Director of Media Operations Josh Beasley takes to the Pine Belt to find the best pregame meals around. This month, he reviews Papa Dough’s Pizza in Laurel.
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If you know me, you know that there isn’t a meal on the planet I enjoy more than pizza. I romanticize pizza. I love the smell, how it looks, the texture and don’t even get me started on the taste. What more could you ask for than a good slice of pie? So, it is fitting that the first edition Dining with the DOMO involves pizza.
For most of my reviews, I am trying to find establishments I have never eaten at or haven’t eaten at in a long time. Papa Dough’s is not that. Because of its proximity to the office, I have eaten there at least a dozen times over the last couple of years.
I decided to grab one of Papa Dough’s pizzas before the frigid South Jones playoff soccer games on Tuesday. I often get criticized by friends, family and coworkers for my take on pizza. You don’t have to dress it up with a bunch of toppings for it to be good. Just looking at mushrooms makes me gag, and people who put pineapple on pizza ought to be sent to some sort of reform school. None of that for me. A good, old-fashioned pepperoni pizza, named The Roman at Papa Doughs, is all you need.
When judging a pizza, I think you have to start with the crust. Papa Doughs has two crust options – sourdough and cauliflower. I went with sourdough. The brick oven cooks the dough to semi-crispy but not too crispy perfection. When you pick up a slice, there is not a lot of flop. Flop is a sign of pizza I don’t care for too much.
One thing I always appreciate about Papa Dough’s is the crunchiness of the pepperoni. There is nothing better than biting into a slice and hearing that crunch come, not only from a perfectly baked crust, but from the outside ring of a pepperoni. Bravo for that, Papa Dough’s.
Looking at the cheese, it’s not too much, but just enough. I have never been a fan of picking up a pizza and having a thousand strands of cheese hanging about. The right amount of cheese solves that problem while leaving the flavor needed.
If I have a criticism of the pizza, it's the sauce. It's a tasty sauce with good consistency … I just wish maybe there was a tiny bit more on there. But I guess you can always request more sauce. Putting too much on a pizza soaks the crust and takes away from the cheese and toppings. I just like a tad bit more than what I got on Tuesday.
All in all, it was a great meal that I greatly enjoyed with an ice-cold Dr Pepper from the cooler. There wasn’t a bite left after I got done. Another positive mark for Papa Dough’s is the friendly customer service and convenient ordering. Any time I have ever called in to order, I have waited no longer than 20 minutes and that was when it was fairly busy during lunchtime. Once you arrive, you are greeted with a smile and professionalism no matter who is waiting on you.
I am a big fan of Barstool Sports founder Dave Portney’s “One Bite” pizza reviews. He goes all across the country reviewing pizza with a 1-10 scoring system. He tries to avoid going too high, making special note that he will never give a perfect 10, because if he found something he liked better, he would have nowhere to improve the score.
I will use the same scoring system when I grade my meals in this column. For Papa Dough’s Roman, I give it a solid 7.9. To put that score in perspective, Portnoy has only been into the 9’s a couple of times out of hundreds of pizza reviews. A 7.9 is a very good score in this system.
If you are looking for a good pizza that is quick and comes with a soft drink and smile, go to Papa Doughs. You won’t regret it. The entire time I was at the South Jones’ soccer games Tuesday night, I was freezing my tail off, but my belly was full thanks to the fine folks over at Papa Dough’s.
If you have an idea for a meal to review in my February column, shoot me an email at sports@leader-call.com to let me know.
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