Hungry Howie's Pizza — Restaurant in Birmingham

TLDR: The pizza was burnt, possibly tainted, and I suspect I was lied to. They apologized.

I normally don't leave reviews, but I'm feeling hard done by, and I have to for this one. I come in to pick up a deep dish works pizza that I'd ordered online. Short wait as there's a guy in front of me- no biggie. My turn comes, but there's confusion because they can't find my order.

A few minutes later, the guy from before comes back in and says he received the wrong pizza. Turns out we have similar names, and he got the pizza I was supposed to have. The attendant hands him the correct one from the warmer, and then tries to give me the one he just brought in. No way! I was taught not to take food in these situations when it's been taken to whoever wherever. So, I tell them I'd like for the pizza to be remade.

The attendant apologizes, talks to someone in the back, then returns and says they'll remake it. But, I'd be lying if I told you that I get the impression that they're happy or eager to do so. There's a lot of talking in the back- about what, I don't know. Between that, and the fact that they tried to pass off the pizza to me in the first place, I'm leery at this point.

I wait for about ten minutes, then the pizza's ready. But, there's an issue ringing up my order. The worker helping me gets the attendant from before. Apologies. She asks if I have cash- nope, I don't have enough. I eventually pay by card, but I'm charged more than what my order is supposed to be. The attendant goes to get me some cash to make up the difference. She's off by some change, but I can't tell if she's going to hand it to me as she continues to apologize for the issues. At this point, I've been in here longer than I was ever supposed to be. So, I take my pizza and leave, having now technically paid more than I was supposed to.

Had the issues ended there, I wouldn't be writing this review. tihS happens, right? Well, I notice my fresh pizza doesn't feel very hot. I get to the car and take a look- and, in the car light it looks great. There's lots of toppings. I pick up a slice. Odd- I probably shouldn't be able to do that if it just came out of the oven. The cheese should be meltier, too. I bite it. Not hot. The sauce tastes funny. But even more telling, the crust and some of the toppings taste burnt.

No way. No way they took the pizza- or a pizza- from before and just tossed it in the oven on me. But, I can't shake the thought, so I call the store. I explain things to the woman who answers (it's not the attendant from before) and explain my observations, asking her point blank if they simply heated the pizza that the guy brought back. She assures me that the attendant made a fresh one and apologizes again. I'm thinking I could ask for a refund, but I'm tired, and it's late, and getting a refund could just be more hassle. Plus, there is the slight chance that all she said is true, and I simply received some mid pizza along with my inconvenience. I tell her I'll take her word for it. I'm heading home.

That's about it, but I have to add that when I get the pizza home, the first thing I hear is "Why did they burn it?" Apparently, you can see the burnt parts a lot better under kitchen lighting. Guess I wasn't just manifesting that part out of frustration or something. I've attached some pics, just so there's some corroboration to this whole story.

So, did they lie to me? Are they just really bad? Both? I don't even mean it as an insult, but that quote about ineptitude and malice being indistinguishable comes to mind. Corporate complaints seem pointless, and going up there raising hell seems like a waste of time and energy, as well. So, for now I'm spreading the word on review sites. And fwiw, I tacked on an extra star because regardless of whatever it was they were doing in there tonight, at least they had the decency to apologize to me while they were doing it.

Also, I ended up giving...

First time trying Hungry Howies on April 29 and I've already been back 3-4 times to try different things. Here's the review:

The toppings are good, exactly what you'd expect on a fast food pizza, and they have the right kind of italian sausage, unlike the local Dominos.

The cheese tastes good, also what you'd expect on a fast food pizza. Extra cheese makes it better.

The sauce is fine, standard pizza sauce, as expected.

Now the important stuff -

The Round standard crust is nothing special, on-par or slightly better than Little Caesars.

The deep dish is good, super fluffy on the inside, super crispy on the outside, a little greasy, a little yeasty, good flavor and thickness. If you like deep dish, you'll be happy.

The thin crust is very average, on-par with any other thin crust fast food pizza.

NOW... the menu item where Hungry Howie shines, their sandwiches.

The deluxe italian is fantastic. Buttery fresh baked thin bread (probably a pizza crust folded over, it's works extremely well for sandwiches), good amount of meat and cheese, yummy sub sauce, and the price point for the large is just right for a big, filling hot sandwich. This will be my staple when I order.

I'm still looking to try the stuffed crust pizza, see if it can compete with papa johns, and I'd like to try the stuffed howie bread.

The coupons are top notch for single eaters, the best coupons for individual pizza on this side of town, hands down. The coupons alone will make this a very popular location before long. As far as I'm concerned, this is now my first choice for pizza...

My sister visiting me had bragged about how good the WORKS pizza was in Mobile at Hungry Howie’s. I went to the Montclair location and told the cashier it was my first visit ever to Hungry Howie and that I wanted extra ground beef on the Works pizza. There was nothing spectacular about the pizza. There were a few pieces of onion, Italian sausage, ham, mushrooms, red onions, green peppers and black olives. I paid for the extra ground beef and there was nothing extra about it. I was outdone. I also ordered some wings . Nothing to write home about. After this visit here in Birmingham, I will have to wait for Mobile. I would have done better going to a different pizza...