Delivery dilemma: Who to call when the pizza pangs hit

Delivery dilemma: Who to call when the pizza pangs hit

By David Eyerly

JAKARTA (JP): Thinking back over the last century, one is
struck by the advances humankind made in all areas of life. Think
penicillin, the personal computer, pizza delivery.

Pizza delivery? That's right. Imagine if someone hadn't come
up with the brilliant idea of employing someone to jump on a
motorbike, weave through traffic and ring your doorbell, with a
hot pie under his arm.

Maybe this wasn't what the Italians, if the Italians invented
pizza, or maybe they just stole it from the Chinese like they
stole spaghetti, had in mind for pizza, but who has the time or
the know-how to make their own pie (never fear, see accompanying
article and we will show you how; it's up to you to make the
time).

Pizza was meant to be eaten at home, from the cardboard box it
was delivered in. Ideally, you should be in your boxers, feet up
on the table and a game of some kind on the tube. That was how, I
would imagine, the inventors of the glorious pie envisioned their
creation being savored.

The only question is, with not all delivery pizza being equal,
who should you call when struck by the taste for a few slices? To
answer this question and help our loyal readers make sure they
get the best delivery pizza possible (and because we were
hungry), we at The Jakarta Post ordered up some pies from four
different pizza places. Below are the results of The Great
Jakarta Post Pizza Taste-off. So, let's get ready to rumble.

The Contenders: Roundtable Pizza in Kebon Jeruk (tel.
5836976); Pizza Hut in the Park Royale (tel. 5717201); Papa Ron's
in Senayan (tel. 5739565); and Pizza Express in the Apartment
Kusuma Chandra (tel. 5154143).

The Rules: All of the delivery pizzas were regular size (much
to the disappointment of some judges, who were looking forward to
a real orgy of pizza eating). And all the pies were all-meat,
though they go by different names at their respective
restaurants. Pizza Hut calls their all-meat pizza a Meat Lovers,
and Papa Ron's a Meat Eaters, which sounds more than a little
dirty. The pizzas were rated from 1 to 5, with one being the
lowest and five being the highest.

The Tasters: Seven dedicated staff members of the Post, who
took time out of their busy work schedules to sneak downstairs
and eat free pizza. They were all asked to fill out a form rating
the pies on various aspects, which they all agreed they could be
bothered to do for the free pizza.

Round 1: In this round the contenders duke it out to see which
pizza is delivered at just the right temperature.

* Roundtable: An average score of 2.5, with a high rating of 3
and a low of 1.5, by someone who found the pizza rather tepid.
The general consensus was that the pie was hot enough, just.

* Pizza Hut: An average score of 2.5. The ratings here varied
more noticeably, with a high of 4 from someone who found the
temperature almost perfect, to a low of 1 by a taster who said it
was like the cold leftover pizza that tastes so good for
breakfast.

* Papa Ron's: An average score of 3.5. This pizza received all
threes and fours, and one taster said the pizza was like it was
fresh from the oven.

* Pizza Express: An average score of 3.7. One taster gave
Pizza Express a perfect 5, while the low score was 3.

Round 2: Now the tasters test the pies on their toppings. Are
they lean or lush?

* Roundtable: An average score of 2. A low score of 1 and a
high of 3, with one taster conjecturing that maybe Roundtable had
run out of toppings. The general agreement was that for a meat
pizza there was not much meat, and the cheese was a little thin
as well.

* Pizza Hut: An average score of 3. This pie was a little
better received by the tasters, though some questioned the
processed sausage.

* Papa Ron's: An average score of 4.3. Two tasters gave this
pizza perfect fives, the others gave it fours. Everyone thought
there was enough meat, and all were impressed by how cheesy the
pie was.

* Pizza Express: An average score of 4.5. There were three
fives for this pizza and a 4.5. The tasters were impressed by
both the amount of meat on the pie and the amount of cheese.

Round 3: In this round, the pizzas' crusts are put to the
test. This round turned out the closest to call, and the judges'
cards showed that when it comes to crust, personal preferences
vary wildly. Which is why there are so many fights when people
try and order pizzas together.

* Roundtable: An average score of 3.4. Scores ranged from a 5
down to a 2. One person though the crust tasted like raw dough,
and another thought the crust was delightfully chewy.

* Pizza Hut: An average score of 3.3. Again, the scores ranged
from 5 to 2. Some tasters loved this crunchy crust, others
described it as eating cardboard.

* Papa Ron's: An average score of 3.8. Once more this pie
received a high score of 5 and a low of 2. Some thought the crust
was doughy, but not overly so, and nice and chewy. A few thought
the crust was a bit too greasy and oily.

* Pizza Express: An average score of 3.7. This pizza received
a high score of 5 and a low of 3. The general consensus was that
this was a good crust, striking a pleasing balance between thin
and thick.

Round 4: Now the pies really take off the gloves as they try
and prove which one tastes best overall.

* Roundtable: An average score of 2.3, with a high of 4 and a
low of 1. One person said the pizza had a strange aftertaste and
another described it as eating leftover pie from yesterday. Of
course, it also received a "yummy".

* Pizza Hut: An average score of 2.9. The scores went from a
high of 5 to a low of 1. How's that for a range? This pie was
alternately a "dud" and "excellent".

* Papa Ron's: An average score of 4.4. Nothing but fours and
fives, with one taster moved to eloquence, saying this is a
"masterpiece in pizza-making".

* Pizza Express: An average score of 4.3. All of the tasters
were impressed by this pie, particularly its generous toppings.

Round 5: In the final round, the contenders are rated on their
value for money.

* Roundtable: An average score of 3. This pie cost Rp 30,000
and had eight slices, which impressed some, but not all. One
person, unimpressed with the pizza's taste, said "I don't want to
pay Rp 30,000 for this." It's a good thing The Jakarta Post paid
for it.

* Pizza Hut: An average score of 2.7. This pizza cost Rp
27,000 for six pieces, which left most tasters unimpressed.

* Papa Ron's: An average score of 3.8. This pizza was also Rp
27,000 for six pieces, but because the tasters were more
impressed with its generous toppings and overall better quality,
it scored better than Pizza Hut.

* Pizza Express. An average score of 4.5. This pie was Rp
24,000 for six pieces. As the least expensive pizza and one of
the tastiest, it naturally scored well in the value for money
round.

The Decision: This was a two-way race between Papa Ron's and
Pizza Express, with these two being ranked first and second on
all the cards. And the winner is Papa Ron's, which was the
favorite of four of the tasters, while Pizza Express came out on
top on three of the cards. Fighting it out for third and fourth
place were Pizza Hut and Roundtable, with the Hut just managing
to nose out Roundtable.

But when all is said and done, the truth is that there is
really no such thing as a bad pizza.