I’m not very picky when it comes to pizza. Usually, I am satisfied with a slice from Costco or school lunch. However, due to the rising popularity of the “build your own” pizzas, my standards of the traditional baked dish have been set higher.

Pieology offers an 11.5 inch pizza for $7.95. My brother and I shared a pizza, which consisted of an olive oil and pesto base, mozzarella cheese, bacon, smoked ham, sausage, basil, and jalapeno toppings.

My mom and her friend shared one, which had herb butter, mozzarella cheese, bacon, buffalo chicken, smoked ham, mushroom, onion, and spinach.

The line was relatively short so we finished ordering rather quickly and took a seat at a nearby table.

Our pizzas were out in about five minutes. While the pizza I ordered came out fine, my mom’s pizza came out a little burnt.

The mozzarella cheese was extremely stretchy and stringy, making each slice not only hard to pull, but also difficult to eat.

In addition, the pizza’s toppings were unevenly laid upon each slice, making it hard to not eat a slice that wasn’t just plain cheese, while my mom’s pizza was loaded with too many toppings, making it difficult for her to keep her pizza together. Also, both pizzas were very thin so there wasn’t much of a crust.

Address: 505 North Grand Avenue, Walnut, CA 91789

The Pizza Press offers a smaller pizza for about $8.64 with tax. Unlike Pieology, the pizza goes through an oven before you pay so by the time you receive your receipt, your pizza is ready. This restaurant used pesto and other sauces as a “finisher” on top of your baked pizza rather than as a base.  There were also more vegetable and red sauce options, which didn’t really impress me since I am not fond of red sauce. I ordered a pizza with an olive oil base, mozzarella cheese, bacon, smoked ham, sausage, basil, and jalapenos, spinach, corn, and pesto as a finisher. The cheese on my pizza was not stringy at all, and the pizza was thick enough to have a crust. All the toppings were evenly distributed on each slice, making it very enjoyable to eat. However, the new addition of the corn, which I chose to sweeten the impact of the jalapenos, was a downfall for me, each piece was overcooked and too chewy.

Address: 1534 South Harbor Boulevard, Anaheim, CA 92802

Unlike the other two stores, which were nearly vacant, Blaze was packed with people. The restaurant was crowded and loud so I often had to correct my order. Similar to The Pizza Press, there were additional sauces, or finishers, for your baked pizza.

Blaze claims to have your 11 inch pizza ready in 180 seconds, which wasn’t very impressive since it also seemed possible at the other two restaurants. They did not have olive oil as a base so I had to choose a white cream sauce, and I was surprised to find that my pizza was actually greasier than the other two pizzas I had tried prior. The cheese was stretchier than the cheese on my Pieology pizza. However, since the toppings were evenly laid on each slice, it was easier to eat. In addition, the crust was uneven, so some slices had a thick crust while others lacked one altogether. I was disappointed to find that the jalapenos didn’t stand out at all. On the other pizzas, there was a hit of spiciness from slices that didn’t even have a jalapeno, but this pizza lacked a hint of spiciness in general.

Overall, I enjoyed my pizza adventure. I would recommend Pieology to friends looking for cheap and quiet “get together” place and Blaze for an easy to-go option. The Pizza Press would be perfect for a lunch or dinner dine in or a grab-and-go dinner. The service was quick and friendly, making it an ideal place to go with friends or family.

Address: 103 West Imperial Highway, Brea, CA 92821