Wrigley's Pizza — Restaurant in Saint Petersburg

These are Paul’s Stuffed Cheese Pizza for $17.49 and the Garlic Parm Poppers for $4.79 at Paul’s Chicago Pizza in Saint Petersburg. Stop it, autocorrect, they are not called “poopers.”

I’m used to Giordano’s where the pizzas take 45 minutes to bake and there is no ordering ahead. I went there, ready to kill the whole day, so imagine my surprise when the garlic poppers came out about 5 minutes after we ordered them and the pizza came out 15 minutes after that. We commented on it and our server explained that unlike Giordano’s, their pizza is only served medium, so that likely attributes to the cooking time. Seeing as there were only two of us, medium was more than enough. She did seem to have a bit of friendly competition when I mentioned their larger competitor, which we enjoyed! It made for friendly banter and showed her loyalty to the brand. They must treat her well and I support any establishment that treats their people well.

Onto the grub. The garlic parm poppers were a delight. Three words that come to mind are “fluffy,” “cheesy,” and “bouncy.” The poppers were baked brown on one side and light on the other, creating a pleasant dichotomy of consistencies. Each popper was just enough to cradle your tongue around and savor the garlic oil and Parmesan drizzled on top. The garlic did not have a spicy bite to it the way fresh chopped garlic does, which was nice to me because no one appreciates that level of garlic breath, but that’s just a matter of preference. The marinara sauce was bright and refreshing, coating each popper in an incredibly satisfying way and completing the experience by making sure the bread goes down smooth.

The first thing to notice about the pizza is that cheese pull. Did you see that cheese pull? Go check out that cheese pull. Don’t worry, I’ll wait. Saw it? Good. That cheese pull gets a 20 out of 5. The freshness was off the charts on this one - it had to have literally come straight out of the oven. The vapor exploded out in a cloud of mozzarella essence that prepared us for the deliciousness to come. The cheese was the star, filling the bite with a rich creamy gentle saltiness that pairs well with the tomato sauce on top. The sauce itself, I felt could use a bit more seasoning (and the crust could use a LOT of seasoning), but it wasn’t anything to really ruin anything for me. After all, I had that marinara from the poppers to dip the crust in.

One thing that did mess with the taste of that pizza, however, was the BOTTOM crust of the pizza. I don’t know what it was, perhaps the flour that the pizza sat on before/during baking? Whatever it was, that very thin layer of dough had a very distinct and cutting yeast note that permeated the rest of the flavors, causing my blissful reaction to end with a question mark. I ended up scraping it off once I realized the source and enjoyed the rest of the pizza to the fullest extent.

My go-to has been Giordano’s up until now, since I visit Orlando semi-regularly, and I will say that Giordano’s still has Paul beat (in my humble non-Chicago-raised opinion). The pizza is almost twice as thick there, there is no yeasty aftertaste, and they do make various sizes. That being said, Paul’s is a very close contender, it is local, there is far less wait time, and my experience was fantastic! I’ll definitely be coming back!

I give Paul’s Chicago Pizza a cheesy 4.5 out of 5 quacks! Let me know what else I should order there next time and make sure you give it a shot!

Tampa...

I grew up eating pizza in Chicago so I know what a genuine "pie" should taste like. I only tried the deep dish. The thin crust looked like square-cut, Chicago thin crust so if that's your deal, give it a shot.

Side note: "Chicago style" pizza, when I was growing up always referred to deep dish pizza. It seemed like their claim to fame was thin crust so I thought that was odd. There is a cracker-like thin crust I never had anywhere else so that's probably what they're calling Chicago Style.

So... On to the pizza. It's going to be closer to Giordano's than a Lou Malnati's. It's technically stuffed pizza which has a crust on the bottom and on top.

The crust was unimpressive. It should be buttery and flakey. It was bland and doughy. The top layer of crust should have been thinner than the bottom but it seemed to be about the same thickness. The result was mouthful after mouthful of too much crust and not enough cheese. It didn't come together in the mouth like it should have.

The sauce was also closer to a Giordano's (smooth rather than chunky) but again, very bland and boring. If there wasn't a top crust it might have worked but the thick crust on the top prevented the sauce from mixing with the cheese.

Lastly was the sausage. Again nothing special. I want to see chunky, garlicky, almost on the edge of being a tad too salty sausage. This could have been mistaken for bulk sausage bought at the story. I also don't think fennel is appropriate in Chicago style pizza sausage but that might be more of a personal preference.

The cheese was pretty good actually but there could have been more. Again the thickness of the top crust killed the whole pizza coming together.

Atmosphere, service, wait time we're all fine. Great garlic bread.

Paul... work on your crust (you might need to use different dough than your thin crust), try removing the top crust, swap the fennel for garlic in the sausage and flatten it out a bit and then invite me back again and I'll give it another shot.

Or just leave it the way it is. Looks like a lot of people enjoy it. Brovo for your success!

After reading some of the other reviews about your other no pizza dishes it might be worth another shot. I love me a good Italian beef...

Honest Review.... I worked in a Pizza shop in Philly for 5 years so I have experience with pizza. Paul’s thin crust pizza(large is 14inch and expensive)was dry and cold with a sandpaper like cornmeal bottom. Than cut into sqaures like they are feeding a baby. You can hold a slice sideways and the cheese will not move or fall off. Very dry pizza. Not sure if it was even real mozzarella cheese on it. Not italian hand tossed and they don’t claim it to be. I don’t know if they are just taking frozen pizza shells and premaking the pizza, than letting them sit on racks all day long. And than just warming it up for a minute when you order it. It sure seems like it. Not sure what part of Chicago makes this kind of pizza but you are better off with a Totino’s frozen pizza. This place has two locations. It is a shame they do not sell the famous Chicago pan pizza. At least warm the pizza up a little. I see what the other reviewers mean. The Italian sausage topping was the only thing good about it. I gave them 3 stars because the Chicago Hot dogs were excellent. The Vienna beef hotdog had that crunchy taste on the outside and the buns were fresh and authentic. The best hotdogs I ever had. The meatballs were good too.The lasagna is excellent. They give you pounds of it(very heavy and enough for 3 people)and it is loaded with that great fresh sausage and meats inside. Comes with garlic bread but no salad. This place should be called Pauls Chicago Dog House. Not pizza shop. Better off going to Pisano’s Pizza on 4th St, or Original Pizza 2 on Park Blvd for fresh italian hand tossed pizza with real mozzarella cheese , that is moist and stringy. This was the worst pizza I ever had. 7/11 is even way better. This was not a one off because they were serving people the same dry, well done, pizza in the...