So, honestly, I wasn't expecting much from Jack's. As this local chain shares a name with a brand of frozen pizza, it doesn't exactly elevate your expectations. Another frustration for me is that a company website was not easily found. In fact, I didn't find one. I could not find a menu online. The other thing that is a major issue for me is that I just don't like cutting coupons. The clutter just annoys me, and I don't feel like keeping around all these coupons that expire eventually. So, we were ordering sans coupons, and we took a hit on this pizza. We got a medium supreme. Jack's doesn't call it a supreme, but more like the Jack Pot, Full Jack-et,... something like that. There is also a pizza that has all 14 of their toppings, including anchovies, but that seemed a bit overboard.
They have 5 sizes at Jacks', so I assume the medium was the 3rd or perhaps the 4th biggest. You can tell I didn't spend a lot of time figuring this out, as I was ordering without being able to look at anything and talking to guy on the phone.
Anyhow, the pizza we got was pretty tasty. They have a heavy dusting of Italian seasoning flakes on top, and there is a load of toppings. The crust is completely unremarkable, though, so you really need good toppings to ignore the bland crust. And, they only have one crust type available, a thin crust. The supreme has a lot of green olives, which is something we like, but I realize many would not care for. Overall, it was tasty, and the topping mix reminded me of one we get more often from Monical's.
But, the real problem is that the pizza cost us almost $23. What? That is absurd to me, though I paid it cause I wanted to try a pizza place new to me. That is just bad value - especially for just a middle of the road pizza.
Have you noticed Pizza Hut's pricing campaign? We ate in at one just last week, and they've simplified the pricing and basically set it up so that you can avoid coupons. It is a great, simple structure - 3 sizes priced at $8, $10 and $12 ($1 more for a small handful of specialty pizzas). We don't' have to cut or save coupons, and they don't have to print them. Papa John's is similar, as they're pricing large pizzas at $10 with up to 3 toppings. It just makes sense, and best of all they're making it easier on the customer (what a novel concept!).
The verdict: 1.5 belly rubs (out of 5). Decent tasting pizza, below average crust and poor value (also really needs a website).
4 comments:
Thanks for the review. We also live in Nora and I have been looking for a new to us pizza place but have never gotten around to trying Jacks. Like you, I had problems finding a menu and didn't feel like going in to get one in advance or calling to get the info. Now I can mark them off my list.
If you are willing to go up 116th, I really recommend Mellow Mushroom. They are my favorite pizza place.
I know Jack's is a pain to get a hold of and to pay for sometimes, but I love it so much! I grew up eating Jack's, and crave it now that we don't live near one. My favorite is sausage with banana peppers. Yummm...Totally worth the price for me to not eat a cookie-cutter pizza like Hut or PJ's. I agree about the crust, but I really don't miss it because the toppings are so good. Now I'm hungry for Jack's!
Well, I was never a person who liked a doughy, greasy crust. I always thought the dough should be used for breadsticks. Nonetheless, for a food critic such as yourself, the flakes on top are "oregano".
The website is jackspizza1966.com
The value is roughly a $1 per slice.
Slices weigh in between 1/2 and 2/3of a pound.....Hmmmmm, I believe there are numerous burger chains selling 4oz. burgers for $1.06 each and people don't complain about that price.
Finally, as a person who was born and raised in Chicago, I know a little about pizza myself.
One thing I can say, my friends back home would laugh their backsides off if I suggested they eat a Pizza Hut/Papa Johns/Dominos type pizza.
Those type places dont even come close to my pizza spots back home, and at least Jack's Pizza does.
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