607 main avenue
Norwalk, CT
(203) 846-8600
More Locations
No hours added yet.
September 17, 2009
The Norwalk, CT Planet Pizza is right across the road from the Hilton Garden Inn, so it’s a quick, easy, and obvious place to go for a quick bite if you’re spending a day or three at the hotel—except that you shouldn’t.
The pizza isn’t all that bad, but it’s nothing particularly special. If you want good local pizza, go to Letizia’s about a half mile down the road—even if you have to walk on foot. In the rain. Uphill both ways.
The pizza rolls…. These items are pre-made and reheated as ordered.
The hot wings—even the hottest available—were simply tame compared to what you can get in the southern US of A. I think the Connecticut Yankees were a little out of King Arthur’s hot wing court. :)
It’s interesting that tiramisu was on the menu as a dessert. I’d never seen tiramisu on a pizza place’s menu before, but I quickly learned that nearly every restaurant in Norwalk has tiramisu on the menu.
But the absolute worst sin of all is this: the sauce is just Barilla pasta sauce, which you can get at the grocery store, instead of something homemade. They even advertise the fact that they use Barilla right on the menu. (Just look at their online menu on the first page!) I can’t imagine that any self-respecting Italian pizzeria would ever do such a thing, and even if they did use Barilla sauce, they’d at least doctor it a bit and then create the illusion that it’s something other than canned sauce. There’s just no explanation for this offense other than outright lack of caring, which seems to be a pervasive attitude in this restaurant—and the root of all its problems.
Even though I spent nearly 4 months (over the course of 2 years) living out of the Hilton next door to Planet Pizza, every time I went there the food was consistently sub-par. I finally gave up on them and I just don’t go there anymore—even when the company I work for is picking up the tab.
I tried three different pizza rolls (eggplant parm, chicken cutlet parm, and meat lover’s roll) over the course of about 3 months. Each time I ordered one, the guy behind the counter pulled a pre-made one out and stuck it in the oven to reheat it. (At least it wasn’t a microwave.) Sure, restaurants reheat pre-made stuff all the time, but most have enough humility and shame to not do it so openly. The end result is about what you’d expect: dry and rubbery crust and a core that’s been cooked overly long.
It was consistent though: consistently “eh.”
If you do find yourself faced with the prospect of eating one, get extra sauce to help mask the taste. Barilla to the rescue!
All in all, this wasn’t a bad pizza, but it wasn’t anything to get excited about either. It was DEFINITELY better than the pizza rolls.
However, there’s an absolutely AMAZING pizza place (Letizia’s) half a mile down the road—but they aren’t open as late. Letizia’s makes fresh pizzas with great toppings and dough in a wood-fired oven that leaves lingering hints of smoked wood to tantalize your taste buds.
Honestly, the only reason for getting a pizza from Planet Pizza when Letizia’s is so close would be if Letizia’s was closed. Even then, the nearby Tuscan Oven just south of the Hilton makes a much better pizza to order in a wood-fired oven and they take real pride in their food. They’ll even deliver it to the Hilton since it’s right next door.
Your standard buffalo/hot wings—or so you’d think. I’m a fan of spicy wings, so I ordered the hottest they had to offer—Toxic. I also bought two drinks thinking that this would be an eye-watering, sinus-devastating experience.
It wasn’t.
Planet Pizza’s version of “toxic” (which is beyond their “hot” version) was pretty tame and very disappointing. I thought that this might just be folks from Connecticut not liking spicy foods as much as southerners, but Letizia’s makes a buffalo wing pizza that had wings almost twice as hot as what Planet Pizza put out.
People from Norwalk clearly know how to make wings spicy, but Planet Pizza apparently can’t handle the heat—or thinks their customers can’t.
These are dishes contributed by Menuism users, either entered directly, as part of a restaurant review, or as part of an image upload.
Some Images and Data provided by FoodieBytes
Add a Comment