Pizza

I know I sound like Jerry Seinfeld, but what's the deal with the chain pizza places in New York City? I just don't get it. By chain, I'm not talking about Ray's or Abitino's or anything like that. I'm talking about those chains you find in the midwest like Domino's and Papa Johns.

The only arguement that wins with these chains is that its cheaper. No one can possibly say that pizza from these places is better. The crust is always soggy, the sauce tastes canned, the toppings aren't fresh. Simply put, these pizzas are awful. And yet people still order from these places. Some of Mike's co-workers actually request this pizza.

The question is, if you are tight on cash, is it actually worth ordering from these places? As a case study, I selected 10 random pizza delivery places and priced their large cheese pizza. I then compared them against Papa Johns and Dominos. All results were based on prices per menupages.com:

Abitino's- $15.95 (15 inch)
NY Delicious Pizza- $13
Pizza & Pita- $13
Bravo Pizza- $17.07
Ray's-$16.50

Low-End Average- $15.10

Artichoke- $20
Mozzarelli's-$16
Two Boots- $16.95
Pizza 33- $17.50
Adrienne's- $16.50

High-End Average- $17.39

And per the chain pizza place websites:

Domino's- $12.99
Papa John's $12.99

Chain vs. low end- $2.11 more for low end
Chain vs. high end- $4.40 more for high end

Based on these price differences, I can understand if someone doesn't want to pay an extra $4.40 for a high end pizza. However, not ordering from a low end place for $2.11 more is absurd. Now, I understand that might be a decent amount of money to some people, but if you are working/living in Manhattan, $2.11 is nothing. Additionally, I think that generally the pizzas are larger from real pizzerias than from the chains, so you may even have leftovers, which makes it completely worth it. A chain pizza place is not that much cheaper than a lower end new york pizzeria. Please spread the word and stop eating this crap.