I've reviewed the other Society Pie location in Hillsboro (Tanasbourne/Amberglen--you know, apartments and strip malls), and the review there was that it's about as good as you're going to do in a strip-mall pizza place in the western suburb.
But west of the tunnels, where Sizzle Pie has already tanked two downtown locations, Ranch is 1-for-2 and Rovente hangs on by a thread, a downtown pizza shop needs to be better. Instead, Society Pie opts to be just a little worse.
The space remains functionally the same as Sizzle or Ranch, but with a bit more Live, Laugh, Love "family" decor on the photo wall and enough local Hillsboro sports paraphernalia to make you think they've done some light shoplifting at the nearest Applebee's.
A TV now hangs in the far corner, which I can only assume is going to curse us with a broadcast of a football team from a downstate college that no one in the room attended. This isn't the northeast, and if we want to be bothered by the Ducks and Beavers, we'll head to a lottery bar or to Backwoods.
The Jones Soda machine has given over to Pepsi and its one zero-sugar option, while the menu looks roughly the same as it does at other locations with one odd change--the slice pies are wrong. When you do slices--as they do at the other locations and any other respectable pizza place--you slice them off of the largest pie available. Society Pie has a standard 18-inch and is aware of how to slice it.
But on 2nd? For some reason the $6 slice-and-soda special features "slices" quartered off of 10-inch personal pizzas. What are we doing here? Are we feeding kids Mama Celeste during an elementary school pizza party? Did some old codger come in, see normal slices, and complain they couldn't finish it all?
I ate my pepperoni slice in disappointed silence, but the guy across from me said, loud enough for the counter to here "It's not even as big as Sizzle." That's right: They just compared your value unfavorably to the place that got run out of town two pizza shops ago.
Listen, I love that you have garlic knots and I love that you generally have a decent slice-and-soda or slice-and-beer special. I even love your proclivity toward regular-sized, non-cupped pepperoni. But stop fucking around with the basic details, will you? When people can't rely on your pizza shop for the fundamentals--like a standard slice--it makes it very difficult to convert them into a more regular customer that'll bypass countless taco stands, food carts, and a really good hot dog stand to come here, nevermind swap out their current pizza staples for what you're offering.
Addendum: Hey Joshy? It happened. Perhaps the location has since addressed this and brought slices in line with what Society Pie typically offers. Good for you. But if that's the response you're going to have to a three-star review pointing out personal pizza "slices" that staff served as an introduction to this location, then message received: Best of luck with this location. Maybe the third time's the charm. read more