Americans love pizza. Ever since the soldiers who fought in WWII came back from Italy and pronounced their beloved praises, it has kneaded its way into the nation’s culture. According to Business Insider, the “Pizza Big Three” (or the three most popular pizza chain stores in America), consists of Papa John’s, Domino’s and Pizza Hut. While local and independently owned pizzerias are good, there are many die-hard fans of well-known pizza chains that want to know where the best delivery pizza is at.

I decided to take the matter into my own hands and test the Big Three pizzas side-by-side to see who really has the best pizza.

Each pizza will be assessed on five major categories: cheese, crust, non-greasiness, wow-factor and overall taste. Each category has a grading scale from 0-5, and the pizza with the highest score at the end will be declared the winner of Munch Madness. Let the pizza games begin!

Pizza Hut: Large Sausage & Pepperoni Pan Pizza

PRICE: $20.76

Delivery Time: 28 minutes

Cheese- 4

Crust- 1

Non-Greasiness- 1

Wow-Factor- 3

Overall Taste- 3

Pizza Hut is one of the biggest pizza franchises in the United States. There must be a reason, right? Well, I can partially see why but my vision is still a little foggy. I gave Pizza Hut’s cheese a 4 out of 5 because from the moment I broke the circle and pull my slice of pizza from box, the cheese was perfectly melted and stringy. You do not want your cheese to be hard. The softer the cheese, the sharper the taste. Although the cheese was excellent, it lack in every other aspect. I gave the categories of the crust and non-greasiness both a 1 out of 5 because the crust was merely hard, burnt bread with a touch of garlic. Not to mention, all the pizza’s oil seeped through its plastic plate and left grease smudges on my table. I gave the pizza 3 Wow Factor points because the pizza was presented very nicely and the box did not crush the pizza. Overall, the pizza’s taste was very bread-heavy and somewhat a little too salty. However, eat it with a glass of water and it will taste 110 percent better.

SCORE: 12

Domino’s: Medium Sausage & Pepperoni Hand-Tossed Pizza

PRICE: $15.32

Delivery Time: 20 minutes

Cheese- 2

Crust- 3

Non-Greasiness- 5

Wow-Factor- 3

Overall Taste- 5

Domino’s is known to be the leader in fast delivery pizza and I can see reason. First of all, I ranked Domino’s cheese a 2 out of 5. The cheese was not stringy and had a dried-out look to it. Opposite of Pizza Hut, although it lacked in its cheese category, all the other aspect ranked higher. The crust got an average 3, because it was not terrible and it was not splendid. Domino’s got a 5 in the non-greasiness category because it was not greasy at all. The bottom of the pizza was not soaked in pizza oils like the other contestant, Pizza Hut. It deserved a wow-factor of 3 because the pizza took less time to get to my home. The overall taste earned a 5 because it was very easy to eat with a nice balance of toppings, sauce, cheese and bread. It left

your stomach wanting another piece.

SCORE: 18

Papa John’s: Medium Sausage & Pepperoni Original Baked Pizza

PRICE: $16.56

Delivery Time: 31 minutes

Cheese- 3

Crust- 2

Non-Greasiness- 3

Wow-Factor- 2

Overall Taste- 5

Papa John’s, the least popular of the Big Three but still in the running. I gave the cheese a 3 out of 5 because the cheese was good, however it still lacked in the stringiness that Pizza Hut had. The crust only ranked a 2 because it tasted like plain bread. There was flavor of any type. Papa John’s pizza was greasy but did not leave a mess on the plate. The wow-factor earned a low score of 2 because its presentation lacked. The pizza did not have evenly spaced sausages and pepperoni pieces either. The overall taste beyond the looks earned a 5 out of 5. The pizza had a soft taste to it and the sauce was by far the most flavorful.

SCORE: 15

   The winner of this Munch Madness delivery pizza taste test is Domino’s. Domino’s pizza had the most memorable flavor and ultimately was the closest to an ideal pizza. From its quick delivery to its splendid warm taste, Domino’s took home the grand prize.

   To order pizzas to conduct your own personal taste test, visit the websites dominos.com, pizzahut.com and papa johns.com.

   To find out more about Munch Madness and to join the pizza frenzy, read about it in the April issue of Fishers N the Red newspaper on page 5.