Papa Johns (Portage)
2003 W. Centre AvenueFriday was a long day. It started at 6 AM and ended just before 11 PM. There wasn’t a lot of time for breaks either.
Right after I started my day, I had some time after checking in at the job site to go get breakfast. I hit The Crew Family Restaurant and Bakery and I’m glad I did. I didn’t really have time again until after the shift ended.
I finished my day in Portage. Once I wrapped up, I figured I would just order a pizza. It seems like all the local pizza places close by 9 so I just went easy and hit up the national chain.
I decided on Papa John’s on Centre Street near Oakland Drive. I put my order in online then headed over there to pick it up. The restaurant is in the Oak Centre near the Paris Cleaners. I was almost certain this is where it was but when I drove by, I never saw a sign. I double checked the address and turned around. Sure enough, that’s where it is but the sign on the building wasn’t lit up making it hard to find.
Like most of the national delivery chains, Papa Johns is carryout/delivery only. The public space of the building is nothing more than a long order counter and a metal bench to sit on if your pizza isn’t quite ready. I had given it enough time that mine was. The guy running the counter grabbed the box and the two Pepsi’s I ordered and handed them over. I was in and out in less than five minutes
It has been a really long time since I’ve had a Papa Johns pizza. It was always my favorite in college but since moving to Kalamazoo, we tend to stick to Cottage Inn.
I noticed a deal on the website for a one topping Garlic Epic Stuffed Crust pizza so that’s what I ended up ordering.
The pizza is….interesting It’s mostly crust. The actually toppings part of the pizza is pretty small. The crust is stuffed with mozzarella cheese and there’s a lot of it. As for the actual pizza, I chose Italian sausage as my topping. There was more than enough sausage mixed in with the sauce and golden brown cheese, but each triangle was fairly small.
I’m not complaining because the reason I used to order so much Papa Johns was the crust. As far as pizza crusts go, Papa Johns has a unique flavor to it that is absolutely perfect for the Garlic dipping sauce that comes with each pizza. A lot of other places offer garlic butter but Papa Johns’ is different. It’s a thicker paste that sticks to the crust each time it’s dipped in. This particular crust can pretty much be considered cheese breadsticks. There’s so much cheese and the crust is so thick, it’s barely a pizza crust at all. Dipping it in to the Garlic sauce, which was always my favorite part of Papa Johns anyway, makes this already tasty on it’s own crust a million times better.
The cost for my pizza and two drinks was right around $17.
My family is not a huge fan of delivery pizza. They all like the thin crust better and that’s fine. I like Cottage Inn’s thin crust too so it’s never a disappointment that we can’t order something else. I was happy to relive my college days though and enjoy a something different pizza on my own.
SW Michigan Dining 