First off, either Papa John’s got the name of this pizza backward, or I tasted something that wasn’t there. The name is “Parmesan Chicken,” but I’m thinking “Chicken Parmigiana” sounds better, fits the flavor profile more accurately and definitely would sell more pizzas.

There’s nothing better on an Italian restaurant’s menu than chicken parm, with a side of spaghetti and “Waiter … more garlic bread!” I’m not sure I have room left for a chocolate cannoli.

The best thing about the Parmesan Chicken Pizza is: It delivers. And I’m not talking about the guy ringing your doorbell with a pizza box in his hand. This really tastes like chicken parm.

It’s not a big tease, like a Philly Cheesesteak Pizza, which tastes nothing like a real cheesesteak sandwich on the corner of Passyunk Avenue and Ninth Street in Philadelphia, where Pat’s and Geno’s battle it out for cheesesteak supremacy.

And it’s not a big falsie, like a Buffalo Chicken Pizza. Was there a public outcry for a pizza that tastes like Hooters’s chicken wings? Was the delivery guy supposed to lean over my table and make small talk while I ate the pizza, too? No, I do NOT want to buy a calendar!

The Parmesan Chicken Pizza, though … we’re on to something.

Here’s the blueprint: regular pizza sauce plus creamy garlic Parmesan sauce, sliced breaded chicken, mozzarella, Parmesan and Romano cheeses, sprinkled with Italian-herb seasoning on Papa John’s hand-tossed original crust.

Total calories: 350 (per slice of a large pie). Fat grams: 14. Sodium: 970 mg. Dietary fiber: 2 g. Carbs: 41 g. Manufacturer’s suggested retail price: $10.

The Parmesan Chicken Pizza also is available with a thin crust, which will save you 80 calories per slice, but curiously adds a couple fat grams per slice. Papa John’s giveth and taketh away.

Full disclosure: I’m usually a pizza purist. I like a plain cheese pie. If I’m swinging for the fences, maybe sausage. And I’m starting to understand the legitimacy of mushrooms. So my nose is pre-wrinkled when I answer the door for an exotic concoction, like a Cheeseburger Pizza or a North Carolina BBQ Pizza with a side of slaw. I think somebody’s been nipping at the cooking wine back in the kitchen. Or maybe Research and Development has to hit a quota of new pizzas per year. But a pizza that tastes like chicken parm? I’ll keep an open mind and an open mouth.

The pizza sauce and creamy garlic Parmesan sauce blended smoothly. Breaded chicken was the right choice over those plain, dry, tasteless white-meat breast strips. A little breading and a dip in the fryer adds so much in small doses. Mozzarella is the topper.

Papa John’s is a solid product. I’ve never had a bad experience with “better ingredients, better pizza.” Mix in a better idea, and you’ve got a pizza that tastes like Italian dinner.