A large pizza with at least 70 pieces of pepperoni and almost a pound of cheese, for $4.99? "Oh, sure," I said to myself after hearing a Papa Murphy's ad. I envisioned tiny pepperoni chips, roughly the size of contact lenses, frostily clinging to shreds of frozen faux-cheese, on a transparent crust of compact disc proportions. Mama mia, was I in for a surprise when I walked into the Papa Murphy's on Foothill.
Where were the crusty freezers, and the indifferent, under-paid workers who would reach in with frost-bitten fingers and fling frozen frisbee-like contrivances across the counter at me? I found helpful, energetic young people neatly positioned behind bins of fresh ingredients that were just waiting to be piled atop thick wheels of pizza crust dough. It looked like a salad bar behind that glass counter, and all the ingredients were very recently chopped. Only the pineapple came out of a can. As soon as I ordered, the workers began digging into the bins with both hands to liberally smother the soon-to-be crust. This was a good sign. If only the pizzas tasted as good as they looked.They certainly smelled good, once I took them home and popped them in my oven. At least that's what my neighbors said when they knocked on my door and generously offered me the use of their pizza cutter. I invited them in to help me evaluate Papa Murphy's products, realizing that pizza is a very subjective food. Some people avow Chicago-style is best, others prefer New York, and still others swear by that which comes out of California pizza kitchens. The more opinions, the merrier.
Before I knew it, my condo was brimming with friends and neighbors offering to spend their valuable time and energy helping me with my pizza tasting project. And the most interesting feature of their tabulated opinions was the fact that there was a general consensus. Almost everyone agreed on Papa Murphy's fare.
Hands down, the most popular item was the mammoth calzone. "That looks like it could feed an entire Third World country," said one friend as he watched me pull it out of the oven. Indeed, the concoction had expanded. I ordered a regular-sized one, which I thought was a little pricy at $7.99, until I saw that baked, it was roughly the size of a regulation football. It was packed with extremely fresh spinach, mushrooms, black olives, green onions, ricotta and mozzarella cheese, plus their "special tomato sauce," and comes with more to pour over the top. After just one bite, one guest phoned his girlfriend to tell her to get her appetite over to my place pronto.
Everyone was uniformly surprised to find that crusts baked in a home oven could come out so light and crispy. We supposed it had something to do with the baking trays the pizzas arrive on. Everyone was also surprised that the pepperoni pizza, which would usually cost about $8.99 but is on special for $4.99 for the next few weeks, would be so large and laden with pepperoni, decent quality cheese and a sufficiently spicy sauce.
We were also impressed by the vegetarian, which includes several layers of fresh vegetables, and costs from $6.99 to $9.99 depending on the size. The ambitious Chicken Garlic Combination was not as impressive, however. Rather than a tomato sauce, this one comes with a white ranch dressing-style sauce and is topped with garlic, grilled chicken, roma tomatoes, green onions and herb & cheese blend. We found it rather bland, and wished for stronger herbs. It sells for $7.49-$10.99 - still quite reasonable.
No one complained about the chocolate chip cookies made with Papa Murphy's dough, however. Of course, only about five cookies made it into the oven after everyone had "just sampled" them raw.
Although Papa Murphy's products aren't on the level of some of the better pizzarias in town, for the price, the food is remarkable. What you sacrifice in perfect crust texture created in a pizza oven you gain in the wonderful aroma your own oven produces. Who knows? Papa Murphy might be responsible for a major breakthrough on the popularity chart.
Rating: * * *
Papa Murphy's: Locations in Sandy, Holladay, Foothill Plaza, West Valley, Riverview and Oakwood Village, with more on the way. Consult the telephone directory for the one nearest you. Generally open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and on Sundays 1-8 p.m. Credit cards are not accepted, but cash and food stamps are.