10 Iowa Pizza Joints Have Been Featured on Barstool's 'One Bite Pizza Reviews'

Dave Portnoy of Barstool Sports has reviewed ten pizza places, one frozen pizza, and one hot dog stand in the state of Iowa... let's find out how they all did! Here's a recap of all of Dave's Iowa 'One Bite Pizza Reviews,' courtesy of the official YouTube page, in order of best score to worst score (frozen pizza/hot dog stand at the end):

Centro, Des Moines

Score of 7.7
Enjoys the bites with the sauce on them - bites without the sauce would receive "a lower 7"
Review posted September 30th, 2025
4.6-stars on Google (2,328 reviews)

Taste of New York Pizza, West Des Moines

Score of 7.6
Said that it looked like authentic New York-style pizza, like what you get in "9,000 different pizza shops in Manhattan" - describes it as "pretty good stuff"
Review posted October 1st, 2025
4.6-stars on Google (816 reviews)

Fong's Pizza, Des Moines

Score of 7.6 for Crab Rangoon Pizza
Score of 6.5 for Cheese Pizza
Said the Cheese Pizza looks worse than it tastes
Normally doesn't enjoy "artisan or gimmicky" pizza, but didn't hate the Crab Rangoon Pizza - said he'd rather have that than a "straight rangoon"
Review posted September 29th, 2025
4.5-stars on Google (4,051 reviews)

The Great Plains Sauce & Dough Co., Ames

Great Plains Sauce and Dough Co. via Facebook

Score of 7.5 for Thin Crust Pizza
Score of 7.4 for Thick Crust Pizza
Said the thin crust pizza "tastes like a very good thin tavern-style" and that 7.5 is a very good score, because he doesn't rank tavern-style pizzas in the eights
Doesn't enjoy the honey on the thicker-crust pizza, but likes that it doesn't "flop" - enjoyed it much more than he thought he would
Review posted October 6th, 2025
4.6-stars on Google (1,771 reviews)

Pepp's Pizzeria, Urbandale

Score of 7.3 (lied to staff and told them 7.6)
Said the crust was "a little fluffier than I like," but enjoyed the crispiness
Review posted October 2nd, 2025
4.6-stars on Google (191 reviews)

The Tavern Pizza, West Des Moines

Score of 7.2
Was expecting the pizza to be cut into squares, said it looks like a combination of bar and tavern-style - liked the taste, but thought it was a little too soggy due to grease
Review posted September 18th, 2025
4.1-stars on Google (1,328 reviews)

Wig & Pen Pizza Pub, Iowa City

The Wig & Pen Pizza Pub - IC via Facebook

Score of 7.1
Enjoyed the "super light" and "super fluffy" crust - compared it to crackers
Review posted September 24th, 2017
4.6-stars on Google (1,631 reviews)

Airliner, Iowa City

Score of 6.4
Could tell it wouldn't be his favorite based on the weight of the pizza box, but said it was better than he thought it would be
Review posted September 12th, 2022
4.1-stars on Google (724 reviews)

Jeff's Pizza Shop, Ames

Score of 6.2
Started by saying he's generally not a huge fan of campus pizza or Midwest pizza - says it's exactly what you expect, and refers to it as "drunk pizza"
Review posted September 5th, 2025
4.3-stars on Google (894 reviews)

Casey's

Score of 5.2
Said the breakfast pizza was much too "bacony" (I 100% agree - sausage is FAR superior) - said the second bite was better, but still wasn't good, and it's what you would expect from a gas station
Review posted September 23rd, 2017

And now, Dave's other two Iowa reviews!

Pagliai's Grinnell Frozen Pizza

Score of 5.8
Calls it "pretty good" basic American flyover state frozen pizza
Review posted April 29th, 2020

Superdog, Ames (Food Stand)

Rating of 7.3
Described as an Iowa State "staple" - topped with melted Monterey jack cheese, bacon, crushed potato chips, and sauces (pineapple, garlic-cilantro, special, mustard, ketchup)
Said it looked "fabulous," but there was too much mustard
Review posted on September 6th, 2025
5-stars on Google (14 reviews)

If you were to recommend a pizza place to Dave for his 'One Bite Pizza Reviews,' which one would you choose? Let us know in the comments or by sending us a message on our station app!

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