Pizza, a delicious food from Italy, is a staple in American food culture. In Minnesota, there are a variety of pizza restaurants, some rare, some common. Blaze Pizza, a chain founded in Florida, with the majority of their restaurants being in California, only has a few locations in Minnesota. Punch Pizza, a favorite among Minnesotans and founded in Minnesota, has nine locations within the state.
I tried Blaze in St. Louis Park and Punch in Wayzata. When comparing different pizzas, four main factors stand out: the toppings, the cheese, the sauce, and the crust/dough. A good topping comes from good taste, texture, and how well it fits into the pizza. Good cheese and sauce combos are determined by the ratio of cheese to sauce, the consistency, as well as the taste of both. Depending on personal choice, a good crust could be thicker or thinner, but a big factor in a great crust is how good it tastes alone.
When comparing Blaze and Punch, these factors all stood out to me for one side or the other. Cheese, sausage, pepperoni, and olive pizzas were tried and compared from both places.
To start, the toppings were close; both restaurants had fantastic toppings that fit in phenomenally with their respective pizzas. The edge here goes to Blaze, as Blaze’s sausage, pepperoni, and olives not only tasted better, but also fit in a bit better with the cheese. Punch’s toppings, although delicious, were falling off a bit and the blend wasn’t quite there.
When comparing cheese and sauce combos, Punch easily takes the win here. Punch has a unique sauce that consists of just crushed tomatoes rather than a full sauce spread. This pairs really well with the light mozzarella on top. Blaze also has a really good combo and a fantastic sauce, but the ratio is a bit off, and the cheese is really filling.
The crusts were also in a close competition. Blaze’s crust is perfectly crispy and brown, while Punch’s is perfectly fluffy and easy to eat. The edge here goes to Punch because Punch’s crust on its own is delicious.
Overall, Punch narrowly defeated Blaze, but don’t underrate Blaze Pizza, as it is still a very delicious pizza with amazing sauce and toppings and a nice, crispy crust.
