The Pizza Wars. Papa John's vs. Domino's Pizza

Quest for the Best Podcast

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The Pizza Wars. Papa John's vs. Domino's Pizza

On this episode of Quest for the Best, we are starting our pizza showdown. Who will win? Only our taste buds can tell.

Amy Hummel

May 31, 2022

Today it begins. Pizza. Definitely in my top 3 of favorite foods. Usually even if it is bad pizza, it is still okay. And that is why we decided to start with some lower tiered options. Papa John’s vs. Domino’s Pizza.

Which menu items will we be trying?

Papa John’s:
- Medium Original Crust Pizza with pepperoni, beef, original sauce, cheese
- Garlic Knots
- 6-piece Garlic Parmesan Wings
Domino’s Pizza
- Medium Hand Tossed Pizza with pepperoni, beef, robust inspired tomato sauce, cheese
- Garlic Bread Twists
- 6-piece Garlic Parmesan Wings

Who are our fearless Questers today?

Nate, keeper of clean fingies.
Kris, was lost but now is found.
Matt, Doesn’t even know what he knows.
Amy, host and pizza lover.

And our paid subscribers! Thank you for your support. We appreciate you!

The History of Papa John’s

Let’s travel to Jeffersonville, Indiana. We step into a little tavern called Mick’s Lounge. The son of the bar owner decides to follow his father’s entrepreneurial footsteps. So with $1,600 worth of used restaurant equipment, he converts the broom closet into a small pizza kitchen. He made pizza after pizza, selling them for $5.00 a pie. The original goal was to make $50,000 annually. After a year of slinging pizzas out of a broom closet, the young man was able to open a real location right next to the bar. He was quickly successful, doing about $9,000 a week in sales. Who was he? His friends and family call him John Schnatter, but you know him as Papa John.

Within seven years of opening his first location, 100 more franchises opened. By 2021, the pizza chain had approximately 5,650 restaurants worldwide.

Some fun facts about Papa John’s…

Papa John’s is recognized as the first pizza chain to offer nationwide online pizza ordering at all of its stores. They rolled out online ordering across the board starting in 2002. Pizza Hut followed suit in 2003 and Domino’s in 2007.
In 1994, Pizza Hut co-founder Frank Carney became a Papa John’s franchisee, and eventually became one of their largest franchisees. In 1997 he appeared in national commercials claiming he had found “better pizza”. This led to an advertising war between the two companies, and eventually led them to sue each other for false advertising.
Papa John’s founder has been completely removed from the company. Why? In 2018, the NFL ended their sponsorship deal with the chain after John made comments suggesting that Papa John’s pizza sales were suffering as a result of players kneeling in protest during the national anthem. Then John was heard using the N-word on a conference call. This basically forced him to resign as chairman of the board. He did not leave quietly however. He sued the company over his removal and a settlement was eventually made. John Schnatter has even sold off a large chunk of his 29 percent share of the company.
In 2019 Shaquille O’Neal joined the board of directors, as a shareholder, and a brand ambassador as part of an 8.5 million dollar deal.

The History of Domino’s Pizza

In 1960, brothers Tom and James Monaghan purchased an old pizza restaurant in Ypsilanti, Michigan called DomiNick’s. Being a small building, there really wasn’t any room for sit-down dining. So Tom hired local laid-off factory workers to deliver pizza around town. In 1965, the restaurant became Domino’s Pizza.

By the late seventies Domino’s racked up over 200 franchises throughout the United States. And by 1983 the chain went international, opening their first store in Winnipeg. And that same year, they opened their 1000th store.

During these years Domino’s kept the menu very simple. They only had one kind of crust (the regular), two sizes, 11 different toppings, and the only non-pizza item on the menu was Coke. It wasn’t until 1989 that the company introduced the Handmade Pan Pizza. That same year, the 5000th store opened. This change was just the beginning. In 1992 they introduced their first non-pizza food item…Breadsticks! In 1994…. Buffalo Wings.

In 1998 Domino’s founder, Tom Monaghan, announced his retirement and gave his ownership to Bain Capital Inc.

In 2009 Domino’s scrapped its 49 year old pizza recipe. Since then, they have earned Chain of the Year a few times.

And here are some other fun facts!

The belt driven pizza oven was started by Domino’s.
Additionally, they were the first to use corrugated cardboard delivery boxes.
They introduced the portable electric bag system to keep pizza hot during delivery.
In 2008 Domino’s launched the industry first: Domino’s Tracker, where customers could follow the progress of their order online.
In 2015 they built a pizza delivery vehicle which holds up to 80 pizzas and features a warming oven.
And in 2018, Domino’s vowed to save pizza, one pothole at a time, with its introduction of Paving for Pizza grants. The company gave away one grant in each state in the U.S. to help smooth the delivery drive.
And in 2018 Domino’s opened its 15,000 store.

The Results

**SPOILER ALERT!**

Listen to the episode first if you do not want the results revealed to you yet!

Pizza vs. Pizza

Domino’s beef and pepperoni pizza: Color me impressed. for a $7.00 pizza this is doing more than hitting the mark. Hell, you can barely buy a frozen pizza at the grocery store for less than $7.00 and most of those taste like garbage on a slab of cardboard. But Domino’s really did us right. The beautifully seasoned crust. The delicious sauce. The nice crunch to the edges of those pepperonis. Kudo’s Domino’s.

Nate: “I really love the flavor of this crust. It is so savory.”
Amy: “This is a really good flavored pizza.”
Kris: “I enjoyed it with the garlicy herb and crunchy pepperoni.”
Matt: “Domino’s had all the right flavor in all the right places.”

Papa John’s beef and pepperoni pizza: The top cheese is very noticeable on this pie. As is the five head of pizza crusts. Seriously. The toppings of this pizza only come half way up the pizza. The rest is a bland, bland, bland crust. Additionally, the individual flavors of the meats did not really shine. Overall, I think when it comes to Papa John’s pizza… you might be better off with that frozen one.

Nate: “I am missing that pepperoni crunch. It is just lacking.”
Amy: “It’s concession stand pizza.”
Kris: “I don’t like 97% of my pizza to be crust.”
Matt: “There’s just too much crust.”

WINNER: Domino’s Pizza

Sauce vs. Sauce

Domino’s garlic dipping sauce: Do you like a nice fresh garlic butter to dip your bread or crust in? Do you like said sauce to actually taste like garlic? Then step no further. Domino’s has you covered.

Nate: “Thank you garlic Jesus.”
Amy: “I’ve never been a fan of garlic sauces, but now I am.”
Kris: “I was very impressed.”
Matt: “This is definitely good.”

Papa John’s garlic butter dipping sauce: Do you like a garlic butter that is way heavier on the butter than the garlic? Then maybe you should go with Papa John’s. Though with that bland crust and this bland sauce… you are getting what you asked for.

Nate: “I always thought I liked this one more. But now? It’s way too buttery.”
Amy: “It’s just bland.”
Kris: “It’s very tame. It is needed to tolerate the pizza.”
Matt: “Meh.”

WINNER: Domino’s Pizza Garlic Dipping Sauce

Bread vs. Bread

Domino’s Garlic Bread Twists: If you want a bread with a light and airy middle, but a nice garlicy buttery crunch on the outside, this bread is for you. The one thing you certainly will get with this bread is flavor.

Nate: “They have a nice garlic butter topping.”
Amy: “I love these. It has a great garlic taste to it.”
Kris: “I did really enjoy them.”
Matt: “The twist was decent. It was cooked nice.”

Papa John’s Garlic Knots: A bit of a mixed bag of opinions here. While good and enjoyable on some aspects, lacking on others. Unless you like a very very dense bread with just a hint of garlic. Then these might be your jam.

Nate: “I like the chewiness.”
Amy: “It’s a good bread, but it doesn’t give me a garlicy vibe.”
Kris: “It has a nice texture to it.”
Matt: “That is dense! I am disappointed in this.”

WINNER: Tie!

Wings vs. Wings

Domino’s Garlic Parmesan Wings: From the moment you open the box until you wash your hands, these wings scream nothing but disappointment. How can something be so gross? If you are craving some wings, do yourself a favor and DO NOT get them from Domino’s Pizza.

Nate: “That is a wet wing.”
Amy: “It is the Carl Budding of wings.”
Kris: “What the fuck?!.”
Matt: “It looks like wings from an adult film production set.”

Papa John’s Garlic Parmesan Wings: Not much better but according to a couple of us, at least it was edible. Does it hit the Garlic Parmesan mark? No. Is it good enough to order again? Also no. But hey. At least they looked better than Domino’s

Nate: “I love a dry rub.”
Amy: “This is better but I wouldn’t buy either.”
Kris: “It tastes like Salisbury steak.”
Matt: “Blugh. It was just salty.”

WINNER: Papa John’s Garlic Parmesan Wings

There you have it. After trying all of these pizzas and sides, we give Domino’s Pizza the Quest for the Best seal of approval. Check out their website to find a Domino’s location near you.

https://www.dominos.com/en/

Thank you for joining us on this exclusive episode of Quest for the Best. Let us know what you thought. Have you tried all these menu items? Which one is your favorite?

Also, do you have any foods you would love to get the coveted seal of approval? Let us know in the comments what you want to hear next.