Review: New Artisan Pizzas from Domino’s

Posted September 20th, 2011 | 4:50pm by Ryan

I’ve always held Domino’s at the #2 position when it comes to the Big 3 pizza chains. Papa Johns 1st, Domino’s 2nd, Pizza Hut a distant 3rd. When Domino’s had a pizza makeover and introduced garlic soaked crust, an altered blend of cheese and a new recipe sauce, I felt there was still work to be done. I wasn’t a big fan of the new Domino’s pizza and they remained in that #2 spot for me. While not a drastic change, the new Artisan Pizzas has given me a new reason to choose Domino’s again.

$7.99 will get you an Artisan Pizza. They are rectangular (13″ x 9″) and there is more emphasis on cheese flavors and toppings rather than sauces and crust. That said, I really loved the thinner crust. Nice chew, not at all cracker-like, and holds the toppings together well. All three of my pizzas were well constructed. Thanks Carlos! Your $7.99 Artisan Pizza is priced just about right and is meant to serve two (6 slices per pizza).

Your choices of Artisan Pizza are Spinach & Feta, Italian Sausage & Pepper Trio and Tuscan Salami & Roasted Veggie.

Spinach & Feta: Alfredo sauce, feta and parmesan-asiago cheeses, fresh baby spinach and onion toppings. All balanced and baked to perfection on an artisan-style crust.

My favorite of the three choices. Nice balance of subtle and strong cheesy flavors and the baby spinach made me think of a Greek spinach pie in pizza form. Not too much impact on the onions. There may have been a tad too much crust, but it’s a minor gripe. I liked the Spinach & Feta a lot and for a meatless pizza to impress me means a lot.

Spinach & Feta Artisan Pizza – GrubGrade: 8.25/10 (Very Good)

Italian Sausage & Pepper Trio: Parmesan-asiago cheese and sliced Italian sausage complemented by a trio of roasted red, green and banana peppers, on an artisan-style crust topped with a dash of oregano.

My second favorite of the three. Thick chunks of sweet Italian sausage in almost every bite was nice. I love roasted red peppers on my pizza so I’m a bit biased here. The banana peppers were a little off-putting. I would have like to have this pizza without the banana peppers and possibly a robust and spicy coating of pizza sauce.

Italian Sausage & Pepper Trio – GrubGrade: 7.50/10 (Good)

Tuscan Salami & Roasted Veggie: Ideal proportions of salami, spinach and onions, roasted red and banana peppers, and a dash of oregano, all over a garlic parmesan sauce on an artisan-style crust.

My least favorite of the three choices. Each of the six slices of the pizza have one big piece of salami. Salami would’ve worked better in pieces. It’s on the chewy side so you get that unfortunate situation where one bite takes off all the toppings if you’re not careful. Lots of banana pepper flavor and the spinach, onions, and roasted red peppers get lost. I liked the garlic parmesan sauce, but overall, the Tuscan Salami & Roasted Veggie had too much going on.

Tuscan Salami & Roasted Veggie – GrubGrade: 6.25/10 (Average)