. This heart-stopper is not for the meek, rather it takes a real appetite to jump into. This baby is the equivalent of 2 pizzas stacked on top of each other.

The meats were quality chunks of meat, like I would have cooked at home on my stove top. The meats were hamburger, spicy sausage, chicken, bacon, and of course, pepperoni.

The cheese was plenty, both inside the "stuffed" pizza and on top.

There was a lack of sauce on the actual pie, but I noticed something different here. My appreciation of the meats was allowed to shine through. I didn't need an overwhelming pizza sauce to lubricate the taste buds, for the meat combination was enough. Also, when they make the pie, meat goes all the way into, yes into, the crust at the end.

Two slices of this bad boy, and you are done. My wife had one. So, again, the eyes were larger than the stomachs on this one and this large pie (cost $16) could have fed another 2 people, making it a great deal.

You do have to cook the "stuffed" pies a bit longer, and the insides stay hot for quite a while, but again I highly recommend this pie specifically and Papa Murphy's in general.

Overall Papa Murphy's you get a good on my rating scale. That's equivalent to a B+ in the academic world, a superior rating for a make-at-home pizza.

In the end, I can see why the awards. I can understand that through consistency in one area, the meats, both amount and quantity here, versus just making all aspects better you can build a better pizza.

Also, I always believe in what I make more than other people, and the fact that our family controlled how it was cooked, how well done, how fresh it was, put this pizza at an advantage. After all, I don't want to admit that a pizza, I had a hand in, wasn't any good.