August 17: Dominos

Voice of experience :-(

I've long said that the best pizza is whatever one is nearest. Domino's isn't great pizza, it's not fancy, it's not even above average. It's the McDonald's of pizza: you know what to expect whether you're ordering from a Seattle storefront or sadly eating it in a dim hotel room in a small New Jersey town because it's late, you forgot to eat dinner, you're tired, and everything else is closed.

That said, RPM Pizza is still the best, because it's close, and the pepperoni does that little grease cup thing. But Domino's just opened, which created an exception to my rule.

Free!

The best pizza is free pizza.

I'd banked up a couple of free pizzas with Domino's rewards program over the last few years, so when the Domino's on 1st Avenue opened last week, I knew I'd be eating here soon. Medium, pepperoni and bacon, yum.

Now open

Online ordering was quick and painless as always; they've really put a lot of focus into the user interface, even for edge cases like mine when the grand total is $0.00. I placed the order, waited a few minutes, and headed over.

The store, to my surprise, has a few booth-tables for small groups and a counter for individual seating. On one wall, a monitor displays the wait time for orders in the system. Mine was in the oven with 7 minutes to go.

Eight minutes later, I was out the door with my pizza. No hassle, no receipt, no nothing. I grabbed a Diet Coke from the Apple-pay enabled vending machine and ate at my desk.

What did you expect? It's a pizza.

It's Domino's. What else can I say? It looked good, it greased up a few paper towels, it's sitting heavy, and will probably be even better when I have another slice for a snack late this afternoon.

Domino's
112 1st Ave. S.
Medium 2-topping pizza, Free* plus $1.50 vending machine soda

* Allegedly $16.97 at normal price but something's always available for under $10 with discounts