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| - I've been meaning to try this place for awhile, and I finally had the opportunity to do so tonight. This isn't your average pizza place - that's for sure. Pizza is a polarizing topic as it is, and most places are either New York style or Chicago style or Italian style or West Coast style (or some variation of these). This is Quad City pizza - something I've never had from a place I've never been. I'm told this is the only place you can get pizza like this in the Valley - I believe that. I don't think this style really makes its way outside of the Quad Cities.
Let me just say that there appear to be shenanigans going on with this restaurant's web page. Nearly 60 reviews hidden from view. Some may well be fake, but many are clearly legitimate. Also, many of them appear to be favorable. In case you were wondering, the hidden consensus tells a different story than the handful of reviews allowed to remain above the fog. If mine ends up in the trash, I'll KNOW something is up. Anyway - I will just state now that my review of this place is probably closer to a 4 than a 5 - and I'll tell you why, but I do feel this place earns a 5 on the merits of being different and because the shenanigans brought their score to a 3 which is just nonsense. There's no way this place is a 3.
So we ordered the pit bread, a caesar salad, a pizza with half of their famous sausage and half pepperoni, and I washed it down with beer. The pit bread is basically just their small/medium pizza crust with melted mozzarella cheese all basted with garlic butter and with a side of their pizza sauce to dip. The sauce was a mild and yet zesty marinara flavor with a hint of sweet. It was good. The pit bread was a solid cheese stick. If you like the flavor of Papa John's cheese bread (as I admit I do), but don't care for the chemical fake mass-produced-ness of it, then this is a solid choice (and a fair comparison) - it's also cut into strips the same exact way. It's also a hint of what's to come with the pizza, but you'll still be surprised.
The salad was interesting - the chicken was tender and juicy, but almost had the flavor of chicken soup chicken rather than grilled. I liked their dressing and croutons. Overall, it was good - just a little different. They offer the chicken crispy as well which I would like to try. As we were eating, they brought by a taco pizza which looked like a party. I asked how it was made and the description was something I had never heard of before - intriguing. Part of the draw of this place has to be their unique pies.
Now the pizza. The best way for me to describe it is to say that it's like a Chicago style deep dish, but on a thin New York crust - but even that's not doing it justice. It's different. The toppings are cooked under the cheese and they dust it with spices. Now the pepperoni side was great. I liked the flavor of everything about it. The sausage side was another story. Now, this is the polarizing factor. You can't go here expecting italian sausage - which is what pretty much every other place serves. I didn't expect that (but that's what I truly like), and that's not what I got.
Their sausage is made from Pork Sirloin - they make it in-house with tender loving care. You can't really find this elsewhere. Your mouth will want to relate it to something else it has tasted if you're eating it for the first time, but the comparisons you are drawing will be wrong. Now Pork Sirloin isn't the most flavorful of meats on its own, so they season it... lots. It's an interesting blend for sure. The first thing I noticed was that the sausage was a layer under the cheese of tiny tender sausage crumbles rather than big sausage rocks that you may be used to. It's a unique taste and texture.
Now out here in the South West, we've been exposed to some cheap frozen pizza brands that have a slightly similar texture of sausage crumbles, but just know that this is vastly different in terms of flavor and especially quality. Now I wasn't a huge fan of the sausage, but I think it's something I would definitely have to try a few times to get used to it. I know this place has some regulars who are addicted to it... those who grew up in the Quad Cities definitely.
The restaurant has a great location and even a nice patio overlooking a gorgeous grassy bank canal. If you go for dinner at sunset, it can be a lovely experience. The name of the place is puzzling - why not call it Quad City Pizza or something that echoes its roots... something that starts a discussion or begs questions. Pizza Pit sounds like a lesser more common joint. This is a unique family-owned restaurant people will drive across town to visit.
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