Grove City pizzas

I'm house sitting in (scenic? historic? rustic?) Grove City in southern Franklin county this week. Since I was stranded here, I decided to put the best pizza joints in the area to the test.

Most people have a hobby, or something they do to pass the time. I eat pizza. Sorry--it's what I do.

I know very little about Grove City. I went on hearsay from the few people I know in the area in order to determine who makes the best pie in town. The three places that top the rankings are Tammy's, Rotolo's and Plank's on Broadway. All of the places are small independent chains with somewhere between two and seven locations. I tried a small veggie pizza. I ate all three pizzas side by side. I ate them the day I bought them, and then I ate them cold and reheated the next day. I'll rank all three experiences on a one-through-three scale.

Interior
Hands down, Plank's on Broadway has the nicest storefront. Plank's is attached to a bar. The hard wood floor is accompanied by a number of tables. Tammy's and Rotolo's are more of the traditional pizza counter setups. I preferred the cleanliness of Rotolo's to the Spartan minimalism of Tammy's.

1). Plank's
2). Rotolo's
3). Tammy's

Staff
Again, Plank's is the clear winner. The staff was very friendly. They got the order ready the fastest of the three (15 minutes). Tammys' staff was personable, and they finished second (20 minutes). Rotolo's was staffed by the traditional college age counter guy. It took 25 minutes to get a pizza done.

1). Plank's
2). Tammy's
3). Rotolo's

Toppings
Plank's vegetables were crisp. The onions were cut into enormous slices. The mushrooms were not canned. Rotolo's used good quality toppings, although the 'shrooms were canned. Tammy's also used good toppings, but the tomatoes were soggy and not of the best quality.

1). Plank's
2). Rotolo's
3). Tammy's

Veggie Pizza makeup
The topping quality is one thing, but for vegetarians, the choice of toppings is key. Typically, vegetarians show up to some random event. The host orders the obligatory pizza for them. It usually comes with at least one topping they hate. This metric gives the vegetable yuck factor some weight.

All veggie pizzas have to have mushrooms. It's an indisputable tenet of herbivorous philosophy. That being understood, Rotolo's had the least annoying topping combo. The banana peppers were the most annoying topping. Tammy's pizza had really awful tomatoes, making it slightly less picky-eater-friendly. The tomatoes and banana peppers were the most gag-inducing items on the Plank's veggie.

1). Rotolo's
2). Tammy's
3). Plank's

Crust
All three pizzas were thin crust and tavern (square) cut. Rotolo's crust was a little thicker, more savory and had a hint of butter. Plank's crust was crispy and delicious. Tammy's crust is a little softer than Plank's. It might have been the thinnest crust of the trio.

1). Rotolo's
2). Plank's
3). Tammy's

Sauce
Plank's sauce is bright, mildly acidic, tart and tasty. Rotolo's sauce is light with a hint of sweetness. Tammy's sauce is the sweetest of the three, with an herbal undertone.

1). Plank's
2). Rotolo's
3). Tammy's

Cheese and other party favors
Plank's uses a great blend of herbs that elevates the pizza quality. Rotolo's cheese and accoutrements were similar to Tammy's (i.e. not as good as Plank's).

1). Plank's
2). Tammy's and Rotolo's (tie)

Reheat/Re-eat
Rotolos' thicker crust made it keep better for the next day. It ate well both reheated and cold. Plank's got a little soggy overnight. It tasted okay cold but worked much better reheated. Tammy's got very soggy from the tomatoes overnight. It absolutely had to be reheated to remove the moisture.

1). Rotolo's
2). Plank's
3). Tammy's

Grand Champion
1). Plank's (20 points)
2). Rotolo's (18 points)
3). Tammy's (11 points)

I might have to reformulate my pizza scale, but the final results turned out about exactly how they did in my head. Plank's and Rotolo's were a class above Tammy's in my humble opinion. Try it out yourself. Maybe you'll have a different opinion.

Grove City Pizzas