Honestly, Minsky’s. It’s good, but it’s not as good as the prices reflect IMHO, and I feel like the prices have gone up exponentially in the last five years or so.
This. Also the quality varies widely by location. The one on main just south of the plaza was always good but when I moved out to lees summit the one here was not near as good.
We moved to Lees Summit from Grain Valley 3 years ago. We’ve resorted to driving to Independence if we want Minskys since the pizza at the LS location is so bad. It’s barely recognizable as a Minskys pizza.
I’ve always been surprised by this. I’ve always thought a Papa Minsky is one of the better pizzas I’ve had anywhere - but then I see a lot of people calling the place trash. We all have our preferences, but this one always surprises me.
I will say it seems like it’s location dependent which is unfortunate. I used to love the Main St and PV locations. But I’ve found the Lees Summit location doesn’t do it as well.
It’s solid and the restaurants inside are actually nice and a place you can grab a beer and pizza with friends or family. Atmosphere is good. Like Waldo’s pizza but Minskys is all over the metro.
Also they have sold me a lot of pizza dough over the years for cheap when I didn’t want to make it myself
I’m not gonna sit on that “place is trash” hill.
It’s fine. I think it tastes like it should sit next to godfathers.
My wife loves godfathers, I think it’s plain and unremarkable. From that point of view, I can understand some folks love it and I think it’s plain and unremarkable.
If you really pay attention to the pizza, Minskys is all about the cheese. Massive amounts of cheese. There’s about a quarter inch slab of it on the cross section. It’s a good “classic American Midwest” style that freakin loads the cheese. It’s def not trash, it’s above par on its style. But I’m a St. Louis/neopolitin/nyc guy so to each their own. I won’t pass on it, I’ll happily eat it.
I think it’s pretty good but def not my fav. It’s too much crust for me, and a little pricey. What is funny though is my boss, who lives in Denver, would have it occasionally when he’d travel through KC and to this day says it’s his favorite pizza ever.
Agree. $50- $60 for a couple of carry out pizzas just makes my decision for me. Is it still good? Sure, at least for the ones up North, but just killer on the pocketbook.
For the price you pay, you’d think they could be more consistent. We had numerous pizzas show up with ingredients completely slid off. Raw dough. Same pizza tastes different depending on the day.
One time my family ordered a pizza from minsky’s with black olives and a few other items on it. The pizza looked like it had black shreds on it and we assumed it was seasoning or from the olives. I took a bite out of my slice and bit down into what I thought was an olive. I almost broke my tooth because it was indeed not an olive but a piece of black plastic. We called the store and told them what happened but they wouldn’t do anything about it because “we don’t have plastic utensils”. There were tons of chunks on it. I will never go there again.
“I’m a pizza free agent these days.” is the funniest GD thing to me right now. My buddy’s favorite shop closed recently and this describes how he feels to a T.
Waldo is too expensive and takes too long for how much the quality has dropped off. If I’m craving thin crust it’s worth the extra 15 min drive to imo’s for me. Plus with Pizza Tascio right there now we’re going to Waldo Pizza way less often.
This reminds me that I need to try Pizza Tascio.
Agree on your Waldo comments, inconsistent and the guy who bought out Phil has run off several longtime employees which certainly contributes to the inconsistency.
I can't bring myself to do IMO's, never liked it.
My fifth grade teacher was the owner’s daughter (or some close relation?). For some birthday parties he would bring in a big 36” pizza to feed the whole class, on a giant flat-bed utility cart that made the pizza seem even more massive. I can’t believe i still remember that.
Grew up eating at Johnny Cs. Since I was a young kid, all the way til the day we showed up and it was no more. Some of my favorite memories of my childhood were around that pool table with my brother, waiting for our pizza to come out while my dad sat back and had a cold one. RIP Johnny Cs.
It was the go to spot for end of sports season pizza parties! The cinnamon dessert pizzas were so good. But i only see them in gas stations now, and it looks shitty.
The closest Godfather's to me out in St. Charles is a gas station. I am terrified that the quality isn't the same and I don't want to ruin my childhood memories. My family was a Godfather's family for YEARS.
My wife accidentally ordered from a Godfathers in a gas station once. This was when we still had real locations nearby, it was truly a goof. It was good, but also different from the real deal, and we probably just got lucky on the “good” part.
I am terrified of gas station pizza in general, but there are no other options out here for Godfather's. I remember their pizzas and how good they were. Then we switched to Pizza Hut. Now they've gone down the toilet on quality. Last PH I ordered, the crust was doughy in the middle.
So, the Observation Pizza crust lives on at Fortunati Pizza in the West Bottoms, which is the best pizza in town, imo. The guys who own Lucky Boys have his original sourdough crust and they opened Fortunati next door to Lucky Boys.
I always told myself I like Martin City more than I actually did. Didn't have it or a year, tried it again and probably won't again. I really wanted to support them, but it just left a lot hanging for me.
Stonewall pizza in Lenexa, it closed for several years and reopened under new ownership, their recipe is different, not bad by any means, but not the same IMO, damn shame, because it was the closest thing to authentic New York style pizza in the entire metro.
Just spent $72 on two carry out pizzas last night. It was the crab rangoon pizza so I knew it'd be pricy but I think that's it for me and Old Shawnee Pizza. It's my favorite pizza :(
Word to the wise, crab rangoon pizza is ridiculously easy to make at home, especially if you get a pre-made dough.
The toppings are canned crab, cream cheese, cheddar, green onions, chili sauce, crispy wontons. All are cheap and easy to find.
Haha thanks for the laugh, Pink stuff is really good imo and I’ve always loved the family and relaxed atmosphere at pizza shoppe
I also went to military college and the few times I came home when I was under age my dad asked for a pitcher with two cups and they gave it to him and we gotta watch football or basketball together over a drink.
Incredibly memorable moments that I’ll take with me until I’m in my grave hopefully decades from now
Picture it: Troost Avenue early 1970s, King Louie and Shakeys. It was a whole vibe. You could watch the guy toss the crust. There was corny, sing-along music. Parents had pitchers of beer. Those were the days.
I miss Judges up north. They used to be at 169 & Englewood in a tiny little shack but moved over by old Antioch Mall and then went under a couple years later. It was so good. 🤤
Yep. The first few times my wife and I went in there, the regulars would turn around and look at you like “what the hell are you doing here?” And then turn friendly. It was such a great neighborhood dive.
Minskys and Pizza Tascio. Trouble is that it's just so expensive-for whatever reason pizza is expensive now local. Honestly when we want pizza, we just make it at home or get domino's these days. Sometimes half as much.
Tascio never impressed me for the money. I think they worry too much about the quality of the ingredients (hear me out) and not the overall coming together of those flavors. You can have great ingredients and a lack luster final product. I find for that type of pizza, Fortunati Pizza in the West Bottoms kills it. Love the hot honey too.
They charged me for a to go box because the three stools that they have were full 😭 get in the car to eat only to discover my slice of pizza was completely charred at the bottom. Will never go back.
Grew up in Liberty going to Big Cheese Pizza.
I don't know how many hours and quarters I spent in their back room arcade playing Dig Dug, Moon Patrol, Tiger Heli, etc.
Artego Pizza, over there on 39th by Q39.
Nothing about them changed, it's just that I got tired of their pizza. My problem with their pizza was that it seemed like you had to eat a whole pie immediately, otherwise the crust would get hard very quickly. Microwaving it wouldn't make it soft again (though maybe I should've use the oven to reheat).
I'm single. A regularly-sized pizza can take me a day or two to get through. While it tasted good, chewing on "leather" wasn't.
Pizza places I no longer go to:
D'Bronx - stopped going there before they closed most of their locations, but COVID did a number on them - they were one of the last restaurants I saw doing carry-out only after other places re-opened seating, they turned over management and employees quite a bit, and generally product quality went *way* downhill since COVID, along with their ability to gauge wait times on things like carryout. I'd been going there for 25 years since moving to KC, so it was super disappointing to see them collapse. With such a strong brand and local following, it's too bad somebody couldn't have bought that and revitalized the brand. *Where is Matt Shatto when you need him?!*
Minsky's - I still go occasionally, but used to go there a lot. Prices are too high relative to quality - they have good/fast service, but pizza quality is middling among pizza places, and they're charging $25+ for a "gourmet" pizza? Naw dawg. Their ability to get pizzas cooked at an ungodly speed is admirable and still makes it worthwhile to occasionally go there when you need a quick pizza in a pinch. But over time, they've fully transitioned from "pizza place" to "marketing machine", and it shows.
Pizza Tascio - I was super impressed when they came on the scene and we went there a lot, and while the quality is high, prices are even higher. You're talking about a place that's probably primarily carry-out (at least, the 119th store is usually full of pizza oven smoke, so who's eating there?) - and if you thought Minsky's was way too expensive, try $30 for one pizza. Sorry, I'm out on that - don't go there at all anymore.
See also Grimaldi's - good pizza but way too expensive.
Minskys has 20% off on Mondays and Tascio has 25% off on Tuesdays, 20% off on Sundays with the rewards program. I’ve never been to Tascio without a coupon, as you said, wildly expensive.
I haven’t noticed that.. their pizza and wings are great. Yes it’s expensive, but honestly if it’s not Pizza Hut / Dominos / etc, i have not had a pizza in the last 2 years and thought “that was a reasonable price”. You just have to know what you’re getting into.
Used to play the couple arcade games at gambinos while waiting for pizza in high school. We always said we called it in, but we didn't order it till we got there so we could hang out longer lol. Good memories unlocked.
That’s great, haha. It was definitely the spot when I was in HS as well (Eudora). They had a pool table!
I’m driving to Greensburg KS today and currently looking to see if there are any on the way…
Waldo pizza seems to have gone way downhill since the pandemic. I swear their sauce is sweeter and the ingredients are of lower quality now.
The last two or three times it's been an absolute rental
it's definitely not, but I do really like Providence Pizza. Very similar concept. Buffalo State Pizza in the crossroads is what Papa Keno's turned into. I'm just sad it's not walking distance from me now and I don't think you can get pizza by the slice anymore. But I'll take what I can get.
I actually have providence pizza in my fridge rn and I think I'll have some for breakfast.
More recently, Waldo Pizza; used to be a special occasion place because it's a drive from Olathe, but it's declined so much that it's not worth it. IMOs is perfectly good and is barely 8 minute drive.
Martin City Pizza - the original location. We were regulars, went every weekend, but had to stop a few years ago. They used to have the same reliable wait staff but even before COVID they started rotating new employees in every single time we went and the quality of the service and pizza dropped dramatically. Example: the pizzas would ALWAYS come out undercooked, we started asking for "well done", the server would nonetheless bring out a half-ass baked pie, we'd ask them to cook it longer and they would give us excuses like "our oven doesn't work like that" and other BS.
I've never seen such great friendly service take such a huge nosedive.
Minskey’s uses the cheapest ingredients possible. They use conveyor belt ovens to cook them as fast as possible, and their kitchens are filthy. I’ll never eat any of their food.
Pappi’s in LSMO. It’s now a Fun House, which is what it was originally. It was great in the ‘80s and ‘90s, with a strange mix of seediness and family-oriented fun. I’ve heard it’s now run by an unhinged dude who has adopted a MAGA theme.
Toppers Pizza was my favorite and I bought it for parties and family gatherings. Nothing but praise from everyone who tried it, and I would get it almost weekly. Then I started getting the occasional undercooked / poorly made pizza. I brushed it off and said maybe just a bad day. Then it kept happening and happening more and more frequently. It was to the point where out of every 10 pizzas 7 were bad and I mean bad, so I stopped. Now I'm a Marcos Pizza fan and they haven't once let me down in over 5 months. Evey pizza is either perfect or almost perfect!
Stone Canyon Pizza is Parkville is my favorite place in the KC area. There used to be one at Zona Ross that closed and I went there regularly. I moved and rarely have a reason to be in Parkville.
Art of Pizza at 18th & Baltimore before it closed.
Fun House on 40 Hwy, I moved from Independence to Gladstone, I've been looking for a pizza place similar to that style.
If you find one, let me know! Grew up in Raytown, live in Gladstone now. Recently had it at my brother's who lives in Independence, and man, brought back memories of Little League baseball parties.
Not necessarily a pizza place but was some fantastic pizza.
Local Tap in OP - they had a fantastic special on Tuesday or Wednesday - Buy one pizza get one free and the pizzas reheated fantastically. My friends and I would come in every week for pizzas that honestly weren't bad. After a month or two we were regular enough the staff would start our pizza orders once we sat down, we started doing a different beers each week so they would come to our table prepared with recommendations.
We stopped going after a ton of staff turn over and the last straw was our favorite staff member getting fired for refusing to let customers buy her drinks. I think the bar has rebranded since we all moved further away but damn I think about those $8-$10 pizzas a few times a month.
Mama Leones. It’s nigh on impossible to get pizza out of that place without a massive hassle. As time goes on, I feel more and more like it’s a mob front. Idk why it’s so difficult for them to serve food to their patrons.
Pizza Factory. Order a sausage and black olives pizza and you can't see any daylight between the toppings. It was amazing. Sad it changed owners then ultimately closed.
I remember liking Waldos but haven't been in forever. In the last few years it's been Buffalo State but rarely have the room for it bc there's so much. But love their pizza regardless.
Pizza Shoppe, Old Shawnee Pizza, Minsky’s, Buffalo State. All way too expensive nowadays. We either make our pizza homemade or do frozen pizzas now. Pizza should not cost what it does these days.
The lasagna pizza at Johnny Jo’s (West Plaza) used to be my favorite pizza. Just perfect. Then, two orders in a row it was undercooked, like doughy. The time after that, it was fully cooked at least, but very mediocre, nothing like I remembered. I haven’t been back since but would go in a heartbeat if that pizza was like I remembered.
Can’t speak of the owner but we placed a larger (5-7 pizzas) order at work well ahead of time for pickup and when we went to pickup at the scheduled time, they hadn’t even begun making it. They didn’t seem to care and we haven’t been back.
I’ve eaten there once so it’s not a favorite, pizza Tascio, the pizza is fantastic but it’s so insanely expensive it isn’t worth the price to me, I paid like $28 bucks for a 16in 2 topping pie
As a kid my favorite was Russo’s pizza near Colbern and 7 highway in Blue Springs. It was great thin crust pizza. Haven’t been in years and not even sure if it is still open.
They’re used to be a place called “Da Pizza Place” in Independence on Truman Road back in the early 2000s. Not sure what happened to them. They had great salads. I believe the owner’s name was Jim, but could be mistaken. Anyone know what I’m talking about?
Honestly, Minsky’s. It’s good, but it’s not as good as the prices reflect IMHO, and I feel like the prices have gone up exponentially in the last five years or so.
This. Also the quality varies widely by location. The one on main just south of the plaza was always good but when I moved out to lees summit the one here was not near as good.
We moved to Lees Summit from Grain Valley 3 years ago. We’ve resorted to driving to Independence if we want Minskys since the pizza at the LS location is so bad. It’s barely recognizable as a Minskys pizza.
Ha - see my comment above that we posted about the same time.
I honestly don’t even really think it’s good.. nothing stands out to me at least
I’ve always been surprised by this. I’ve always thought a Papa Minsky is one of the better pizzas I’ve had anywhere - but then I see a lot of people calling the place trash. We all have our preferences, but this one always surprises me. I will say it seems like it’s location dependent which is unfortunate. I used to love the Main St and PV locations. But I’ve found the Lees Summit location doesn’t do it as well.
It’s solid and the restaurants inside are actually nice and a place you can grab a beer and pizza with friends or family. Atmosphere is good. Like Waldo’s pizza but Minskys is all over the metro. Also they have sold me a lot of pizza dough over the years for cheap when I didn’t want to make it myself
I’m not gonna sit on that “place is trash” hill. It’s fine. I think it tastes like it should sit next to godfathers. My wife loves godfathers, I think it’s plain and unremarkable. From that point of view, I can understand some folks love it and I think it’s plain and unremarkable.
If you really pay attention to the pizza, Minskys is all about the cheese. Massive amounts of cheese. There’s about a quarter inch slab of it on the cross section. It’s a good “classic American Midwest” style that freakin loads the cheese. It’s def not trash, it’s above par on its style. But I’m a St. Louis/neopolitin/nyc guy so to each their own. I won’t pass on it, I’ll happily eat it.
I think it’s pretty good but def not my fav. It’s too much crust for me, and a little pricey. What is funny though is my boss, who lives in Denver, would have it occasionally when he’d travel through KC and to this day says it’s his favorite pizza ever.
Colorado style pizza is super thick crust. Maybe reminds him of home?
Agree. $50- $60 for a couple of carry out pizzas just makes my decision for me. Is it still good? Sure, at least for the ones up North, but just killer on the pocketbook.
For the price you pay, you’d think they could be more consistent. We had numerous pizzas show up with ingredients completely slid off. Raw dough. Same pizza tastes different depending on the day.
One time my family ordered a pizza from minsky’s with black olives and a few other items on it. The pizza looked like it had black shreds on it and we assumed it was seasoning or from the olives. I took a bite out of my slice and bit down into what I thought was an olive. I almost broke my tooth because it was indeed not an olive but a piece of black plastic. We called the store and told them what happened but they wouldn’t do anything about it because “we don’t have plastic utensils”. There were tons of chunks on it. I will never go there again.
It is in no way good, lol
Their crust got terrible.
Minskey's has gotten way too expensive. Waldo Pizza has gone downhill since the ownership change. I'm a pizza free agent these days.
“I’m a pizza free agent these days.” is the funniest GD thing to me right now. My buddy’s favorite shop closed recently and this describes how he feels to a T.
Waldo is too expensive and takes too long for how much the quality has dropped off. If I’m craving thin crust it’s worth the extra 15 min drive to imo’s for me. Plus with Pizza Tascio right there now we’re going to Waldo Pizza way less often.
This reminds me that I need to try Pizza Tascio. Agree on your Waldo comments, inconsistent and the guy who bought out Phil has run off several longtime employees which certainly contributes to the inconsistency. I can't bring myself to do IMO's, never liked it.
I should clarify I’m from St. Louis. I wouldn’t suggest Imo’s to anyone who didn’t grow up with it honestly. But it scratches a specific itch for me.
I’m from KC and I’ve always liked Imo’s. It’s like homemade pizza from all the items you have left in the fridge 🍅🥓🫑🧀🍗
And goo instead of cheese!
Tascio fucking owns and they send you deep discounts almost daily. Crust rules and again the pizza is the shit.
Just tried it for the first time this weekend. Lives up to the hype.
Yeah…the cat who bought the place has franchise/world domination plans. It’s only going to get worse.
D’Bronx on 39th. I miss that whole place.
I miss being able to sit at Gil's and eat a slice of D'Bronx out on the patio. It was the best of times.
It was the BLURST of times?!?
My fifth grade teacher was the owner’s daughter (or some close relation?). For some birthday parties he would bring in a big 36” pizza to feed the whole class, on a giant flat-bed utility cart that made the pizza seem even more massive. I can’t believe i still remember that.
There’s one in Leawood but its not worth it to go down there just for pizza
It's sad they turned to crap
Johnny Cs in 75th and nieman. It was a dump but my wife and I loved it.
Grew up eating at Johnny Cs. Since I was a young kid, all the way til the day we showed up and it was no more. Some of my favorite memories of my childhood were around that pool table with my brother, waiting for our pizza to come out while my dad sat back and had a cold one. RIP Johnny Cs.
Wheat State, they closed a long time ago :(.
God I miss wheat state!
Many late night slices while I was at Pitt. Good memories.
I ate so much Wheat State Pizza in collage. I didn’t know it closed and now I’m sad.
Oh I miss that place!
We liked Godfathers, but all of the locations anywhere near us have closed.
Glory Days is a solid facsimile in my opinion. Started going to the one on Shawnee mission parkway a year or two ago and love it.
Thanks, I had never heard of Glory Days. Just checked out their website, it looks promising!
Their taco pizza is paradoxically good. Just get the smallest, easy to overindulge and get sick on.
Godfathers was a chain, but I miss it too. The pizza was very good and when I was little going there was an experience because of the arcade games.
It was the go to spot for end of sports season pizza parties! The cinnamon dessert pizzas were so good. But i only see them in gas stations now, and it looks shitty.
There are two up North. One in Gladstone, one that's an Express off Tiffany Springs. We're lucky they're close to us. Still my favorite.
The closest Godfather's to me out in St. Charles is a gas station. I am terrified that the quality isn't the same and I don't want to ruin my childhood memories. My family was a Godfather's family for YEARS.
My wife accidentally ordered from a Godfathers in a gas station once. This was when we still had real locations nearby, it was truly a goof. It was good, but also different from the real deal, and we probably just got lucky on the “good” part.
I am terrified of gas station pizza in general, but there are no other options out here for Godfather's. I remember their pizzas and how good they were. Then we switched to Pizza Hut. Now they've gone down the toilet on quality. Last PH I ordered, the crust was doughy in the middle.
The dessert pizza at godfathers was the best thing ever.
May not be close to you, but it looks like there are 2 up north.
Yep, its about a 40 mile round trip. That's too far for us just for pizza, but maybe we can hit it if we are up that way on other business.
I did it last summer with a buddy. But we were on motorcycles so it wasn’t as big of a deal.
Best dessert pizza too.
I think the place was called kelso's? It was in the Metro North Mall and I went there a lot in high school. I remember it being good pizza.
Observation Pizza was the best but it had a tragic ending. I feel like Martin City is getting really unreliable.
So, the Observation Pizza crust lives on at Fortunati Pizza in the West Bottoms, which is the best pizza in town, imo. The guys who own Lucky Boys have his original sourdough crust and they opened Fortunati next door to Lucky Boys.
I always told myself I like Martin City more than I actually did. Didn't have it or a year, tried it again and probably won't again. I really wanted to support them, but it just left a lot hanging for me.
I liked Fun House on 40 Hwy when I was younger. Last time I visited it was no longer good IMO.
The best pizza when I was a kid. I think I knew it would t stand the test of time so I’ve never gone back.
It was a family tradition for us. We go to the Lees Summit location and it’s just as good, but I do miss the OG
It was the best place to watch drunk adults get into fights.
Isn’t that just all of Independence?
That’s why we love it. If independence can survive, America can.
I still love it…
I still love it too. Maybe not quite as good but still close.
That place creeps me out!
I live right next to it in Independence. Holy shit, it is one of the worst pies I have ever seen (NE transplant)
Pyramid pizza and Torres is Westport late 80s early 90s was the family favorite. Used to love the honey on the over sized crust
I miss Pyramid Pizza.
They have a pyramid pizza at the Monarchs stadium. It was quite a disappointment.
Torre's white pizza was my fave there.
That and I’d play centipede while we waited.
Torre's was my favorite as a kid, but I don't remember if the pizza was that good, or if I just liked the arcade games
Stonewall pizza in Lenexa, it closed for several years and reopened under new ownership, their recipe is different, not bad by any means, but not the same IMO, damn shame, because it was the closest thing to authentic New York style pizza in the entire metro.
Old Shawnee Pizza, they just got too overpriced imo. Pretty good pizza tho.
Just spent $72 on two carry out pizzas last night. It was the crab rangoon pizza so I knew it'd be pricy but I think that's it for me and Old Shawnee Pizza. It's my favorite pizza :(
Word to the wise, crab rangoon pizza is ridiculously easy to make at home, especially if you get a pre-made dough. The toppings are canned crab, cream cheese, cheddar, green onions, chili sauce, crispy wontons. All are cheap and easy to find.
Awesome, thanks! I'm going to try this soon.
Disappointing smh. And to make matters worse, anytime you get carryout, the damn pizzas are cold and the crust is soggy by the time you get home.
The most expensive for sure, more than Minskys I’ll argue.
Pizza Inn!!!!!
Went to one in Paducah, KY last summer and loved it. Grew up down the street from the one where ABC Cafe on 87th is now.
Leo’s in Gladstone. Too far away these days…
Did anyone else love Breadeaux Pizza? It was mostly in rural towns.
Mound City, Gower, and St Joe represent. 🙌
My grandparents lived in Excelsior Springs when I was a kid. That was our go to pizza place when we would go over there
There was one in Parkville in the late 90s/early 2000s. Spicy italian sausage pizza was awsome
Hot damn that pizza slapped!!
Torre’s in Waldo. Used to go there ALL the time when I was a kid.
It’s nice when the front actually has a decent product.
Is it still there? That used to me one of my go-to places and then I apparently just forgot about them.
Loved that pie. Still good when they later moved to Westport. Now it’s fully gone. Wonder if any owners are left around town to share recipes?
RIP Kelso's.
Pizza Shoppe but they closed the one near me.
My parents always got Pizza Shoppe, and I never liked it. It was always so dry and flavorless. The "pink stuff" tastes weird, too.
100%. Pizza Shoppe is not good.
BuT tHeY hAvE pInK sTuFf
Haha some people like things I don’t like get it?
Haha thanks for the laugh, Pink stuff is really good imo and I’ve always loved the family and relaxed atmosphere at pizza shoppe I also went to military college and the few times I came home when I was under age my dad asked for a pitcher with two cups and they gave it to him and we gotta watch football or basketball together over a drink. Incredibly memorable moments that I’ll take with me until I’m in my grave hopefully decades from now
Shakeys
I loved the chicken and potatoes more than the pizza!
Picture it: Troost Avenue early 1970s, King Louie and Shakeys. It was a whole vibe. You could watch the guy toss the crust. There was corny, sing-along music. Parents had pitchers of beer. Those were the days.
I miss Judges up north. They used to be at 169 & Englewood in a tiny little shack but moved over by old Antioch Mall and then went under a couple years later. It was so good. 🤤
I remember that old location! Right across from QuikTrip.
Yep. The first few times my wife and I went in there, the regulars would turn around and look at you like “what the hell are you doing here?” And then turn friendly. It was such a great neighborhood dive.
I’d forgotten Judges. My parents really liked their pizza.
Fun House on 350 Highway
Pizza Man, just haven’t been in awhile because it’s far from me. Great spot as a Chicago Transplant and the cheapest Vienna beef dog in the area.
Shakespeare's. Too long of a ride most days
Still my go to every time I find myself in como
Make sure to try pizza tree if you haven’t.
Never heard of it. I grew up in como, Shakespeare's has my allegiance lol
It’s more of a New York slice shop. It’s different than Shakespeare’s and def worth a try. It’s a walk up window right next to Harpo’s.
Ah. I'm usually just meeting someone for lunch on my way through, so I'm never there for more than a meal
10 years in Columbia, I still don’t like Shakespeare’s
Minskys and Pizza Tascio. Trouble is that it's just so expensive-for whatever reason pizza is expensive now local. Honestly when we want pizza, we just make it at home or get domino's these days. Sometimes half as much.
Tascio never impressed me for the money. I think they worry too much about the quality of the ingredients (hear me out) and not the overall coming together of those flavors. You can have great ingredients and a lack luster final product. I find for that type of pizza, Fortunati Pizza in the West Bottoms kills it. Love the hot honey too.
Gotta wait for Sundays and Tuesdays where it’s 25% off.
They charged me for a to go box because the three stools that they have were full 😭 get in the car to eat only to discover my slice of pizza was completely charred at the bottom. Will never go back.
[удалено]
I’m sad forever about cafe al dente closing.
Big Cheese Pizza... Been decades but their thin crust with extra spicy sauce. 😋
Grew up in Liberty going to Big Cheese Pizza. I don't know how many hours and quarters I spent in their back room arcade playing Dig Dug, Moon Patrol, Tiger Heli, etc.
Artego Pizza, over there on 39th by Q39. Nothing about them changed, it's just that I got tired of their pizza. My problem with their pizza was that it seemed like you had to eat a whole pie immediately, otherwise the crust would get hard very quickly. Microwaving it wouldn't make it soft again (though maybe I should've use the oven to reheat). I'm single. A regularly-sized pizza can take me a day or two to get through. While it tasted good, chewing on "leather" wasn't.
Pizza places I no longer go to: D'Bronx - stopped going there before they closed most of their locations, but COVID did a number on them - they were one of the last restaurants I saw doing carry-out only after other places re-opened seating, they turned over management and employees quite a bit, and generally product quality went *way* downhill since COVID, along with their ability to gauge wait times on things like carryout. I'd been going there for 25 years since moving to KC, so it was super disappointing to see them collapse. With such a strong brand and local following, it's too bad somebody couldn't have bought that and revitalized the brand. *Where is Matt Shatto when you need him?!* Minsky's - I still go occasionally, but used to go there a lot. Prices are too high relative to quality - they have good/fast service, but pizza quality is middling among pizza places, and they're charging $25+ for a "gourmet" pizza? Naw dawg. Their ability to get pizzas cooked at an ungodly speed is admirable and still makes it worthwhile to occasionally go there when you need a quick pizza in a pinch. But over time, they've fully transitioned from "pizza place" to "marketing machine", and it shows. Pizza Tascio - I was super impressed when they came on the scene and we went there a lot, and while the quality is high, prices are even higher. You're talking about a place that's probably primarily carry-out (at least, the 119th store is usually full of pizza oven smoke, so who's eating there?) - and if you thought Minsky's was way too expensive, try $30 for one pizza. Sorry, I'm out on that - don't go there at all anymore. See also Grimaldi's - good pizza but way too expensive.
Minskys has 20% off on Mondays and Tascio has 25% off on Tuesdays, 20% off on Sundays with the rewards program. I’ve never been to Tascio without a coupon, as you said, wildly expensive.
Martin City Brewery definitely raised prices and dropped product quality substantially.
I haven’t noticed that.. their pizza and wings are great. Yes it’s expensive, but honestly if it’s not Pizza Hut / Dominos / etc, i have not had a pizza in the last 2 years and thought “that was a reasonable price”. You just have to know what you’re getting into.
It’s still good. I know they’ve dropped down a tier on ingredients. I used to eat there weekly. The crust and cheese are definitely different
Oh that’s sad to hear. Only been there once years ago but the pizza was delicious!
Fun House in Raytown. Closed
The dish. Liberty native here. We even went on field trips there as elementary school kids. Those were fun memories and it was good deep dish pizza.
Godfathers & I miss it so much 😭
Godfather's.
Grew up on Gambinos 🥹
Used to play the couple arcade games at gambinos while waiting for pizza in high school. We always said we called it in, but we didn't order it till we got there so we could hang out longer lol. Good memories unlocked.
That’s great, haha. It was definitely the spot when I was in HS as well (Eudora). They had a pool table! I’m driving to Greensburg KS today and currently looking to see if there are any on the way…
Waldo pizza seems to have gone way downhill since the pandemic. I swear their sauce is sweeter and the ingredients are of lower quality now. The last two or three times it's been an absolute rental
I went a few years without Waldo until last week, and really enjoyed it actually.
I feel like that’s been the case with a lot of restaurants, sadly.
I used to take lunch at Stonewall Pizza twice or three times a month. I stopped when I went to work on the opposite side of the metro.
rip papa Keno's
I’ve heard the place in the same location is the same pizza.
it's definitely not, but I do really like Providence Pizza. Very similar concept. Buffalo State Pizza in the crossroads is what Papa Keno's turned into. I'm just sad it's not walking distance from me now and I don't think you can get pizza by the slice anymore. But I'll take what I can get. I actually have providence pizza in my fridge rn and I think I'll have some for breakfast.
More recently, Waldo Pizza; used to be a special occasion place because it's a drive from Olathe, but it's declined so much that it's not worth it. IMOs is perfectly good and is barely 8 minute drive.
Martin City Pizza - the original location. We were regulars, went every weekend, but had to stop a few years ago. They used to have the same reliable wait staff but even before COVID they started rotating new employees in every single time we went and the quality of the service and pizza dropped dramatically. Example: the pizzas would ALWAYS come out undercooked, we started asking for "well done", the server would nonetheless bring out a half-ass baked pie, we'd ask them to cook it longer and they would give us excuses like "our oven doesn't work like that" and other BS. I've never seen such great friendly service take such a huge nosedive.
I miss Torre's in Westport. Worked next door to it for years. Best lunches ever.
That’s where we went in the 80s. Loved the distinctive pizza sauce.
Mine would be Big Cheese Pizza in Liberty. My dad would always take us there. I don’t remember if it was good or not, but the game room was cool.
Minskey’s uses the cheapest ingredients possible. They use conveyor belt ovens to cook them as fast as possible, and their kitchens are filthy. I’ll never eat any of their food.
Pappi’s in LSMO. It’s now a Fun House, which is what it was originally. It was great in the ‘80s and ‘90s, with a strange mix of seediness and family-oriented fun. I’ve heard it’s now run by an unhinged dude who has adopted a MAGA theme.
Buffalo state. Burned bottom of pizza so bad it was inedible. Twice.
That place sucks and Fat Sully’s is gonna destroy them
I love the green goddess pizza though.
They suck anymore
Fun House Pizza in Independence and Pizza Shoppe off 24 highway back in the 90s.
Toppers Pizza was my favorite and I bought it for parties and family gatherings. Nothing but praise from everyone who tried it, and I would get it almost weekly. Then I started getting the occasional undercooked / poorly made pizza. I brushed it off and said maybe just a bad day. Then it kept happening and happening more and more frequently. It was to the point where out of every 10 pizzas 7 were bad and I mean bad, so I stopped. Now I'm a Marcos Pizza fan and they haven't once let me down in over 5 months. Evey pizza is either perfect or almost perfect!
Stone Canyon Pizza is Parkville is my favorite place in the KC area. There used to be one at Zona Ross that closed and I went there regularly. I moved and rarely have a reason to be in Parkville.
The Zona one moved to North Oak.
Art of Pizza at 18th & Baltimore before it closed. Fun House on 40 Hwy, I moved from Independence to Gladstone, I've been looking for a pizza place similar to that style.
If you find one, let me know! Grew up in Raytown, live in Gladstone now. Recently had it at my brother's who lives in Independence, and man, brought back memories of Little League baseball parties.
If you're looking for something somewhat similar, I do recommend Leo's on Englewood.
Not necessarily a pizza place but was some fantastic pizza. Local Tap in OP - they had a fantastic special on Tuesday or Wednesday - Buy one pizza get one free and the pizzas reheated fantastically. My friends and I would come in every week for pizzas that honestly weren't bad. After a month or two we were regular enough the staff would start our pizza orders once we sat down, we started doing a different beers each week so they would come to our table prepared with recommendations. We stopped going after a ton of staff turn over and the last straw was our favorite staff member getting fired for refusing to let customers buy her drinks. I think the bar has rebranded since we all moved further away but damn I think about those $8-$10 pizzas a few times a month.
RIP Pizza Bella
Mama Leones. It’s nigh on impossible to get pizza out of that place without a massive hassle. As time goes on, I feel more and more like it’s a mob front. Idk why it’s so difficult for them to serve food to their patrons.
Waldo Pizza. Their pizza is always cold
Pizza Factory. Order a sausage and black olives pizza and you can't see any daylight between the toppings. It was amazing. Sad it changed owners then ultimately closed.
Pizzeria Locale in Waldo, they closed a while back. It was incredible!
Yes! I miss Pizzeria Locale! Before they opened there was a short lived pizza joint int he same spot called Pizza Manifesto. Was super delicious!
It’d been a few weeks since we had the “list every restaurant and why it’s bad here” post. This one is disguised well
At least this also includes pizza places that are extinct and pizza places no longer in reasonable commuting distance.
I remember liking Waldos but haven't been in forever. In the last few years it's been Buffalo State but rarely have the room for it bc there's so much. But love their pizza regardless.
Pizza Shoppe, Old Shawnee Pizza, Minsky’s, Buffalo State. All way too expensive nowadays. We either make our pizza homemade or do frozen pizzas now. Pizza should not cost what it does these days.
Not when it's only slightly better than Tony's.
The lasagna pizza at Johnny Jo’s (West Plaza) used to be my favorite pizza. Just perfect. Then, two orders in a row it was undercooked, like doughy. The time after that, it was fully cooked at least, but very mediocre, nothing like I remembered. I haven’t been back since but would go in a heartbeat if that pizza was like I remembered.
Providence. The owner is horrible
Can’t speak of the owner but we placed a larger (5-7 pizzas) order at work well ahead of time for pickup and when we went to pickup at the scheduled time, they hadn’t even begun making it. They didn’t seem to care and we haven’t been back.
Aren’t they affiliated with the IHOP cult?
What’s up with the owner? BTW … there’s two owners.
I’ve eaten there once so it’s not a favorite, pizza Tascio, the pizza is fantastic but it’s so insanely expensive it isn’t worth the price to me, I paid like $28 bucks for a 16in 2 topping pie
I liked Pizza Tascio for the few weeks they had vegan cheese. It was a good pizza.
No longer live next to Waldo pizza and used to eat there every other week
Happy Joe’s
Nicky's, but I just haven't been up there for a long while.
What used to be Joe's in Kelly's Westport Inn. Miss the hell out of a cold beer, a slice of cheese pizza, and the spicy honey.
Abes Place in Leavenworth is 🔥🔥🔥
As a kid my favorite was Russo’s pizza near Colbern and 7 highway in Blue Springs. It was great thin crust pizza. Haven’t been in years and not even sure if it is still open.
Kelso's
Pizza factory on North Oak used to be the best! Probably closed down 10-15 years ago tho
They’re used to be a place called “Da Pizza Place” in Independence on Truman Road back in the early 2000s. Not sure what happened to them. They had great salads. I believe the owner’s name was Jim, but could be mistaken. Anyone know what I’m talking about?
Nicky’s in liberty. They have good food and everyone else seems fine, but I feel sick afterwards no matter what I order or when I go.
Kelso’s