Sports and kid friendly pizzaria offering gourmet pizzas for entire family
Reviewer: Jason
Total Reviews: 1040
Reviewed: 3/29/2005
Rating: 8.5
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One of the jatboard users mentioned Pizza and Pipes served good pizza so I decided to try it for lunch. Off Lawrence and Homestead, this place is easy to find, look for a corner restaurant next to Starbucks
crust - very crispy and had a butterly flavor to it? The crust isnt thin or thick, just inbetween. Excellent
sauce - just enough to do the job
cheese - string white cheese
toppings - the pepperoni competes with the likes of seniores and nizarios. crispy on the top, it was flawless
The pizza was very good and will have no doubts that I would make a return visit. I think the big draw here besides the great tasting pizza is the environment they provide for the family. They have videos games, play area, vcrs for cartoons, coloring books and even the way they have the tables setup. They are big long tables where they can accommodate soccer or baseball teams and where you will most likely have you talking to your neighbor. With a friendly atmosphere and pizzas called the Heartstopper, Pizza and Pipes is a definite visit.
Reviewer: ne00
Total Reviews: 187
Reviewed: 9/24/2005
Rating: 8
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I remember back in Junior High my dad would order a large pepperoni pizza from Pizza and Pipes for 6.99 every other weekend. I loved the way they made their pizza, with a crispy crust, thick tomato sauce and gooey cheese. For 6.99 with a coupon this was the best deal in town and the pizza tasted pretty close to what Round Tables tasted like. Back then the only pizzas I had were Round Tables which were considered expensive pizza, Little Caesars, which was the cheapest, and Pizza and Pipes which was the best value.
I decided to take a visit down memory lane tonight. Ive never actually been inside Pizza and Pipes although Ive had their pizza several times throughout Junior High. The place was packed with little kids tonight as it must have been a birthday party because there was one large table filled with the kids eating and another large table with the parents eating. They had two big screen TVs with NCAA football on along with two smaller TVs. There is a game room with air hockey, pinball machine, video game machines and a foosball table. This was defiantly a kid friend environment as there were several kids running around screaming, laughing and having a good time. Although they tried to make the restaurant into a sports environment as well I think the kids won tonight.
We went with a large combination pizza and two large sodas. Total came out to be a little over $24.00. We were given a number and told the wait would be 15 to 20 minutes. We were also told that we could pick up our drinks at the bar by showing our receipt. We decided to wait for the pizza to arrive before getting our drinks since there are no free refills here. I couldnt wait to sink my teeth into a crispy pizza with thick sauce and gooey cheese burning my mouth because its fresh out of the oven and still too hot to eat.
Before I rate the pizza I want to mention the great deals Pizza and Pipes offer on their web page. They guarantee they will match competitor coupons as well have weekday deals and birthday deals. Check out their website for more information.
Our pizza arrives filled with toppings. This is a big pizza as its 12 slices perfectly sliced for easy removal. First bite into this pizza and I was a bit disappointed. The pizza was just warm as the cheese was not hot and gooey and the amount of sauce was not what I remembered. I should have probably ordered strictly pepperoni as I think the extra toppings piled onto the pizza takes away from the cheese and sauce. Also I could have sworn that combination pizza usually comes with pepperoni as one of the toppings instead I tasted salami throughout the pizza. I dont think salami goes well with combination, at least not for my taste. Just the bottom of the crust is crisp but the center of the crust is still soft, not as crunch as I remember it to be. I prefer a crunchy crust as well as thick sauce but ordering the combination version did not meet my needs.
My friend usually eats his pizza with some ranch dressing. I went to the counter and requested some ranch dressing but was told that each small container cost 0.50. I purchased two small containers of ranch dressing and this actually made the pizza taste better. We couldnt finish the pizza and requested a small take home box. The service is very friendly and helpful and would come back again to try the pepperoni pizza.
I would say that the pizza here is similar to Jakes Pizza as they pile on the toppings, but cheaper. There are always good deals here, such as $3.00 off any of their new XL pizzas. Having this discount actually gets you a XL pizza for cheaper than a large pizza, but this would depend on your taste preference. Pizza and Pipes menu is extensive as they offer various pre made salads, appetizers, sodas, juices, hot subs, as well as specialty pizzas and lunch combinations to satisfy anyones hunger. For desert there is a Baskin Robins next door.
Pluses: Kid friendly environment, Several TVs for sports, Variety of food options, friendly staff, game room, great discounts, accepts major credit cards.
Minuses: Screaming kids running around, no free soda refills.
***Update 10/2/2005 ***
Decided to call Pizza and Pipes for a large pepperoni and mushroom pizza to enjoy while watching the Sunday night game between 49ers and Cardinals. Took about 15 minutes to get there and my pizza was already done. First thing I noticed was that they stopped using their pizza and pipes pizza box, now they just use a generic pizza box. By the time I got home the pizza was just warm. There were plenty of large slices of mushroom, just the right amount of pepperoni and a good amount of pizza sauce on a thin style crust pizza. I love how their cheese is gooey this time around as there's less toppings to cover up the cheese. Even after I reheated it, the cheese was gooey. It feels as if they use slices of cheese rather than shredded or grated cheese.
The pizza crust was not crispy but everything just blended in together so well.
Downside is that they charge 2.00 per topping regardless of pizza size. $2.00 for a vegetable topping is a bit much.
**Update 5/21/2006**
Despite game 7 between Pistons and Cavs, Pizza and Pipes still managed to fill the place with tons of family and kids celebrating birthdays and post soccer game lunches. The only games playing on their TVs were baseball.
I phoned in for two medium pizzas. My pizzas were ready for me by the time I drove there. By the time I got home, my pizzas were still warm and I found some extra nice touches. Plenty of chocolate/peppermint candy within each pizza box.
Hawaiian Delight consisted of pizza sauce, Canadian style bacon, plenty of pineapple, and lots of mozzarella cheese.
Artichoke Chicken consisted of ranch dressing, mozzarella cheese, artichoke hearts, grilled chicken and chopped garlic.
Each medium pizza was 16.99 but I could have probably saved a buck had I just ordered a medium with pineapple and Canadian bacon instead. There was more cheese on my artichoke chicken than on my Hawaiian delight.
Today's batch was good but the crust was soft and I am more of a fan of crispy crust. Plenty of pineapple and bacon as well as manageably sliced artichokes and grilled slices of chicken breasts. The pizza sauce tasted a bit like spaghetti sauce that comes in a jar. I find their pizza tends to be more cooked through with fewer toppings.
“Same people, same pizza, no pipes. New restaurant is listed on jatbar as "Pizza Party".”
4/23/2007 10:01:09 PM
nexus006 ate...
Local pizza history moment:
“The Campbell location (where WholeFoods is now)was very cool. During the 70s early 80s they had this giant organ with all kinds of sound effects and the place was the size of a beer hall. The pizza was the same but the crust was thinner. ”
