Fun With Carbs

Domino’s Pizza has long been the pizza’s industry’s punch line. Never mind its low prices and 30-minute delivery promise (and 4 a.m. closing time in some markets), it’s never really been able to move past public criticism of its crust, sauce and cheese. When I graduated from college seven years ago, I promised myself I’d never, ever eat it again. And that was well before I discovered the existence of New Haven pizza.

Last year, the chain suffered another blow when two Conover, N.C. employees filmed themselves defiling ingredients (sticking cheese up their noses, passing gas on the pizza) while they prepared orders. The video made it to YouTube, where it went viral, receiving more than a million views. The two were arrested and slapped with a felony charge of delivering prohibited foods. And Domino’s found itself facing a huge PR disaster.

Now the chain is trying a new tactic: starting over from scratch. Chefs devised a new crust, flavored with butter, garlic and herbs. The sauce received a blast of heat with red pepper, and the cheese is now 100% ‘real mozzarella’ with a ‘hint of provolone.’

Did the fancy new upgrades pay off? Mixed feelings posted by Twitter users. Here’s a sampling.

“Tried it last night, was very impressed!”
“#newpizza tastes like a ball of jarred garlic rolled in a pile of sugar. You need to fire that head chef.”
“new sauce sucked”
“it was so good, I called Dominos and praised their good work. Their number has been added to my speed dial.”
“I am still paying for that #newpizza in heartburn, 48 hours later. That was SO not worth it by any stretch of the imagination.”

And the campaign goes on…beyond just owning up to the recipe’s shortcomings, Domino’s is going guerilla by delivering pizza “directly to their biggest critics.” What a surprise! The critics ‘loved it!’ (Listen, I worked in a newsroom. Trust me, there’s something about free food that magically makes it delicious.)

No, I haven’t tried the new Domino’s. I admit I’m intrigued…but not enough to break my post-grad edict. Maybe they should have offered a limited-time freebie deal – with a money-back guarantee, that is.

Have you tried it? Let us know!