I sort of feel bad for all the restaurants in the University District that don't receive the attention they deserve just because they're not on the Ave where people walking by see them all the time. MOD Pizza is one of those restaurants that I pass by all the time without really knowing it because the location is kind of hidden. It's behind Magus Bookstore, next to the ivy-covered wall. This restaurant is another nice addition to the countless places near UW that offer decent food at low prices. It's not a place I would visit if I were looking for a heavy, filling meal. But for a quick bite to eat, this place definitely gets the job done.
I came to this place with a friend who wanted to come here because he had a coupon. That hardly seems necessary considering how inexpensive the meal is here. For $6.88 plus tax, you can get a MOD Pizza here. It's basically your own personalized pizza with toppings of your choice, and it serves just one person. MOD actually stands for "Made on Demand," so that's a clever pun they have there. It reminds me of Subway almost, but you don't have quite as much freedom as you would at a buffet. You only get to tell the guy behind the counter what you want on the pizza, and he'll make it for you; you don't actually get to make the pizza yourself.
Because I have a tendency to get greedy at Subway and at buffets (I call it getting more bang for my buck), I asked the guy whether I could theoretically get every single topping on the pizza. He said that while it was technically possible, it also meant that I would also have to get less of every topping; it would have to all fit on there, so I might only get two olives, for instance. Instead, he recommended that I only get seven or eight toppings. Otherwise, apparently it wouldn't taste like anything because there's so much stuff on there at once. Uh... okay? I don't really see how that logic works, but I'm not the pizza expert, so I just took his advice.
Service was pretty quick. After making my order, they were able to put the toppings on the dough within a short amount of time. Really, the part that contributed most to the wait was the cooking of the pizza in the oven. Even then, it really didn't take that long. It just got placed in the oven with a few other pizzas and was done in a little over five minutes. From my perspective, the job didn't seem all that difficult, but again, I've only set foot in the restaurant once. After the pizza was done, it was taken out and the guy sliced it in four. He also spent a few moments inspecting it to make sure that all the toppings in the order were accounted for. I don't really see why this would be necessary after the pizza had already been made, but he explained that it was part of his job. Whatever.
The pizza is quite wide and actually appears to be a decent size. I don't know why only two olives would fit on there if everything else were also included in proportion, because it looks like there's plenty of room for everything. Oh well. I'm not one to argue with restaurant staff. The biggest problem with the pizza, though, is how thin it is. I didn't take a picture showing it, but the pizza is almost paper-thin. There's really no crust, either; the consistency is more or less the same throughout. And the dough after being cooked is crispy, which I found somewhat strange for a pizza. The vast majority of the pizza's substance (and flavor, for that matter) comes from whatever toppings you order, so it would be a good idea to choose wisely so as not to ruin the whole thing.
The good part is that the pizza actually does taste quite good. It's not very often that you come across a pizza that isn't good, so that may not seem like saying much. But when you consider that you're getting a fairly large platter of food for only around eight dollars, it doesn't seem so bad. However, you can get a much bigger and more filling pizza at Costco for just a few more dollars, so this one seems kind of disappointing in comparison. It's just so THIN that it's not really filling. I came here pretty hungry, and that didn't change much after I was done eating. I could have easily ordered a second one, but after thinking about how quickly the price would stack up, I decided against it. MOD Pizza is a great idea, but it feels just like light and quick snack food that doesn't really amount to a full meal. It's certainly not a bad place to visit, but I wouldn't come here expecting to be completely fed by just one pizza. read more