Fat Jamie’s Pizzeria, North Syracuse

I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later – a new “low” in pizza ratings. Fat Jamie’s Pizzeria is located on the very busy East Taft Road, near the intersection with Thompson Road.   There was one small table in the counter area, but I would hesitate to say you could “eat in.”  The gigantic sign beckons, promising a large, unlimited topping pizza for $8.99, delivery or takeout. Actually, large is the only size offered. I picked up a slice for $1.50, tax included.

The very biggest problem with this pizza was the crust. It was very stiff, dry, dense and chewy – almost like a giant dense cracker, or a dense, flat biscuit that didn’t rise. It was screen baked, light and dusty with flour on some areas of the bottom, but very brown and crispy, maybe even burned on the edge. At a uniform thickness of about 1/4″, I’d call this a “medium” thickness crust.  Either the yeast or starter was dead, or the dough was rolled or pressed out just before baking, because there was remarkably little bubble structure visible. The crust had the same thickness right to the edge.

Sauce was very orangey, with an overcooked taste and an indistinguishable spice load, with some spice flakes visible. Cheese was basically OK, and not too oily, but it had congealed into a thick mat that could be peeled back like a blanket.

Overall, if it weren’t for the fact that I’m conducting pizza “research,” I wouldn’t have eaten any more than the first bite. I kept hoping something “good” would happen if I kept going, such as discovering a section of something tasty, but it didn’t happen (I did finally give up about halfway through).  If anyone reading this has experience with Fat Jamie’s Pizzeria, please comment and let us know if this is typical. Even if this were a “bad day” or a “mistake,” I’m really quite astounded that someone would serve pizza this bad, which is why I opted to post this review without making a return visit to double-check. The Pizza Geek rates it 1 out of 5 slices (Why not zero?  Believe it or not, I think it is possible to do even worse, and I have to leave room to go lower).

Summary – Pros: convenient location. Cons: terrible crust, poor sauce.

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

Crust: no stars
Sauce: *
Cheese: ***
Toppings: NA
Value: ****
Overall:

Fat Jamie’s Pizzeria – 6059 East Taft Road, N. Syracuse – 424-1313