Comments on: Domino’s in the City

By: Anon

Anon — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 01:18:58 +0000

The real mystery is how New Yorkers delude themselves into thinking less is more. There’s nothing like a great Chicago stuffed pizza from Giordano’s or Gino’s East. That’s a pizza pie!

By: ML

ML — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 15:23:28 +0000

The risk averse theory is great. And I think the speed issue is definitely a factor. But isn’t this also just a symptom of price? That is, Dominos or Taco Bell exist in those markets (despite their general lack of quality) because they fill a low budget niche.

By: Greg McNeal

Greg McNeal — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 04:10:27 +0000

Ok, it arrived amazingly fast, under 20 mins.

It’s a 2. It’s better than any other Domino’s pizza (not a claim to fame). Pretty much the same dough but thinner. It’s better than any other Ohio pizza I’ve had. It is a FAR FAR cry from anything you’d get in any corner pizza shop in NYC, NJ, Eastern PA.

By: Greg McNeal

Greg McNeal — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 03:51:48 +0000

Ok, reading this post made me hungry (thanks guys). SO I called Domino’s and ordered one of these Brooklyn Style pizzas (a 45 minute estimated delivery time btw…whatever happened to that 30 minutes or its free thing?!?! I seem to recall lawsuits related to delivery drivers rushing to deliver pizzas, but that could be an urban legend). Anywho, we’ll see how this thing tastes.

Upfront let me just make this disclaimer. I’m from New Jersey, so I’m used to pretty good pizza (spillage from NYC). Second, I live in Ohio and the pizza here makes me want to light myself on fire. So, the bar is pretty low. If this Domino’s really is a 3 I’ll be delighted as I haven’t had a slice of pizza here that would rank above a 1.

By: Wayne Butler

Wayne Butler — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 03:24:22 +0000

Some of the restaurants in Trastevere make great pizza- very thin crispy crust. But it’s a long way and they don’t deliver.

By: Bob

Bob — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 02:59:42 +0000

I think the problem with this argument is that it assumes that a person is generically hungry for a certain kind of food. While this can often be true, I find that often I am hungry not just for a certain kind of food, but more specifically for a certain kind of food from a certain place. Thus, when I am hungry for taco bell food, even though I know of better Mexican food places that are equally as convenient, I eat taco bell food.

By: Rex

Rex — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 01:54:24 +0000

Jeanette: So does every other place in NYC, though.

By: Dude

Dude — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 23:59:06 +0000

I’d add one fairly simple reason…the bland, unsurprising, predictable product produced at Taco Bell and Domino’s is perfect for children who don’t have much of a palate for truly good food. If the kids are younger than 14-15 at least, this seems to be a vast majority of them.

By: Jeanette Rodriguez-Morick

Jeanette Rodriguez-Morick — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 23:37:04 +0000

I think it’s even simpler: Domino’s delivers.

By: Frank

Frank — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 23:36:36 +0000

I have a lot of sympathy for Eric’s point of view…I just hope it’s all personalized! I remember the first time I was introduced to maple syrup “straight from the tree.” This was supposed to be the height of gourmet experience. But since I’d only had processed syrup before, the taste was altogether foreign to me. I declared a preference for Mrs. Butterworth’s, a gustatory gaffe forever marking me as a non-epicure. (For more on food snobbery, check out this podcast:

http://www.slate.com/id/2152567/

On the other hand, perhaps my taste for the sweeter, processed stuff is lamentable.

Fortunately, I was exposed to good pizza as a youth!

By: Eric Goldman

Eric Goldman — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 23:29:34 +0000

This information deficiency is eminently fixable. When we travel, we need easy on-the-spot access to consumer/product reviews (and comparative pricing info would be great too). Cellphone/computer technology is getting close to the point where we won’t have to make these decisions blindly any more.

Eric.

By: Heidi Kitrosser

Heidi Kitrosser — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 23:28:39 +0000

Oh, how this post makes me miss “My Little Pizzeria,” on Court Street in Brooklyn Heights! I love Minneapolis, but they just don’t make pizza here like they do in Brooklyn …

By: David B.

David B. — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 23:12:20 +0000

Well, Taco Bell at least has the advantage of being inexpensive and quick. I don’t think Domino’s has much if any such advantages over its NYC competitors.

By: Kaimi

Kaimi — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 22:43:44 +0000

Rachel,

I guess we’ll have to disagree on the evidence, then. I lived in the city for seven years, in two boroughs, and during that time I had pizza twice from corner joints (both in the Bronx — once up around 238th and Broadway, and once on Jerome around Fordham, a little west of Grand Concourse) that were substantially worse than any Domino’s I’ve ever eaten. I mean, really, really, really bad.

That didn’t stop me from trying pizza all over the city, of course. But like I said in the post, I’m not all that risk averse. If I were risk averse, the bad pizza that I had from unknown corner shops (particularly the awful, awful stuff from the place on Jerome) might well have made me prefer Domino’s.

(Of course, if you’re in Dumbo, or see a reliable chain like Ray’s or Famous Familia, or are on Arthur Ave, then you’re going to be just fine.)

By: Rachel Godsil

Rachel Godsil — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 22:33:37 +0000

Your observation may be apt in San Diego — but in New York, the average pizza joint is vastly superior to Dominos. In my many years in New York, I have almost never had bad pizza at a New York pizza place and almost always had good pizza. So – the mystery remains!