NEPA Pizza Review

Mike’s Cheeseburger Pizza (Left) and the Spinach Pesto Pizza (Right) from Pizza L’Oven in Exeter.

Pizza L’Oven in Exeter is a place that I’ve been to and reviewed multiple times so I’m not going to give you the full backdrop about the place, you can read that here.  The big news at Pizza L’Oven is that they have added two new pizzas to their already well-established menu.  Many of my readers know, when it comes to pan fried Sicilian pizza, it’s dough, sauce, onions, and cheese only for me but these pizzas seemed intriguing and the owner wanted my honest opinion and invited me down to try them.

Mike’s Cheeseburger Pizza drizzled with their awesome burger sauce at Pizza L’Oven in Exeter.

To get a baseline for the review (and frankly because we can’t go to Pizza L’Oven without it) we ordered a half tray of red pizza with onions to go with the two new pizzas: Mike’s Cheeseburger Pizza and the Spinach Pesto Pizza.  As we waited for these two new pizzas to come out, I couldn’t help but reflect on my historical belief that things like cheeseburger pizza are perhaps a bit gimmicky in a lot of places. Cold lettuce and tomato on top of a hot pizza don’t always work.  That line of thinking quickly came to a halt when I started to smell the spinach pesto pizza coming toward and being set down before us.  The scent was intoxicating and it definitely turned heads of other hungry diners near our table!

The Cheeseburger and Spinach Pesto Pizzas are ordered by the 7 cut half-tray at Pizza L’Oven in Exeter.

The cheeseburger pizza rested atop Pizza L’Oven’s famous thick crust pizza that is lightly fried, light, crisp, and not greasy.  They applied a gooey cheese blend and added some ground beef into the mix, layered with neatly chopped lettuce and tomato, and drizzled with what Pizza L’Oven calls “Burger Sauce.”  After taking one bite, I found that this pizza was anything but a gimmick – in fact the careful selection of flavors, textures, portions, and method of assembly and cooking made this pizza something of a culinary marvel.  It wasn’t just a delicious pizza, the ingredients were woven together so masterfully that my pizza brain instantly told me “this works.”

Spinach Pesto Pizza from Pizza L’Oven in Exeter.

The pizza which on the surface would appear to be messy, was actually easy to eat because of the way they cut the lettuce and tomato and constructed the pizza.  The lettuce wasn’t warm and wilted like some hot and cold pizzas I’ve tried and the burger sauce drizzle just provided an explosion of flavor.  I’d have to say the burger sauce is similar to McDonald’s Big Mac sauce, but on steroids and way better!  We even grabbed an extra cup of the sauce to dip our fries in and it was absolutely delicious!  Overall, I have to say I enjoyed the heck out of this pizza and it exceeded my expectations.  I can see myself taking one of these pizzas to a party or grabbing one for a football Sunday viewing party to change things up a bit.

The spinach pesto pizza quickly became a favorite of the First Lady of NEPA.  For those who eat pesto, you know that it has a pretty pronounced flavor and it’s quite potent.  In terms of pizza, it’s easy to overdue and apply too much, and sometimes it’s easy to overcook it in the pizza oven and “fry” the basil in the oil it’s suspended in and create an unpleasant taste and smell.  Neither was the case on this pizza as the perfect amount of pesto was applied.  There was a punch of flavor, but it wasn’t overpowering and it complemented the gooey cheese blend.  The crispy and flavorful fried crust created a really wonderful foundation for this elegant and tasty pizza.  I’m pretty sure you can put just about anything on top of a Pizza L’Oven crust and it’ll taste good, but this pizza provided some great flavors and some wonderful variation.  This is a nice change of pace if you’re not in the mood for the same old red sauce pizza!

This article was really meant to be a double review, but since there were three pizzas in front of me, let’s make it a triple.  Like I said above, you can check my previous review of the pan fried Sicilian and get pretty much the identical review that I’m offering here, so go check that out for the details.  Why don’t I have anything new to say here?  Because Pizza L’Oven is ridiculously consistent – like scary consistent!  I’ve probably eaten pizza here more than 10 times, and the pizza has been identical every time.  I’ve even gotten pizza on Super Bowl Sunday at a crazy busy time and the pizza was prepared and cooked perfectly.  They have the capacity and they just know how to replicate their product flawlessly each and every time which is very impressive.  For me, it’s been difficult to catch them on an off night, because it hasn’t happened so kudos to them for running a smooth and effective operation.

The signature “Fried” crust at Pizza L’Oven in Exeter.

Bottom line, whether you are a cheese pizza guy like myself or you want something different like the cheeseburger or pesto pizzas, you have to get to Pizza L’Oven to try it if you haven’t already.  As always, I want to hear your opinions about Pizza L’Oven in Exeter.  Let me know your thoughts in the comments!