Local pizza history/review

Lets start with Ted’s,

Teds pizza has been in Menominie since 1970. The gounakis family moved to the United States in 1967 from Katerini Greece. George Gounaikis bought Teds pizza in 1977 and Jim, his brother, bought it from his father in 1986. It was during these years that Jim and his brother Phil learned all there is to know about running a restaurant. Jim carries on the family tradition from his father Ted, who was allergic to the flour and could no longer work, with special recipes for the pizza dough, sauce, and spaghetti. The restaurant even offers a bit of Greek options with their Gyro sandwiches.

So now that we know a little bit about Ted’s history, lets get to the review.

When you first walk into Ted’s, you can see the open kitchen, employees making toppings and tossing dough. The atmosphere of the restaurant was very chill, and the decorations really made it feel like a family restaurant. It our first time to Ted’s, we didn’t really know what was going on or how to order. Our server was very kind and helped us get to know the deals and other things. We ordered some bread sticks to start and a pizza with sausage and bacon on one half, and pepperoni and green peppers on the other. The bread sticks came out almost instantly. They were good, but for 6 dollars they weren’t really worth it, considering they were about half the size of a normal bread stick. We went on a Friday night at 7 pm, and the store was moderately busy. However, they were taking a lot delivery orders, so that did delay us getting our food. When we got our pizza, the first thing that I thought was it looked very different compared to your basic pizzas you would get from the store or another restaurant.

It was an XL thin crust pizza (16 inches) cut into squares. When we first bit into it we noticed that crust was really thin, but not too thin. And it was a bit crunchy. The sauce was pretty good, and the toppings were great. One thing we noticed is that it was hard to see and taste the pepperoni. And when you would bit into it, sometimes all the cheese and toppings would pull off. Personally that’s a bit annoying, so that was one thing I didn’t like about the pizza. Ted’s is a great place to go with a group of friends or your family. Its got a great family friendly atmosphere, and the pizza splits well between people. We had 4 people total when we went there, and with one XL pizza we all left stuffed. Its also great for multiple people because its a bit more on the expensive side, $18 after the $3 off discount they have on Friday, so everyone can pitch in to cover the cost. Here is what we rated Ted’s on our rubric

We rated crust an 8 because its decent crunch and not floppy. Sauce was an 8 because it was home-made and not drenched. Cheese was an 8 because it was stringy and stretchy. Toppings were an 8 because there was a lot of them and they were flavorful. Service a 9 because our server was really kind to us for the first time. Affordability an 8 because its not the cheapest if you don’t go on a Friday night, and it would be a bit more expensive to go as one or two people. Atmosphere an 8 because its really chill and is really family friendly.

Next lets move on to Lucettes,

Lucette’s is a brewing company that started in 2008 in Menomine Wisconsin. It took them 2 years to pour their first pint, and they started making kegs before they made pints. As they kept going in their business, they decided to open the Wood-fire Eatery, a place where you can enjoy a pint and a slice.

When we walked into Lucette’s, we weren’t sure if it was a fancier place or your typical family restaurant. When you walk in through the door, you can see the bar, kitchen, brewing tanks, and the wood fired oven. Behind the tables is an open area where they do their brewing. We sat down and our very nice waiter got us our drinks and ordered our food.

So Luke and I ordered the “Sweet honey love” which is your basic pepperoni pizza, except it had a bit of honey drizzled on it. When you look at this pizza, you think it looks a bit different from your typical pizzas. When you pick it up, you notice its very floppy, so folding your pizza here is a good idea. When you take your first bite, you can instantly notice the wood fired taste, the smokey taste. The cheese on it wasn’t like your typical pizza either, it was little circles of mozzarella hand cut and place strategically around the pizza, but it wasn’t covering the entire pizza. Their sauce was also homemade, which was very noticeable. One thing to note about Lucette’s, is that it’s a bit far from campus, so unless you have a car it wouldn’t be easy to get there. This is not a place to go if you like leftover pizza and leaving stuffed. One pizza can feed one or two people. Its more of a casual dinner or lunch type of place. When we got the bill, we expected the cost to be high because of the quality, but it was only $10. Lucette’s is a great place to go if you want great pizza, but not a lot of pizza. You would also enjoy your time more and get more value out of going if you were of drinking age, since they have a lot of things on tap.

We rated crust a 10 because it was crunchy and had a smokey flavor. It was floppy, but that wasn’t enough to make it lose a point. We rated sauce a 9 because it was very little sauce and strong flavor, allowing other things to be on the pizza. Cheese was a 9 because they had fresh mozzarella chunks on it. Toppings was a 10 because they were unique, tasty, and there was a lot of them. Service was a 9 because they were kind and helpful when we had questions. 8 on affordability because to get a lot of food it would be a bit expensive, so it was a decent price for the amount. Atmosphere an 8 because its a really chill place to go hang out with friends and see the brewery.

Final conclusion:

https://ripevol1.design.blog/2020/03/13/the-best-pizza-place-in-menomonie/

Written by Spencer

Reviewed by Luke