Papa John’s six cheese is more of good thing
This week I reached out for a Six Cheese Pizza, one of two new Tuscan Pizzas from America’s No. 3 pie twirler, Papa John’s.
Now it’s not only “better ingredients,” it’s “more ingredients.” Six cheeses! When it comes to pizza, everybody loves more, more and more cheese. It’s already one of the most successful specialty pizzas in Papa John’s history.
I haven’t heard this many people say “cheese” since picture day in the second grade.
Here’s the blueprint: a blend of six cheeses, tomato sauce and Italian herb seasonings on a 14-inch thin-crust pizza.
Total calories: 320 (per slice). Fat grams: 13. Dietary fiber: 2 grams. Carbs: 36 grams. Manufacturer’s suggested retail price: $11.99 for a large pie.
OK, OK, I’ll get right to it. Here are the six cheeses: mozzarella, smoked provolone, fontina, Asiago, Romano and Parmesan. Whatfi No Swiss or American or Gruyrefi
Still, six is a lot of cheese. I’m guessing Papa John’s could’ve gotten away with leaving out fontina. I certainly wouldn’t have missed it, especially since I have no idea what fontina cheese tastes like. The combination of cheeses is distinctive, though. This definitely is not your ordinary plain cheese pizza. There’s something traditional (mozzarella), something rich (smoked provolone), something sharp (Parmesan) and something edgy (got to be the fontina).
When you open the box, this looks like a very dull, not very colorful pizza on a 14-inch thin-crust pizza. There are no big round slices of pepperoni or chunks of pineapple or bits o’ bacon. It’s just cheese. Cheese times six. And it tastes very wow. The cheese is stretchy and pully. It’s like playing tug-of-war with your mouth.
Papa John’s other new creation in its Tuscan line is the Roma Meats Pizza, which is geographically confusing because Rome is not in Tuscany.
But when a pizza is bulging with spicy Italian sausage, Italian salami, Roma tomatoes and layers of cheese, do you want to look at maps or eatfi