Take-Out Chronicles: Papa John's

Papa John's Terwillegar

14030A 23 Avenue

Edmonton, AB 

T6R 3L6

(780) 439-7220

Papa John's is a US-based pizza chain that's had a presence in Edmonton for about a year now. Though there was a period of time during my undergraduate days that I subsisted almost entirely on take-out pizza, these days, the pizza I do eat is usually made at home, so I haven't had the chance to try Papa John's since the chain came to Canada.

This Monday, however, a promo code combined with an exhausting day were the push I needed to order in and try it. The promotion I took advantage of is their NFL Monday Deal which offers a percentage discount (on regular priced items) based on the highest score in Sundays football games. The Seattle Seahawks smoked the Arizona Cardinals 58-0 the day previously, so my discount Monday was 58% -- I think I could really get behind this team!

From left upper corner clockwise: Chicken pizza, cinnapie, pepperoni pizza, cheese sticks; Buffalo wings (center).

Two pizzas, a pepperoni, and a chicken & tomato, were both topped with plenty of cheese and toppings. I prefer their pizza sauce to other chains, bright with tomatoes and the zest of garlic Italian seasonings. The Cinnapie and cheese sticks were on the same pleasingly chewy crust of the pizza. Surprisingly, there are no salads on the menu, so we opted for some buffalo wings to round out our meal. These were decidedly average.

This particular Monday's discount was the highest in the course of the promotion, so it wasn't surprising that the restaurant was flooded with orders. It took just over and hour and a half for the order to arrive (despite the email confirmation indicating 45 minutes), and, it's likely the delivery driver made several stops on the way to my place, as the food was only slightly warm by the time it arrived. This was understandable in light of the promotion, and my patience was greater on account of the discount. I was not expecting to be blown away by the food, and I wasn't, but I was adequately satisfied based on the price I paid; however, had I the additional 42% for regular price, I'm not so sure I would be.

Go Seattle?

Restaurant website

Take-Out Chronicles: Pizzeria Prego

Pizzeria Prego

5860 111 Street NW

Edmonton, AB T6H 3G1

(780) 439-7734

I drive by Pizzeria Prego's bright neon sign on a daily basis, and have occasionally peered in their window on my way to visit Sunterra, but finally ventured in to grab some dinner. They've got a pretty big menu with pizza (of course), pasta (lasagna & spaghetti), wraps, and basic salads and they seem to particularly emphasize their gluten-free offerings.

Caesar salad (large)

The Caesar salad was slightly better than the standard I've had at a lot of takeout pizza places. I appreciated that they packed the dressing separate from the rest of the salad (to avoid sogginess) but there wasn't enough dressing for the amount of salad. I like the shredded parmesan, and the dressing was pleasantly lemony. Nothing special, but a good side for pizza.

Lasagna (individual)

One of the sins many take-out pizza places commit is using their pizza sauce as the sauce on their pastas. Pizza sauce is not pasta sauce! Pizzeria Prego's lasagna came covered in cheese, as it should, with a meaty pasta sauce -- different from what was on the pizzas! It was basic, not mind-blowing, but not terrible. I appreciated the effort.

Pepperoni & extra cheese, standard crust (8")

You can get an 8" two topping pizza for $5, cooked to order, so we decided to get one of those, and one with a few more toppings. The pepperoni pizza with extra cheese on their standard crust wasn't as cheesy as I'd hope, nor was it particular meaty. It was pretty much your standard issue pepperoni pizza.

Chicken, feta, spinach & tomato, whole wheat crust (12")

I got a bit more creative with our 12" pizza: chicken, feta, tomatoes, spinach, and mozza on a whole wheat crust. Pizzeria Prego offers several crust options, including standard, sesame flax, whole wheat, and sunflower pumpkin. The whole wheat was just the right balance of chewy and soft texture with a slightly buttery flavor. The rest of the toppings complemented the crust nicely, but the crust was a total star.

In a lot of ways, Pizzeria Prego is your standard neighborhood pizzeria with plenty of average dishes on their menu. It's clear, however, that some ingenuity has gone into their menu resulting in some gems. For persons with celiac disease or gluten intolerance it's a goldmine. Experiment with their plethora of toppings and crusts and you might even find a new favorite pizza.


Website: http://www.pregopizza.com/