Twin Trees III, North Syracuse

What is the attraction to “all you can eat” pizza? When I was younger and could eat large quantities of pizza without physical penalty, it was all about getting maximum pizza for minimum money. Now, it is probably more about things like sampling a wide variety, making ordering easier, or getting hot pizza quickly. Whatever their individual reasons may have been, the guys from the office joined me for the Thursday all-you-can-eat lunch at Twin Trees III in North Syracuse.

I could spend a lot of time and space writing about the history of Twin Trees, but instead I’ll direct you to a story here, and to my review of another Twin Trees location here.  As I sit here thinking about it, I’m surprised that I have never been to TT III before, given my penchant for pizza and frequent travels through North Syracuse during 22 years living in this area. All of the gang from the office HAVE been to TT III before. My first impression was that the restaurant was bigger than I expected, with multiple dining rooms, clean and simple decor, and a separate entrance for evening pizza pickup. Lighting was rather dim, so I kept the flash turned off and did my best to adjust in Photoshop.

As I mentioned earlier, we chose Thursday for the lunchtime visit because of the weekly all-you-can-eat pizza special for $9.95, including a salad bar and chicken wings. Drinks are extra, of course. I thought I would save us from high traffic in the restaurant and directed the group to get there “early,” about 12:15pm. We didn’t have any trouble finding a table, but note the condition of the pizza buffet table at the time. Undeterred, I headed for the salad bar. After all, one of the rules of all-you-can-eat is that if you have a salad first, a certain amount of the pizza calories is cancelled out!

For a while, every time a pizza was brought out, people from various tables scurried to the buffet table to pick up a slice, and it was gone within a minute. Plates were also in short supply at times. However, as the clock moved toward 12:45 or so, many people left and the pizza supply caught up with the demand. Pizzas were all 16″, sliced in triangle style (rather than the cross-cut style typical of Twin Trees), probably because it makes buffet serving easier. The selection of toppings varied from cheese, to pepperoni, chicken bacon ranch, supreme, and other typical variations. It wasn’t always easy to tell which pizza had which toppings, because of the dim lighting and cheese on top of the toppings in most cases.

Many readers of this blog have experience with Twin Trees pizza, so much of what I’m going to say may be old hat. As far as I know, all of the Twin Trees locations prepare and bake pizza on a flat pan, resulting in the familiar slight “fried dough” effect. Average crust thickenss was about 1/4″, increasing to 1/2″ at the edge. It was evenly browned, didn’t droop much when held by the edge, and had a generally fine bubble structure inside. I’d say it was an above average crust. The sauce was also above average, applied in good proportion, with slight saltiness, and a very strong tangy and acidic character. The spice load was medium, with lots of spice flakes visible.

The cheese was a little oily, but not enough to puddle. It was also a little bit burned in spots, which I think does not add to the flavor or enjoyment of pizza.  Toppings were about average, and according to members of the gang they were a little more sparse than what you get when you order a pizza at other times. They speculated that quality may have been compromised slightly in order to produce the quantity needed for the buffet. If it is proper to compare TT III with other TT locations, I generally agree – I’ve had more plentiful toppings at other TT locations.

Overall, it was a very pleasant lunch. Table service was reasonably quick and efficient, with used plates removed frequently. Eating with real silverware and plates is a nice change from typical pizza shops.  Getting a taste of several different toppings combinations is a plus, as long as you don’t mind getting up repeatedly. Whenever the Pizza Geek is out with a group, he asks others at the table for their rating: one said 3.5, because it had a slight “mass-produced” character due to the volume required; another said 3.5 for the same reasons; another was more generous, rating it 4.25 to 4.5. Personally, I enjoyed it and can recommend it, and I waffled between 3.5 and 4 for a long time. I also looked back at the review of the rather similar TT Too, which was 3.5. Trying not to overanalyze it any further, I’m going with my gut and will give it a Pizza Geek rating of 3.5 out of 5 slices.

Summary – Pros: crispy crust, tangy sauce. Cons: unremarkable toppings, burned cheese.

What do YOU think? Have you tried the all-you-can-eat buffet at Twin Trees? Click the comment link below and tell us about it!

Crust: ****
Sauce: ****
Cheese: ***
Toppings: ***
Bang/Buck: ***
Overall:

CiCi’s Pizza, DeWitt – Review

Few restaurant openings have generated the “buzz” of CiCi’s Pizza, which opened at 3237 Erie Blvd. East in DeWitt on Monday, June 28.  Several days after the opening, the line still stretched out the door for much of the day.  Is it the food?  Is it the price?  Is it just curiosity?

About a week before opening day, I posted the full text of an official news release from CiCi’s, and several hundred people came here to read it.  They still are. 

Opening day queue (Courtesy cnycentral.com)

Just before opening at 11am Monday the 28th, the line stretched way back in to the parking lot, and as I mentioned above, there was still a line several days later.  With pizza so easily available in so many places, what’s so special about CiCi’s?  I have to admit, the concept sounds fantastic – a long buffet table with numerous kinds of pizza, and you can eat ALL YOU WANT!  No need to order, no waiting for the food (in theory).

Pizza purists mock the idea of getting good pizza from a national chain, but to satisfy my own curiosity, and that of this blog’s readers, I decided to “take one for the team” and stop in for a review.  My visit began by joining the line at 1:05pm, behind about 25 people.  Before long, there were more behind me.  As customers left, I heard many comments similar to this: “It was worth the wait…and a little money…you can’t eat cheaper,” and: “Whoo!  I feel like a stuffed pig!”

The person directly behind me in line said, “I was here two days ago, it was good!”  Another person behind me said, “I hope it isn’t like the CiCi’s in Florida – they are TERRIBLE!”  He didn’t elaborate on exactly WHAT was terrible.

View from the rear, facing the entrance.

Once I entered the small vestibule, still several people away from the register, I looked through the windows and noted that there were many open tables, especially near the rear.  So, the line outside isn’t necessarily an indication of a lack of seating.  Rather, the logjam is at the register and buffet line.  When you pay, you are handed your drink cup, and you just move along to your right to pick up your food.  So, there was no waiting for tables, just waiting for the line to move past the register and along the buffet line.

A youngster ponders his choices

It took about 20 minutes for me to reach the register.  The cost for an adult buffet is $5.49 (lower prices for children), and a the drink is another $1.49 (endless refills, but you have to leave the plastic tumbler behind).  The cashier explained that if you want to take the drink home with you, you can upgrade to a larger, disposable cup for another 30 cents or so.  Adjacent to the register is the salad bar, with your basic iceberg mix (like you find in the bags at the supermarket), four or five vegetables, bacon bits, and four kinds of dressing.

Keep stepping to your right, turn the corner, and “Laaaaa Ahhhhh!” (angels singing), there is the pizza! (and soup, breadsticks, sauce, pasta, dessert.)  A busy staff (I should have counted them – at least 10) keeps pulling pizzas from the conveyor oven, slicing them, and placing them on the buffet.  Grab a melamine plate, grab your choice of pizza, fill your cup, and head to a table.

Yes, I took a bite before remembering to take the picture

The first time around, I chose a sausage slice, and a pepperoni slice.  These slices came from a rather small pie, just under 12″.  That’s a plus for anyone with small children.  (I apologize for the poorer than usual pictures – I forgot the good camera.)  The crust rim was pretty wide, so only the 8 or 9 inches diameter of the middle had any amount of toppings, which translates into just over 4″ from tip to end-of-toppings.  Small.  Some slices were also very narrow.  Give up any fantasies of grabbing slices from big 18″ pies!  This is the reality of an all-you-can-eat operation – portion sizes have to be kept small to reduce waste.

The best word I can find to describe the taste is: institutional.  Their news release says that dough is made fresh daily on-site.  If so, you would expect it could be much better than this.  I’ve had much better crust on frozen pizza.  My best guess is that the flour is largely responsible, and to some degree, the handling and the oven.  On the exterior it was very soft, with no crackle or crispiness.  Underneath it was evenly browned, and about 1/4″ thick.  When you pull apart the crust rim, it is a very uniform, finely bubbled, spongy, chewy texture.  The crust is “spiked” before toppings are applied, which is why you see little dimples on the rim and bottom.  I’m not sure what benefit this has – Papa John’s also does this, maybe it helps prevent excess crust bubbles while baking in the conveyor oven.

The sauce had an extremely fine texture, a slight hint of tomato taste, and a very mild, mostly indistinguishable spice load.  Cheese was generally adequate, in the right proportion to everything else, and lightly browned in spots.  The only toppings I sampled were pepperoni (mild and generally not offensive) and sausage (small bits, dry, generally tasteless).  Other types of pizza, such as ham and pineapple, Buffalo chicken wing, and other things I didn’t recognize were constantly going through the rotation at the buffet table.  With the large crowd, it wasn’t practical to get a good look, or a sample from each one.

A final sample of pizza, and some dessert choices

Interestingly, even with no slice of pizza surviving on the buffet for more than a few minutes, it wasn’t very warm.  I suspect that the oven was a little ahead of the buffet, so once it was removed from the oven and sliced, it sat in a holding rack until buffet space opened up.

Dessert choices include chewy, uninspiring cinnamon rolls; spongy, chocolatish something dusted with confectioners’ sugar; and something I actually liked – apple cinnamon pizza.

OK, so CiCi’s is relatively inexpensive, and fast (once the lines die down), which might make you forget that the pizza isn’t very good.  But is it REALLY worth it when you have such good options that are locally owned and operated, such as Gianni’s, Kosta’s and Sal’s?  Many local pizza shops have $3.99 specials (two slices and a drink), so the “CiCi’s is inexpensive” argument is harder to make.  If you are determined to try CiCi’s, go ahead.  But I challenge you to make a thoughtful, careful comparison with proper pizza from one of the shops I just mentioned, then post a comment on this review that describes the differences you noted.  The Pizza Geek gives Cici’s Pizza a rating of 2.5 out of 5.

Summary – Pros: (sort of) inexpensive.  Cons: “institutional” flavor, not served hot.

What do you think?  Have you been to Cici’s?  Will you go?  Click the comment link below and tell us about it.

Crust: **
Sauce: **
Cheese: ***
Toppings: ***
Value: ****
Overall:

CiCi’s Pizza – 3237 Erie Blvd. East, DeWitt – Phone 396-0717