Big Roman's Pizza- Micco, FL- 2.5 Stars
As I was driving south along US1 for this review, I couldn't help but wonder what it was with mobile home parks and tornadoes. Why do tornadoes seem to target these neighborhoods? Location? Some heretofore undiscovered tornado enchanting emission from mobile homes themselves? I was thinking about this as my destination was Big Roman's Pizza in Micco, FL which sits at the entrance to the massive mobile home park, Barefoot Bay. Pulling into the parking lot I left my musings to the professionals to figure out and went inside.
The first thing that hit me was a sense of Deja Vu. Had I been here before? A quick double-check of my blog at bigboydining.com assured me that I had not. Then I realized it must be the décor. If I asked you to describe your average American pizza place I am almost certain your description would include red or red and white checkered table cloths encased in Plexiglas, faux brick half walls and a wooden chef cut out or small statue. I even caught the enticing odor of baking pizzas wafting about.
I did not catch the name of the young man that took my order as he kept his head on the counter the whole time. I thought this to be a rather unique way to perform one's job, but hey, whatever works. He did manage to correctly take my order of one pepperoni pizza and my unit of measurement for these eateries, the essential meatball sub sandwich.
It's a good thing the table was clean and the seating somewhat comfortable as 36 minutes in and I am still waiting for my food. This has to be some of the worst service I have ever encountered. I had just about had enough and was in the process of finding another place to review today when low and behold my order was delivered. Good thing too as no one wants to see the Big Boy hangry!
After one bite of the double crust pizza, I realized two things. First, the crust tasted as good as it smelled. It was obviously freshly made and had the right amount of give on the outside and warm, soft bread on the inside. It was complex and satiating on the palate. The second thing I noticed was that the pepperoni was crap. It was nothing better than a low end, pre-sliced frozen Italian meat stick. This is not the first time I have encountered an experience such as this and it baffles me beyond belief that an owner or head cook would have incredible beginnings and disappointing toppings? Big Roman's double crust pizza can only be described as manque as it fell far short of the expectations set forth by the wonderful dough. The same can be said for the meatball sub. Again, the bread it was served on was fantastic (warm, crusty, and chewy) however the meatballs were nothing out of the ordinary walk in freezer and left much to be desired. It wasn't bad, it wasn't great. It was average.
All and all I can see ordering this if I was living in Barefoot Bay and not in the mood to cook or go anywhere. If they picked up their game a tad on the meats this place could be plus 3 with that crust, however,
the Big Boy says, "Big Roman's Pizza is a serviceable last resort for the half-starved." read more