Domino's New Hand Tossed Pizza

After decades of awful pizza, the worlds most recognizable pizza chain finally decided to rework their recipe. I sampled their new product this week.


Initial Diagnosis

Certainly an improvement. Visually the pizza looked decent, it's odor was reasonable. It definitely looked like pizza. Worth eating.


The Crust

It's alright. They've cheated by dusting the crust with garlic powder. (more on that later) It looks good but was too soft and chewy. Basically they use real pizza dough, dust it in garlic and probably paint it with a yellow butter substitute. I'm sure it looks great on camera.

The Sauce

Nothing special here. Heavy on the tomato paste, heavy on the garlic. Had a slight metal can flavor to it. Not offensive, not exactly a selling point. If anything, there was too much of it. I think they are overcompensating to distinguish the new pie from the old style.

The Topping

I didn't go crazy here. Pepperoni and cheese. It's pretty hard to muck up pepperoni. They do offer (at least in the Los Angeles market) extra large pepperonis, which I found an interesting novelty. Another attempt to class up the visuals. In theory it's a good idea, but in practice I found the large pepperoni a little difficult to bite through without getting molten hot cheese and sauce all over my chin. Next time I'll stick with the normal sized pepperoni. Yum. Pepperoni.

The Cheese


Largely a non factor. The overbearing sauce really wiped out any chance of tasting the nuances of the cheese, which they claim is mozzarella with a hint of provolone. Not bad though, when you consider how poor pizza cheese can be. Better to be overshadowed than disappoint.


The Sides

I ordered a side of the Buffalo Kickers. They're a little nugget of white meat coated in a buffalo style sauce. You dip them in ranch dressing and eat in one or two bites. Not too shabby. I'd go so far as to say they were good. The ranch dressing portion is scientifically measured to give you exactly the right amount of sauce if you use the dip and coat method. I had trace amounts left over for pizza dipping. If you're a ranch enthusiast, I would suggest ordering an extra side. The hot sauce was not very hot and tasted like crap.


The Intangibles

I ordered online, found their interface easy enough to navigate, and was impressed with their delivery tracker system. Nice little gimmick, but it has a practical purpose. It shows you when the pizza is going into the oven, when it leaves the store, when it's in transit. Unfortunately I was unable to really use it because the driver came with the pizza 15 minutes after I ordered. A pretty good problem to have on my end.


The Aftermath

Shortly after eating the pizza, I started to feel the effects of garlic powder overdose. I had burps developing deep inside me that could clear a room with their odor. I was out with friends and had to turn my head and burp, blowing it into the air away from the crowd. I'm sure some unlucky passerbys caught a whiff or two, probably causing some watery eyes. My gas was a little more active than usual, with a bouquet that registered my recent food consumption. Day one I had the kickers in the mix, and that definitely created a little more gastrointestinal activity. Day two was just pizza, so the flatulence was less of a factor. My stool was a little soft but regular.


The Price

Reasonable. I used a door hanger coupon and ordered 2 10'' pizzas for ten bucks. The kickers were $5.99. There was a delivery charge, which I was surprised and disappointed by, two dollars I think. I would be sure to check for online coupons before ordering.

The Verdict

All in all, not a horrible experience. They set the bar so low with their old recipe that anything would be an improvement. I'd say they took their pizza up from a D to a C+. Better than the stuff they sell at the public pool snack bar, worse than almost any mom and pop. A serviceable, convenient option in a crowded landscape of chain pizza. Domino's is no longer just a punchline. My guess is that once the promotions die down about the new pizza, they will trim the amount of sauce. It will help the bigger picture but not change my grade.

C+