There is one question every UCR student wonders about at one point during their time in Middelburg: Where can I get the best and cheapest pizza? Surprisingly enough, this pressing subject has never been properly researched. In this qualitative research, Pijpelink and Van Doorn (2017) will be reviewing the most obvious and not so obvious pizza restaurants in Middelburg, because let’s face it, someone had to do this. The sample (N = 6) was evaluated based on the characteristics of price, quality, and availability. The pizza margherita was used as a base price reference (Monica Da Silva, 1939).
Pizza Express ☆☆
First on the list is Pizza Express. With a basic pizza margherita for €7,00 this relatively unknown pizza place is quite expensive compared to many other pizza places. A pizza vegetariana (€10,50) was included in this study. With green peppers, fresh tomatoes, peas and lettuce it was an unusual take on this classic dish and although the crust was surprisingly crunchy, the actual taste was bland and boring. All in all, the vegetariana was not what the Pizza Express usually brings to the table.
Albert Heijn ☆☆
Next up is our beloved frozen Albert Heijn (AH) pizza. Needless to say, a stock of frozen pizza is a must for every student in order to survive all those deadlines and all-nighters. The margherita is sold for €0,74 (whut really?! YES, really, but it’s just a crust with a bit of cheese and tomato sauce). The Mozzarella pizza (€2,45), was nothing special, but totally worth its price. And you think Albert Heijn doesn’t deliver pizza to your front door? They actually do! You just have to throw it in your own oven though.
Dominos ☆☆☆
Dominos is probably the most consistent of them all. Their American style pizzas might all taste the same, which that makes sense because they are mass produced. Nevertheless, you can always count on a decent quality pizza for a very reasonable price. Especially with the discount cards that get you a medium sized takeaway pizza for €4,99. The Chicken Supreme was a bit burned and poorly filled, but then again what did you expected for 5 bucks? At least you don’t have to cook your own dinner. The chicken, pepper, red onion and mozzarella blended nicely, but the American crust tasted like the box it came in; it was bland, dry and difficult to swallow (trust us, we tried).
Food Master ☆
First of all, we had no clue Food Master actually delivers pizza, but we wish we never found out. Their pizza prosciutto (€7,95) is the very definition of overkill and has far too much ham and not nearly enough tomato sauce for it to be tasty. Even though Food Master’s pizzas aren’t too expensive (their Margherita is only €6,75) it is simply not worth it unless you’re a hardcore carnivore. If you really want to give Food Master a shot, they’re open from 16:15 until 20:45, and closed on Mondays.
Amore ☆☆☆
Amore requires no introduction, we’ve all been there more often than we’d like to admit. Contrary to popular belief, their pizza is not bad at all. Amore is not the cheapest pizza place (Margherita for €7,00), but the toppings on their Pizza Al Pollo (€9,95) were great. Their pizza might be the greasiest of them all, and the crust was a bit burned, but Amore has a special place in our hearts. Moreover, Amore has the drunkiplier, because we all know Amore tastes a hundred times better when you’re drunk. Amore is open every day from 15:00 until there’s no more drunk people.
Il Senso ☆☆☆☆☆
The grand finale of this experiment took place in the charming ambience of Il Senso. Baked in a charcoal oven, their pizza is phenomenal. With the pizza margherita set at €6,75, they’re not even the most expensive of them all. We enjoyed a pizza Picante (€9,00), which is just spicy enough to taste good without it being annoying, and the vegetariana (€10,75) excelled with its mushroom/artichoke combo. The best part is, they do deliveries!
We tasted a vast variety of different pizzas and figured out they all have their pros, but the sensible choice would be Il Senso all the way. However, you’ll probably still buy Albert Heijn’s frozens when you’re broke, Dominos when you’re too lazy to cook and end up in Amore shitfaced. However, please reevaluate your life before ordering from Food Masters.
Joris van Doorn, Class of 2019, is a psychology and economics major from Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Harold Pijpelink, Class of 2019, is a science major from Axel, The Netherlands.
