To me Domino’s is the “pizza” you ordered in high school when under the influence of somethingorother. Your dummy friends enamored with the Hawaiian while you stared cockeyed at the absolutely disgusting pineapple and pig abomination. But, hey, it got there in thirty minutes — timed diligently on your Casio — or you got the slop for free. Of course, growing up in LA in the 80s, Domino’s is what passed for Italian food. In New Jersey there are just so many better options. Unless, of course, it’s past nine o’clock, which is where Domino’s makes its bones.
We’ve had several interactions with this location over the years. Hipster Jr. and his buddies have had many, many more. Because, again, if you’re looking to eat after nine or so, your options are very limited. Plus, like McDonald’s, you might just want Domino’s pizza and not like pizza-pizza. Every once in a while you just want a Quarter Pounder and not a burger-burger. Because a McDonald’s burger isn’t really a burger, and Domino’s isn’t really pizza. It’s McDonald’s and Domino’s. That all said, you kind of know what you’re going to get food-wise. Or at least you should considering these franchises are given the same materials and same instructions on how to cook their grub, which should create some consistency from shop to shop. So, it comes down to service. This particular location has been a mixed bag. A couple times the driver either got lost — despite the shop being less than a mile from our house — or got held up with some sort of personal crisis or smoke break on the way and rolled in closer to the hour mark than the old half-hour guaranteed window. Which kind of defeats the purpose. But a couple other times everything went smoothly, the driver showed when the app said he would and the food was hot, as it should be.
One of Hipster Jr.’s favorite things in the world is Domino’s stuffed cheesy bread. I tried it a couple times and didn’t get the appeal. But on my third try, I got it. The difference? The first couple times it came to us lukewarm and room temp. But the third time, the bread was hot and presented a totally different experience. Imagine, if you will, mozzarella sticks. They are a totally different food when hot versus cold. One is a melty, stretchy good time and the other is a lump of lunchbox string cheese. Their cheesy bread is the same thing. I suppose it can be reheated for those times when the delivery takes too long, but my feelings about Domino’s seems to vary based on the freshness and temp of the order. The hotter, the more positive. Their food just doesn’t do well after it’s cooled off. And while Domino’s has definitely improved their pizza formula over the years — no longer the weird, sweet, but overly oreganoed, sauce and rough crust of the 80s that almost always resulted in searing heartburn — there is a slight upgrade in ordering their “New York style” crust. It does away with some of the sponginess that can otherwise detract from the enjoyment factor. Otherwise you can still kind of taste the discount ingredients they throw around and the conveyor belt quality of the cook.
Look, we’re not going to pretend there aren’t better options in the area. And doing the calculus to figure out which of Domino’s coupons or meal deals gives you the best value can break even the best mathematician’s mind. But if it’s late at night, the kids are hungry and you aren’t betting of the veracity of the lovely Domino’s app, you can at least get the idea of pizza in your face with little hassle and for less than you might spend at your local pizza joint.
59 Glenridge Ave. – Montclair
973/783-3333
dominos.com
