A Saturday night isn’t complete without a pizza. It was the ubiquitous “favorite food” in kindergarten, and its versatility likely secured it a place in your top ten as you entered young adulthood. However, there’s one thing that remains polarizing: How do you eat the leftovers?
Some people will throw the pizza in the microwave, reanimating the slice into a Frankenstein’s monster of the meal it was the night before. Others prefer it cold, which is an entirely different beast.
A&E spent the week refrigerating pizzas from establishments in Stadium Village and Dinkytown, so you know what slices to reach for the morning after.
7. Punch Pizza
A fresh pizza from Punch is delicious. Leftover pizza from the Stadium Village staple is another story. Since the crust is too thin for both reheating and enjoying cold, there’s only a short window of time a person can truly enjoy a Punch pie. Next time you’re thinking about taking a few slices home for tomorrow’s lunch, make other plans.
0 out of 4
6. Domino’s Pizza
There’s no subtlety in Domino’s pizza. Each flavor is amped up to the “x-treme” before taking a BMX bike to your taste buds and yelling at you to take it seriously. A night of isolation in the fridge may mellow it out, but the stale, burnt taste at the center remains. The buttery garlic crust is OK, though.
1 out of 4
4. Pizza Hut and Papa John’s (tie)
A cold pizza from Pizza Hut resembles the plastic pizza from toy kitchen sets used to enforce gender roles at an early age. A cold slice from Papa John’s tastes like you tried to recreate that plastic pie with Ragu and Wonder Bread. Both chains may provide some of the cheaper pizzas on campus, but you get what you pay for.
1.5 out of 4
3. Toppers Pizza
Toppers peddles the cold pizza all the other chains aspire to sell. Its dense, grease-soaked crust gives it form, while its toppings and sauce remain flavorful without overpowering the senses. Make no mistake — you won’t be surprised by any of the flavors present, but on those difficult mornings when you’re reaching for some comfort food, make Toppers that slice.
2.5 out of 4
2. Blaze Pizza
Blaze is the only pizza on campus that gets exponentially better after a night in the refrigerator, which is a shame because the pies are too small to warrant leftovers. Once cold, a pizza from Blaze remains vibrant and the ingredients taste fresh. It’s almost as if it were made to be eaten the following day. Next time you’re at Blaze, order one pizza for now and one for later. See which one you enjoy more.
3 out of 4
1. Mesa Pizza
There’s a reason why Mesa is a staple of University of Minnesota students’ diets: A slice is just as bold, fresh and flavorful hot as it is cold. Sure, it’s also open late and the delivery drivers are pretty cool, but students wouldn’t order it night after night if it wasn’t good. Each bite of a slice from Mesa exemplifies how there’s no other place like it on campus.
4 out of 4
