The Domino’s Experiment

Domino’s Pizza has recently been advertising a complete overhaul of its 50-year old pizza recipe. In a 2009 Brand Keys survey of taste preference among national pizza chains, Domino’s came in last — tied with Chuck E. Cheese. No wonder they are making a change!

I have to admit, Domino’s appears last on my list too. The only time I ever order Domino’s Pizza is when all other pizza places are closed, and I honestly can’t even remember the last time I did that. But now their ads have intrigued me. Domino’s is responding to critics and consumers alike by completely changing the core elements of their pizza — new crust, sauce, and cheeses.

Curious, I decided to test it tonight. I started out by placing my order online. They have a great online ordering system, which is something I really like. I hate calling pizza places and being put on hold forever. It’s much more convenient to peruse your options online and order immediately. Once your order is placed, you can watch the online “order tracker” to keep tabs on the status of your pizza. You can see when it’s being prepped, put in the oven, going through a quality check, and ready for pick-up/delivery. It’s pretty cool.

The big test, however, would be the taste. Instantly, you notice that the pizza looks different. It also tastes different, very different. Gone is the cardboard crust. The new crust is hand-tossed, and it includes garlic and parsley seasonings which are quite tasty. The new sauce, according to Domino’s, has a bolder, sweeter taste with a kick of red pepper. I didn’t taste the red pepper, but I enjoyed the sauce. It wasn’t too heavy or overbearing — a nice mix. The new cheese is a mix of shredded mozzarella and provolone. I would have preferred a little more cheese on my pizza, but other than that, I had no complaints.

While I don’t think the new recipe will be winning any awards soon (do they even give out awards for great pizza?), it is a dramatic improvement over the old Domino’s pizza recipe. Both Gary and I liked it, and I think it stands up well to the other pizza delivery chains now. Mr Gatti’s and Papa Johns still rank as my No. 1 and No. 2 choices respectively, but I won’t completely rule out Domino’s as an alternative option in the future.

If you haven’t tried it out yet, give it a shot. You just might like what you see — and taste!