Fired Pie is a "fast, casual, rich in flavor customizable pizzas and salads made from scratch using fresh ingredients, just the way you like it" and found in 16 locations in Arizona.



The menu starts with two options: pizza or salad. Then, do you want a specialty type or custom. First is your crust, select sauce, then choose cheese, move onto meats, pick your veggies and finally garnish with fresh herbs. I went with a regular crust, tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, mushroom, garlic and artichokes. I love all these ingredients separately, but maybe not the best together. I think a sweetness would round out the flavors, and it was a bit mushy - maybe because of the ingredients I chose. Not bad enough to stop me from devouring it.



Grade: B

I've been to a few Husson's locations, and finishing out the remainder is on my list. So here's some background on the restaurant from their website:



"Husson's Pizza is primarily situated in the Charleston, West Virginia area. We feel proud that our business is family owned, family operated, and family oriented. Our first location was in St. Albans, West Virginia. It was opened on March 23, 1977. This store was a Dine-In or Carry-Out Location only. We built our business on this: "A QUALITY PIZZA, SOLD AT A FAIR PRICE WOULD CREATE ITS OWN PLACE IN THE MARKET." In the beginning we made pizzas on a Formica kitchen counter. All of our equipment, food, and supplies were paid for C.O.D. We wanted to make sure that we stayed ahead on everything. Our advertising was very limited; there was only good Word-of-Mouth advertising. We counted on a great product and friendly, personal service to bring customers back to us. I worked every minute the store was open and my father (employed at another job during the day) worked every evening and on weekends. We touched every pizza that we sold, talked to our customers, and built a reputation that has lasted through the years. After the first year, the company was solid. People would travel from the surrounding areas for our pizza. In December 1978, we opened our second store in Cross Lanes, West Virginia. In June of the following year my wife, Sharon, and I got married and we worked every night. After we had our first child, my wife wanted to stay involved in the business, so she took over all the bookkeeping functions. She has a conservative nature that helped the business continue a controlled growth. In March of 1982 we opened the Kanawha City store. It was the Turning Point for the company. The volume at this location was about double that of the other locations. The increase in cash allowed for a little faster expansion. The Spring Hill store opened in March of 1984. After taking 1985 off, we came right back and opened the Teays Valley and Pinch locations in 1986 and in 1987 the West Side (Charleston) and Sissonville locations were opened and we built new buildings for our St. Albans and Cross Lanes stores. In September of 1986, we began delivery in the Kanawha City location and by mid-October we were delivering out of all of our stores. This was a good move for us, but it is much different business from the dine-in and carry-out business. We weren't used to that. We studied the market to a great extent to see where we could do better than our competitors. All of 1988 was spent consolidating our position and improving our operations. We changed our marketing approach and began offering more discounts and specials than before. In June 1989, we opened a store in Greensboro, North Carolina, although in February of 1990 we closed this location and re-opened it in West Virginia on Bridge Road in South Hills. It is our continued expansion that offers our manager continual advancement within our company, or as a franchisee. By working hard and maintaining a high profile in the community, we are able to maintain our market share and enjoy watching it increase as we continue to polish our service and quality to the customer's door."



So let's talk about this individual location. It was a little rough around the edges - with a custodial sign on the front door and some folks hanging in the parking lot. Inside, there is a lot of seating for dine-in and TVs to keep you entertained. I had placed an online order, so I picked that up and headed home. I kept it simple with just some cheesy breadsticks. Cheese + bread + sauce always make me happy. The sauce is sweeter.  The cheese did a terrible job at staying on the individual bread sticks, but luckily no one had to see me scavenge for bits and pieces to make a bite. Eh in construction, Ya to flavor. 

Grade: B

I'm working my way through the Husson's locations, which is a Charleston area pizza chain that boasts the largest pie in town.



There's something delicious about a plain cheese pizza. You can really take in the flavors of the crust, the sauce, the cheese and the marriage of all three. The Pinch location shares a building with others, and the exterior seems like it has seen better days. Inside, though, it was clean, and my order was ready to go. The pizza was good. I really enjoyed being able to taste the unadulterated version of a pizza, even though I usually get more toppings. I noticed the sauce is much sweeter than usual, and the crust was not as crisp, but overall I enjoyed this pizza.



Grade: B

Square Slice Pizzeria is located inside an arcade in Huntington and features deep-dish pizza. Now, "deep dish" is a bit controversial, because we're not talking like a Chicago-style pizza that has layers of toppings. Instead, we're really talking about a thicker crust.



"It all starts with the dough. Each of our delicious deep dish pizzas feature an 8x10 focaccia that we make from scratch daily. Every pie is topped with generous portions of cheese that melt and form a crispy “crown” around the entire crust. Our signature sauce is crafted with whole plum tomatoes and a proprietary blend of herbs and spices. Select toppings such as Ezzo Pepperoni and Old World Sausage alongside fresh and ripe produce seal the deal before heading into our stone fired oven and finished with fresh shaved parmesan cheese. Add an optional hot honey drizzle for the full experience." 



I ordered a pizza with mushrooms, and I tried telling myself in my head to not expect Lefty's, which I desperately miss from Morgantown. It was tough to not compare the two though, as they ended up looking pretty similar. A large personal pizza or small to share. A beautiful caramelization crisp on the edges. Sauce on top of the cheese.



For the most part, this was a pretty good pizza. I like the flavor of the sauce and the extra-done edges. But, there was too much oil/grease that overtook a lot of the flavor. I don't know if the bread soaked up too much or it was old or what, but that cheese and sauce would've shined even more if not for that.



Still, it was an above average pizza for me - I just want it to punch me in the tastebuds next time.



Grade: B

"The Town of Gauley Bridge sits at the confluence of the Gauley and New Rivers which join to form the Kanawha River. Its name is derived from the wooden, covered bridge that carried traffic on the James River & Kanawha Turnpike across the Gauley River," according to the National Park Service.



My trip to Gauley Bridge, though, was made to cross the Gino's location off my list. In fact, this may be the first Gauley Bridge restaurant I've been to, period!



This location didn't have a drive-thru, but it was clear they saw a good bit of foot traffic just based on the short time I was there. It was a little run-down, but because it is well-loved. I ordered a pizza with mushrooms - my usual. The toppings didn't go all the way to edge and instead were centered in the middle, making it a bit heavy and soggy. Flavor not bad overall.



Grade: B