Lately, art history majors have become something of a pop culture punching bag. Not only has the phrase become short-hand for “unemployable in today’s economy,” they’ve also been ridiculed by President Barack Obama on national television.
But will the gentle art of aesthetic study finally get the last laugh?
Middle Earth Organics is known for their organic pasta sauces, each label featuring a famous Italian painting.
While this would normally be an NBD, the painting they chose for their tomato and porcini mushroom sauce has been stirring up controversy online.
The woman in the painting above is not staring with intense concentration at a pot of delicious, simmering sugo.
The image is “Judith Beheading Holofernes,” a painting by Caravaggio. Judith, seen above, is not making an al dente delight. Judith is cutting off some dude’s head.
As 11points.com noted, “That unfortunate painting selection could’ve been avoided if they’d just hired an art history major.” You heard it here folks. Pasta sauce companies: the future of global arts employment.
The 17-year-old was the victim of a horrific bullying incident.
A group of girls threw boiling water on her, leaving her badly burned and covered in scars and discoloration.
She thought the physical scars would be with her forever — until she met Basma Hameed. Basma Hameed runs a tattoo shop, of sorts — but her tattoo artistry doesn’t look like you’d expect. Basma is a paramedical tattoo specialist. Instead of tattooing vibrant, colorful designs, she uses special pigments that match the skin in order to conceal scars.
It looks like this:
With Basma’s help, patients like Samira can see a dramatic decrease in their scar visibility and discoloration after a few treatments. She even offers free procedures for patients who are unable to afford treatment. That’s because Basma knows firsthand just how life-changing her work can be for those coping with painful scars left behind.
Check out the video below to find out more about Basma’s practice, including how she became her very first patient.
Joe Biden’s age and mental faculties have come under increased scrutiny of late. But what about the guy who will likely square off against him in November? For months Donald Trump has been having one bizarre gaffe after another, including forgetting World War II already happened and showing he knows less about magnets than Insane Clown Posse. And what on earth is up with this?
Trump says if he doesn’t win the election, Pennsylvania will cease to exist because ‘they’ will change the name pic.twitter.com/eGyY5GiEMF
Per Insider, the former president was in Pennsylvania bragging about how he “did nothing” to stop a historic wave of gun violence during his lone term in office. He also made a surreal claim about what could happen to the Keystone State.
“We have to win in November, or we’re not going to have Pennsylvania. They’ll change the name.,” Trump told the crowd. “They’re going to change the name of Pennsylvania.”
What on earth is he talking about? Probably a report from a few years back that some schools in California were dropping from their names references to certain older presidents who had a connection to slavery. Trump apparently thought the state named for founder William Penn was next.
“All over the country, they’re taking the name of George Washington off high schools and other things,” Trump said. “That’s one even I thought was safe. Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. Their names are now in danger.”
If there’s even a concerted effort to rename Pennsylvania, it’s news to anyone who’s not Trump, who’s also been horrified when Confederate statues have been toppled. Not that there’s any chance an entire state will change its name, but that’s not the point. It’s all about scaring his base, who will believe anything said by the guy who’s not even sure who’s president right now.
Footballer-turned-actor Carl Weathers passed away earlier this month, prompting an avalanche of mourning, including from some of his costars. The cause of his death, however, was kept under wraps. Now it’s been made public.
Per The Blast, Weathers died of therosclerotic cardiovascular disease, which Johns Hopkins Medicine describes as a “thickening or hardening of the arteries” that’s “caused by a buildup of plaque in the inner lining of an artery.” According to his death certificate, he suffered from heart disease for years, and his death was declared “natural.”
Weathers passed away in his sleep at his home in Venice, California in the early hours of February 2.
Before he transitioned into acting, Weathers had a short stint in the NFL, playing for the then-Oakland Raiders before retiring from the sport in 1974. He soon found himself squaring off in the ring against Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky Balboa, playing Apollo Creed in four Rocky movies. Recently he was among the main cast of The Mandalorian. We think you should absolutely watch his delightful 1987 movie Action Jackson.
The most interesting acts on the nomination list are Cher and A Tribe Called Quest, as both have been called out semi-recently for being snubbed. In December, during her appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Cher called out the organization for “snubbing” her in the past.
“It took four of them to be one of me,” she said. “And I’m not in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame! I’m not kidding you; I was about to say sh*tting you! You know what, I wouldn’t be in it now if they gave me a million dollars… I’m never going to change my mind. They can just go you-know-what themselves…I changed music forever with ‘Believe.’”
A Tribe Called Quest has been nominated multiple times but hasn’t been formally inducted. In 2023, former member Consequence spoke to TMZ about the “snub.”
“This is the family tree for me,” he said. “This is the tree that brought you G.O.O.D Music. This is the tree that allowed Common Sense to be Common. This is the right-hand man to De La Soul. Stop me when I’m lying. What we not gonna do is keep subjugating that name, A Tribe Called Quest, to a white popularity contest.”
The voting members of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame have their work cut out for them.
Cold water immersion, specifically “cold plunging,” dove into the spotlight recently thanks to its proliferation all over social media. The viral nature of the activity and mainstream fascination with jumping into tubs filled with icy water is easy to understand. Not only does it make a splash visually, but it provides an element of adventure without leaving your own backyard. That partnered with the historical use by elite athletes to combat inflammation and recover quickly makes the practice pretty engaging.
That being said, is cold plunging right for everyone? Do you need to do it every day? Everyone has seen what can happen when trends go wrong, and since you’re exposing yourself to a uniquely challenging environment, it’s important to exercise care. Don’t hop into a freezing bath filled with ice without a plan. Especially not just because you saw someone do it on Instagram.
For first-timers, a little conscious experimentation and research can go a long way to starting a practice that will stick. There are plenty of great places to start with your education, places like Dr. Andrew Huberman’s podcast or the books of Wim “The Iceman” Hof. And while there aren’t a ton of definitive studies when it comes to the physiological benefits, there is no debating that the practice has been used for centuries by many different cultures. The ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, father of modern medicine, declared the medicinal nature of the cold, stating in his book On Airs, Waters and Places that “the water can cure everything.”
There is one certainty when it comes to cold plunging. This is a personal journey, and everyone experiences the benefits differently. That’s why here at Uproxx we thought it could be helpful for those thinking about starting their journey to hear two writers discuss their own origin stories with the practice. Below, Uproxx fitness lead Charles Thorp and writer/ photographer Julianne Sato discuss how it felt to break the ice, building it into a routine, and why it may be time for you to finally take the plunge.
CT: Do you remember the first time that you went for a plunge and what drew you to trying it?
JS: I grew up playing competitive sports and we had an ice bath in our high school gym that we used to use for muscle recovery. It was always pretty miserable and the association of sitting in tubs of ice water was never very alluring until I started doing cold plunges at places like K-spas, Knot Springs, and The Society Hotel. The combo of saunas or hot tubs with a cold plunge was an effect I loved. It was energizing and invigorating.
Having something warm after a cold plunge absolutely heightens the experience for me, but lately, I’ve been so interested in the effects of cold plunging in general that I started doing them at home without a hot tub or sauna to warm me back up. The real point of interest for me was in the associations with improved sleep. I often struggle to get a good night’s sleep. Bedtime always feels ripe with anxieties and I almost always have a 4:00-6:00 am stretch of lying awake, counting down the minutes until my alarm goes off. But I had a friend swear a daily cold plunge, especially close to bed, changed his sleep patterns — so I figured I’d give it a more regular go.
Redwood Outdoors
CT: For my part, I feel like I’ve been plunging since I was a kid. Growing up in Maine with a group of adventurous friends, polar bear jumps into freezing rivers and lakes was a regular way to get energized all winter. Of course, at the time I had no idea the natural buzz I was feeling was caused by the resulting hormones and neurotransmitters like beta-endorphins and dopamine. I just knew that I felt “full of life” after.
It wasn’t until much later, when I did a month-long training program at an elite football facility that I learned of the recovery benefits that jumping in cold water had. There, athletes were preparing for the NFL and doing two massive workouts a day. Because of the amount of punishment our bodies were taking, the cold plunge after every day was mandatory. Since we were working out in Arizona, the cool water was a massive relief. That is where I started to see the real benefits, but it wasn’t why I started a daily practice.
What was your motivation to explore plunging more?
JS: I think the motivation to keep doing it came from the effects I experienced. I wasn’t religious enough with the practice to claim to do it every single day, which actually made me more convinced than ever of its effectiveness. It was clear I was sleeping better on the nights I took a plunge before bed than I was on the days I chickened out. It’s all anecdotal, but I do think the correlation is strong.
I also found that the timing of the plunge impacts the outcomes. For a good night’s sleep, I think doing it within a couple of hours of going to bed is the most effective. It seems a bit counter-intuitive because the icy water also has a very noticeable energizing effect, but if I have time after to take a hot shower and relax before going to sleep, it makes me sleep deeper and more restfully. On the days I’m motivated enough to do it in the morning, I don’t take a hot shower after, but just get dressed in warm clothes and let my body warm up on its own. I think this keeps the energy from the plunge flowing.
It’s similar to the effect of washing your face with cold water to help wake you up… times 1000.
Redwood Outdoors
CT: I was really drawn to that idea of forcing myself to get comfortable in the uncomfortable. As someone who has been drawn to adventure my whole life, like I know you have Steve, it’s hard when you are stuck home between trips. Once you’ve spent days outside challenging yourself, it can be tough to come home and just sit still in a house set to that perfect 70 degrees.
I found myself getting really melancholy on my days back home, and constantly looking forward to when I could get back on the road or in the wild. Working out helped, but even when I pushed myself I was still comfortable when it came to my environment. That’s when I first started checking out some of the writing by Wim Hof. The idea of combining plunging with meditation and breath work made a lot of sense. I found a lot of videos that helped me in that pursuit, but I will say, having an in-person coaching session early on was a massive advantage. I’ve worked with a few coaches, most recently at IMR Float in Nevada.
JS: I could totally see this, but I don’t think I have the same experience. Cold plunging sits pretty firmly in the wellness category for me. It’s a bit of an “eat your vegetables” mindset for me. I know it’ll make me feel good after and I know it’s good for me, but the experience of it is… a little miserable! So I am still in the camp of having to force myself to do it. I’m not sure I’ll ever get to the place of enjoying the experience of the soak, but it undeniably makes me feel better after. I’m fully convinced of that. But I have yet to enjoy the discomfort beyond how I know I’ll feel when it’s over.
I wish I could view a cold plunge as an adventure like you!
@charlesthorp
CT: There are a lot of great resources online, but having someone by your side who understands our breath and how to be more effective with it helped me massively. I like to think I know a lot, and I did all of the research, but it’s hard to process all of the information objectively when you first hop in the water.
I’m glad I had someone there to coach me during my first real session. I was no stranger to cold water, but learning the best way to breathe while entering and how to pace myself through the experience helped me go longer than I expected for my first run. What was your first experience like?
JS: I haven’t incorporated breathwork into my plunging yet, but you’re inspiring me to try it! For myself, I view it more as a meditation practice. If I can get myself into a calm mindset going in, it feels far less uncomfortable. I suppose breath does become a part of that – slow, steady breathing to keep my nervous system calm when my physical body is screaming. But similar to your experience, focusing on keeping a calm demeanor extends the time I’m able to stay in, and at a certain point, once the cold doesn’t sting quite so much and your skin goes numb, the discomfort does subside…a little.
CT: How have you started to integrate plunging into your routine? Personally, plunging was a huge part of helping me become a morning person. For years I would stay up late to write or edit because I thought I was more productive that way. But in truth, I was just stuck in a perpetual loop that I needed to break to become an early riser, which in the end has benefited my overall health.
I’m a huge coffee guy, but given that I try to hold my caffeine consumption until I’ve been awake for at least an hour, that wasn’t going to help me in those first crucial minutes of the day. I needed another way to get an early AM jolt and jumpstart my system. I found the plunge a great way to do this. Not only was it a tactile, real-world experience for me to have, it gave me a morning ritual that had nothing to do with technology.
@charlesthorp
JS: I love the idea of creating a morning ritual around plunging, especially since I’m not much of a caffeine drinker. I live in Portland, Oregon, and it takes so much willpower to go outside in the cold, dark, wet morning hours for a plunge that it doesn’t happen as regularly as I would like. I think the routine that I’ve built around it that works the best for me is to time a plunge with my shower in the evening.
Knowing that I will immediately get warm after helps me mentally approach sitting in a tub of ice water in the rain.
CT: Any advice for first-time plungers? I would say starting in the summer is one piece if you want to make it easy on yourself. And work on your breath. One of the common mistakes people make is they don’t focus on their breath, and begin to hyperventilate when they get in the cold, and that’s a great way to find yourself jumping out before you’ve even been in for a few seconds.
Redwood Outdoors
JS: Have all the cozy, warm things you need to feel comfortable after your plunge ready to go!
Knowing I have a hot cup of tea, a shower, and warm dry clothes waiting for me puts me in the mental place where I feel motivated to do it. I also try to approach it as a meditation practice. A mind-over-matter type exercise. How calm can I make myself? I’d also take it slow and come to understand how it feels to your body. Slowly increase how long you stay in the cold plunge if that feels good to you, but I wouldn’t set a timer and force yourself to stay in for a certain amount of time — at least not until you’ve built up to that time and know how it impacts your body.
CT: Speaking of all the ways that you can start your practice, there are a lot of great options in the market when it comes to plunge tubs, with more versions coming along all the time. There are plunges for all kinds of consumer and plunges built for all sorts of spaces at home.
Even if you don’t have a tub or room for a plunge, doing cold showers is a great way to get the same sort of benefits. I started doing cold showers every morning before I got my plunge, but I have to admit that I found the showers even more difficult. There’s something about having an environment for this purpose, and it’s hard not just to twist the nozzle back to hot when you’re first starting the showers.
What tubs have you liked or tried out?
SB: I’ve been using Redwood Outdoors Alaskan Cold Plunge Tub and love it. The design is beautiful and I love the natural wood. It has a little bench inside to sit on and is deep enough that it’s easy to step into and fully immerse without having to crouch and huddle inside of a small tub. It also has a lid — so it stays really clean and you don’t have to drain and refill it as often as other models I’ve seen.
I don’t have the chiller component piece to the product, but they do sell it, so you can make your tub the exact right temperature. In the winter, I find that it’s almost always the right degree of coldness to begin with unless it’s freezing — in which case you need to be sure to drain it ahead of the freeze. I haven’t used it yet in the summer so I’m not sure what the best method of achieving the right temperature will be, but I’d imagine it will involve some pre-frozen jugs of ice.
@charlesthorp
CT: Let’s talk about contrast therapy, which is when you start by doing a session in a sauna and then dip into the cold plunge. Dr. Andrew Huberman has talked about it a lot and even has a few protocols out there when it comes to how to do it. I did a little contrast therapy with our editor, Steve Bramucci, when he was in New York last at the Equinox Hudson Yards. I’ve read the science of contrast therapy and it’s got to be one of the most effective ways to recover, not to mention one of the most pleasurable.
In the same way that I was excited when I first started plunging while experiencing a crazy hot summer in Arizona, hitting the sauna makes that first dive into the cold a little less painless. Not to mention the additional body chemistry that occurs when you are coming out of the sauna. Since your cortisol levels are lowered, you are going to feel less anxiety and stress, so you can enter the plunge in a good frame of mind. What do you think?
JS: I definitely prefer contrast therapy to solely cold plunging. Experiencing the sauna beforehand not only eases the transition into the cold plunge but also enhances the overall sensation. I find the process far more tolerable knowing that warmth awaits me afterward. That’s what originally drew me to the practice — rotating through a hot tub, sauna, and cold plunge at a spa. The effect was so invigorating. It’s similar to jumping in the ocean for me. The motivation is so much higher and the physical effects feel so much better to me when you jump in on a hot day. Anytime a cold plunge feels refreshing, instead of strictly uncomfortable, it really heightens the experience.
CT: In the end, I have to say I’m really glad that plunging has become one of my daily rituals. It makes sense for my lifestyle, it’s a great mental fitness check, it gives me a little taste of adventure, and even when I don’t feel great during it, I always feel great after. How about you?
JS: This makes me think of something you said at the beginning about getting yourself comfortable with discomfort. I had a similar experience when I picked up rock climbing as a new sport. I experience very visceral fear when I climb, and experiencing that sense of fear but continuing to do the thing causing it, rewired my brain in a cool way. It’s a very literal way of teaching yourself that the presence of fear isn’t a sign you shouldn’t be doing the thing that’s causing it. I do think cold plunging has a similar effect. It’s a tangible way to rewire your brain into getting comfortable with discomfort.
I think that carries over into other aspects of life.
When it comes to great pizza, I’m pretty spoiled with choice. We can have a debate about whether New York City or Los Angeles makes the best pizza all day, I’ve had my fair share of pizza in New York and I’ve lived in Los Angeles all my life, and I can say that both cities are littered with amazing pizzerias that could be anyone’s favorite. And I’m willing to believe there’s great pizza wherever you live, too — as a wise sage once said, “Pizza is even pretty good when it’s bad.”
I’m not here to make the case that one city makes the definitive “best pizza” today (we’ll circle back to this in the future because I’ve got thoughts) but rather, to discuss the big chains. Yes, the enemies of the underdog — with their streamlined ordering systems and pre-frozen dough balls. And while we all know that the best pies come from local joints, chain pizza is often pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty good.
So who amongst the big pizza chains, makes the absolute best pizza? We set out to find out by ranking pizzas from as many of the big chains I had access to. But before we get to the ranking, let’s talk about…
What Makes A Good Pizza A Good Pizza
I’m not one of those, thin vs thick slice people. I have a personal preference, sure, but often whether I want a thick bready or a thin foldable slice comes down to what sort of mood I’m in. So it’s not the style of pizza that makes it good in my opinion, but rather, the quality of the dough.
I like my dough chewy with a bright sauce that isn’t too garlicky, sweet, or even complex, but rather elevates the flavors on top of the pie without totally overpowering them. And the cheese should have substance. This is mozzarella we’re dealing with so the flavor is going to be pretty mild but the best mozzarella is creamy-almost-nutty with a subtle fresh tang and a nice stretchy melt.
As we determine the best pizza, I’m going to be paying special attention to those three qualities (dough, sauce, cheese) and scoring them 1-5 for each entry. We won’t be focusing on toppings, since what you like on your pizza is your business, and we’re not about to try every topping from every pizza chain. If a pizza chain has multiple styles of crust, we’re going to defer to the original crust of each brand, so no thin-style, deep dish, or stuffed crusts on this list — unless that’s the brand’s flagship pizza.
That about covers it, let’s rank ‘em!
15. Chuck E. Cheese
chuck e cheese
Dough: 2 Sauce: 1 Cheese: 1 Total Score: 4
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
A punishing low score for Chuck E. Cheese, I’m sorry to the people who are nostalgic for this pizza but this stuff is terrible. The sauce almost tastes like ketchup, the dough is way too sweet and tastes like it was frozen for a significant amount of time, and the cheese smells like feet. Mozzarella shouldn’t smell like feet.
This is one of the few pizzas out there where the cornice (wrapping around the outside — most call it the “crust” but all the cooked dough is technically crust, anyway we’re getting in the weeds…) is totally throwaway too. If you make it mostly through this pizza but have to tap out at the bready edges, we get it.
The Bottom Line:
Skip Chuck E. Cheese. This is children’s pizza. And not even cool children.
14. 7-Eleven
Dough: 2 Sauce: 1 Cheese: 2 Total Score: 5
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
Here is the weird thing about 7-Eleven — the pizza doesn’t taste nearly as bad as you’d expect it to. Now, I’m not saying this pizza is delicious or anything but it’s serviceable. If someone picks up a pie from 7-Eleven, go ahead and take them up on that slice. It’s not going to change your world but it beats most frozen pizzas.
The sauce here is way too sweet and 7-Eleven lays it on too thick. The crust is stale and flavorless, and the cheese tastes like, well… cheap mozzarella cheese. So it gets at least 2 points for that.
The Bottom Line:
Better than you assume but by no means good.
13. Sbarro
Dane Rivera
Dough: 2 Sauce: 2 Cheese: 3 Total Score: 7
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
Everyone’s favorite mall/airport food court pizza… because it’s the only option. Somehow Sbarro has scored a monopoly on food courts and airports so its success is a result of a captive customer. I’ve never met anyone who truly loves Sbarro, people merely accept it.
The sauce here is thick and heavy, with a strong garlicky flavor and too much sugar. The dough is bready and thick (if that’s your jam), and the cheese is tasty, but a bit too salty.
Sbarro is also intensely greasy. It strikes me as New York-style pizza if created by an alien who has only heard a vague description of what NY pizza should be and came away with “greasy” as a big selling point and not a byproduct of other factors.
The Bottom Line:
When it’s the only option, it’s fine, but anyone who chooses to go to Sbarro on the regular has issues.
Round Table is similar to Sbarro, but because it has its own restaurant space I’ll forgive people for choosing to go to Round Table — maybe they’re into the ambiance!
As for the quality of the pizza, it’s pretty average across the board. The sauce has this strange off-putting sour aftertaste, the dough has just the right amount of sweetness to be pleasing without becoming overwhelming, and the cheese is once again standard part-skim mozzarella.
The Bottom Line:
Not bad, but not particularly good either. If you have a gift card or were invited to someone’s pizza night and this is all they have, it’s fine pizza. But if you have a choice, why are you going here?
Some people swear by Hungry Howie and I think those people mostly live in the chain’s home state of Michigan because this pizza is pretty unremarkable. My guess is that Michiganders swear by the pizza because of state pride.
My issue with this pizza is that the sauce tastes heavy on the tomato paste. It overpowers the flavor of the cheese and whatever toppings you choose. As I mentioned earlier, I think pizza sauce should elevate not overpower a pie.
I will give an extra point to the crust here. While it is a flavorless blank canvas (Hungry Howie’s gimmick is flavored crusts, so it’s like this by design) it has a great texture to it. It’s crispy and crunchy but still has a nice chew to it.
The Bottom Line:
Pretty middling stuff. So no surprise that it’s landing in the middle of our ranking.
Cici’s is designed as an all-you-can-eat pizza buffet so its true strength is in the abundance of choice it offers. But like most buffets, there is a noticeable lack of character to this pizza. It doesn’t really have its own unique flavor — if you ate a slice and someone didn’t tell you where it was from, you’d never guess Cici’s. It merely tastes like some general idea of pizza.
That said, Cici’s general version is serviceable. It’s bread, with sauce, and cheese. You can’t go wrong. That’s why this pizza is getting all three across the board.
The Bottom Line:
It tastes like pizza, and pizza is good, so this pizza is good. It just doesn’t have any character or anything special that makes it noteworthy. This is as average as pizza can be.
9. Little Caesars
Little Caesars
Dough: 4 Sauce: 2 Cheese: 3 Total Score: 9
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
Little Caesars has a bad reputation because of its “Hot N Ready” pizza but you know what? For the price (just over $6) this is pretty good pizza. The dough has this spongey pan-fried quality to it, the cheese is heavy and rich, and while the sauce is a bit too sweet, all together, it works.
If Little Caesars stepped up its sauce game, it would compete with the big three brands (Pizza Hut, Domino’s, and Papa John’s).
The Bottom Line:
Way better than it gets credit for.
8. Pizza Hut
pizza hut
Dough: 4 Sauce: 3 Cheese: 3 Total Score: 10
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
Pizza Hut is my least favorite of the aforementioned big three pizza chains but what it has going for it is that crust. The default style at Pizza Hut is pan crust, and it has this wonderful crunchy texture that stays crispy no matter how long the pizza has been sitting and reheats better than any other chain.
The weak point, like Little Caesars, is that sauce. It’s way too sweet and thick and dominates a little too strongly. If I were ordering Pizza Hut, I’d request light sauce.
The Bottom Line:
Pizza Hut’s unique crust makes it worth ordering.
7. Papa John’s
papa johns
Dough: 4 Sauce: 3 Cheese: 4 Total Score: 11
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
Papa John’s has a lot going for it, the crust is hand-tossed to order, and the cheese is rich and creamy, but again, the sauce is just too damn sweet. It’s not as garlicky or heavy as Pizza Hut and Little Caesars, but there is a noticeable amount of sugar that I just find off-putting.
I love the crust here though, it has a touch of sweetness, it’s got lots of chew, and it’s thick and filling. Alas, when the best part of your pizza is the crust, something is wrong. Papa John’s is served with a side of Garlic Butter which is great for dipping the delicious crust into, but that’s not on the pizza, so we’re not going to factor it into our ranking.
The Bottom Line:
A good pizza that is held back by its sauce.
6. Blaze Pizza
Dane Rivera
Dough: 3 Sauce: 4 Cheese: 4 Total Score: 11
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
Blaze Pizza is a modern pizza concept restaurant where you can build your own pizza pie. All the ingredients you’d expect to be there are there, with a few extras like sea salt and fresh herbs to toss on the pizza. You walk through a line and add ingredient by ingredient… Just like Cosmo dreamed.
Conceptually, it’s great, but there is an off-putting soullessness about this pizza. While Blaze uses fresh dough, it’s not hand-tossed or slapped by a person, instead, it’s pressed in a machine, forming a perfect circle. It tastes like robot-made pizza, which I’m not down with. One of the best things about any good pizza is its imperfections — the weird air bubble, and the asymmetrical crust. This pizza has no heart to it, and you can taste it.
The sauce is great, it’s bright and tomato-forward. The dough has this charred flavor that I think kind of overpowers the other aspects. I like a wood-fired pizza as much as the next person, but this can sometimes taste a bit too burnt. The cheese is also a step up for everything ranked lower, but that soullessness permeates. It’s not that the pizza isn’t good, it’s that it should taste better than this, and for unexplainable reasons, it leaves me wanting.
The Bottom Line:
It looks great, and it’s a step above most pizza chains, but it’s missing something imperceptible.
5. Marco’s Pizza
Marco
Dough: 4 Sauce: 4 Cheese: 4 Total Score: 12
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
Marco’s is slept on. It’s not one of the big three, but it’s just as good, and in some cases better. The cheese is salty, buttery, and creamy, and they lay it on thick (no need to ask for extra cheese here) while the crust is dusted with garlic seasoning. The sauce tastes great — like someone opened up a can of San Marzano whole tomatoes, crushed them and sprinkled them with salt and a proper glug of olive oil.
The Bottom Line:
A delicious pizza that starts with a great crust, great sauce, and great cheese.
Here is the thing about BJ’s — I won’t sit here and tell you that this pizza isn’t delicious. It is. It’s made to order and features a near-perfect combination of crust (crispy, thick, and chewy), sauce (rich and bright), and cheese (thick and rich), but at the end of the day this kind of strikes me as elevated Pizza Hut.
For the price (a large pie will cost you over $30) I expect so much more out of this. The best way to enjoy BJ’s pizza is to order a personal. So if you’re eating pizza for one and have money to burn, this is the play.
The Bottom Line:
Delicious, but for the price this pizza should taste a lot better.
3. Mod Pizza
Dane Rivera
Dough: 4 Sauce: 5 Cheese: 4 Totale Score: 13
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
Mod Pizza takes the Blaze Pizza build your own pie concept, and does it right. Unlike Blaze, this pizza has character and a flavor of its own.
The crust is comically thin, so this isn’t exactly a pizza you’re going to want to share, but what is there is great. It’s yeasty and crispy, the closest thing to a true sourdough crust that I’ve had at a pizza chain.
The real draw here is the sauce, it pops off the pie with an umami-rich naturally sweet tomato flavor. It has a strong enough flavor that it’s noticeable but isn’t so distracting that it overpowers the other ingredients. It perfectly complements the milky mozzarella cheese.
The Bottom Line:
Build-your-own-pizza done right.
2. California Pizza Kitchen
Dane Rivera
Dough: 5 Sauce: 5 Cheese: 4 Total Score: 14
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
If you haven’t gone to CPK in the last two years, you need to remedy that shit ASAP. The restaurant has revamped its entire pizza recipe (we reviewed every pizza here), and has made all the necessary changes to make this pizza truly great.
Instead of a pizza press, the dough here is slapped and stretched to order. The recipe has reduced the amount of sugar, turning it into the perfect canvas to build upon. The sauce is bright, natural tasting, and fresh, and the cheese is creamy and a bit nutty. The only real issue I have with CPK is that it’s impossible to come to a consensus about which pizza to order.
Here is a list of our five favorites: The Works, Carne Asada, Mushroom Pepperoni Sausage, Thai Chicken, and Original BBQ.
So as good as this pizza is, why doesn’t it get the number one spot? Because at the end of the day when someone says “pizza” I don’t think of CPK. I have to have a craving specifically for CPK to eat at this place, and for that, I can’t say it’s the best pizza chain in America.
The Bottom Line:
If you want adventurous builds, this is the best pizza place to order from.
1. Domino’s
Dane Rivera
Crust: 5 Sauce: 5 Cheese: 5 Totale Score: 15
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:
Here it is, our number one pick. Is this pizza perfect? Despite it’s perfect score, no, it’s not. Even on its best day, Domino’s doesn’t have anything on a great pizzeria in your city. But for what it is — cheap, convenient, and easily accessible — it does everything right.
The dough is hand-stretched to order and has a great crispy texture thanks to a liberal dusting of cornmeal, the sauce is rich and flavorful without being overly sweet, and the cheese is perfectly spread across the pizza and has a wonderful salty-nutty-creamy flavor.
I can take or leave the garlic butter dusting on the crust, but people swear by it and I understand that viewpoint. This pizza simply has everything a great pizza should have and doesn’t have any real weak points. It’s the only super big national pizza chain that tastes the way pizza should taste.
The Bottom Line:
If you don’t have a local pizzeria that you love, your first and only choice for cheap and consistent delivery pizza should be Domino’s.
If you’re an NFL team that needs some help at wide receiver, you’re in luck. The 2024 NFL Draft features as good a group of pass catchers as we’ve ever seen, a deep and talented class with difference makers like Washington standout Rome Odunze. Along with Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison and LSU’s Malik Nabers, Odunze is viewed as a potential top-10 pick, the exact sort of player that football teams covet in a WR1. He’s big, he’s fast, he’s physical, and he has this incredible knack for making plays that make life easier for a quarterback.
He did that over and over again during his tenure in Seattle, with the 2023 campaign serving as his magnum opus. Odunze reeled in 81 receptions for 1,428 yards and 13 touchdowns, along with one score on the ground and one via a kick return. He was a consensus All-American, while the Huskies had the best season in program history, going 14-1, winning the Pac-12 and the Sugar Bowl before coming up just short in the national championship game.
Odunze is going to hear his name called very, very early on April 25, but before then, he’s getting ready to enjoy the Super Bowl between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs. Prior to the game, Uproxx Sports caught up with Odunze to discuss his partnership with Panini, this season for the Huskies, his Super Bowl pick, and much more.
What do you have going on with Panini?
I’m here with Panini doing a little appearance, doing some different shoots with them, talking about the Super Bowl, talking about trading cards. I’m having a lot of fun with it. So, yeah, it’s been exciting.
Were you a big sports card kid? Trading cards, any sports memorabilia growing up? Or are you kind of new to the sports card game?
I’m a little bit new. I had some growing up, I remember distinctly this Syracuse card — this player, he wore number one. And I thought he was the swaggiest, drippiest player ever. So, I remember that. It’s been awesome to be able to work with Panini, have my own card, it’s a bit of a dream come true. Just thinking about when I was a kid, hopefully kids are looking at my card the same way, especially with Panini, because it’s exclusive to the NFL, so that makes it official. It’s been an honor to work with them.
Do you remember the Syracuse player? Or do you just remember it was a guy who wore one for Syracuse?
That’s the thing! I don’t remember who it was. I’ve tried to do some research with it, but I don’t remember who it was. But I just thought the orange and the white, they were in the white uniforms, they had orange pants, I think orange numbers. It was sick. But I don’t remember who it was, no.
Let’s talk a little football. It’s been a month or so since you last played. The Combine is going to be coming up soon. How have you handled this period? Has it been trying to get in some R&R? Was it right after that final game of the season, getting to work and getting ready for the Combine?
For me, it was awesome. I wouldn’t have it any other way than to be able to go to National Championship, it was awesome. But that put me a little behind in the Combine training, right? Because some players had been off for a month or so before then. I had to take a little bit of time, I think I maybe took three, four days to just relax and let my body reset a little bit. But thanks to God, I was able to finish the season very healthy. And so I finished those three or four days and got right into training. I thought it was mandatory to be able to go straight into training, catch up and make sure I’m getting getting all my Combine exercises right, making sure I’m getting my speed up, getting my strength up, so I can perform well.
You mentioned this year for Washington was a dream year. And I want to know, how did this year specifically get you ready for the NFL?
I think this year prepared me tremendously, especially because we run a pro style offense, and we pass the ball a lot. And I think that the NFL is turning into a passing league, as well. So, like you said, going up against teams every week, regardless if they were good or bad, they were giving us their best shot. We were the top team in the country the entire year. So, every time somebody played us, they were trying to try to knock us off and people continued to doubt us and all of that. It was fun to be able to go in each week getting everybody’s best.
And being with a bunch of NFL players, future NFL players on that team, it was exciting. It shows you the caliber of players that I’m going to be around and how I can interact with them and have camaraderie and a leadership role with all those guys, it helps tremendously. And it was a super long season, I think it was 16 weeks that we had including the bye and games and all that, going all the way to the national championship, so that’s similar to a 17-game season, even longer for those teams entering the playoffs. I think all that prepared me for the next level.
What was the moment when you went, oh, wait, this team not can do something really special, but is going to do something really special? And why was it that moment specifically?
I think it was something that was built in the previous season. We had a lot of success immediately and we had so many components that already had the chemistry, we were connecting very well. Those two losses, it was tough, but we knew going into the next season, in that offseason, we were telling people we’re going to be national champs, and we believed it. It was something in the locker room that we fed on every single day. Unfortunately, we fell one game short, but we still did very special things. I think that belief, like I said, just came from the previous season and was just continue to grow and grow as it came closer and closer.
That game against Texas in the Sugar Bowl, what were you doing on the sideline during that last Texas drive? Are you pacing around? Are you there like, “We got this, we’re fine, I’ve seen our defense do this before?”
I was on the sideline. I was a little bit more far back, towards the other side of the field, because I wanted a full view. I didn’t want anybody in my way to witness the play. And I had full confidence that they were gonna go and do it. They’d been coming up clutch all season, they were a very clutch defense that year, and in the moment, they locked down when they needed to. It was full confidence that someone was gonna go out there and make a play. And I didn’t know who it was going to be, shout out Elijah Jackson who made a tremendous play. But yeah, I was there watching it all go down, for sure.
Where did that confidence come from? Was it seeing it every single day in practice and knowing it was going to come? Or was it an off field thing, the camaraderie, the stuff that you built up away from football with them, knowing that your trust in them as people is going to translate to the football field?
It was both! It was both, and I think that’s what makes college football special and what makes a team sport like football so special, because it’s both. When you’re on the field and you’re practicing and you’re giving your all, you’re building that chemistry, you’re getting to know how each other play and what each player is going to do — especially wide receiver to quarterback, the connection has to be there and you need that connection to have success.
But it was off the field, as well. We were a super tight team, super close. And that team environment, that bonding would show in how our offense and defense would play off of one another. If one wasn’t doing as well, the other picked it up and vice versa. So, it was something that was built on and off the field, for sure. And I think that’s one of the main factors that took us as far as we went.
An NFL team brings you in at the Combine and says “Rome, make the case why you are the best wide receiver in this Draft that has a lot of really good wide receivers in it.” What do you say?
I think that it’s a combination of things. All those guys that watch the film, I let them know, you watch the film, I do a good job on the field at many different things. Being versatile, my contested catches, my route running, and my ability to block in the run game are all complements of my game. Not only that, but my leadership in the locker room. I’m a guy that’s gonna get along with pretty much everybody in there, and encourage those guys, and give them the tough love when they need it, and make sure that the locker room and the morale of the team is continuing to trend upwards, and when we go through adversity, to be a voice and a beacon of light that says we’re gonna get through those times. Also, what I bring to a community of a team. I’m big into supporting the fans that support me, and being in the community, and helping everybody enjoy football and growing the sport as an entertainment, and being a light to all those around me. So, I think all those components provide a good scouting report, I would say, for the number one wide receiver in the Draft.
Is there a specific game that you would tell people to throw on that you think sums up what you could do on the football field?
Man, it’s a lot of games. Cal was a good game — I had a special teams touchdown on that and I had a couple touchdowns, some screens. Both the Oregon games, and then I would say throw on Texas as well. Those four games that will give you a good synopsis of my ability on the football field and what I could do.
I always love asking guys about their teammates in the Draft — you obviously have plenty of them, but the one I have to ask about is Michael Penix. I’m a Penn State fan, he has broken my heart in the past. What is it about Michael that makes him so special as someone who’s been around him for a few years?
I think that it’s who he is — who he is as a man, and that translates so seamlessly to the field. He continues to have success on the field through all the adversity that he’s faced with his injuries. When he was over in the Big Ten, he was going crazy against those defenses that people say are very tough — which they are — and he was able to do it in the Pac-12, as well. His arm talent is incredible, he can put the ball wherever he wants on the field, whenever he wants to do it. His awareness in the pocket, his ability to escape the pocket, make plays with his feet when he wants to. His ability to throw on the run. I think he has all the aspects of an NFL quarterback, and an elite one at that. There’s very, very, very few weaknesses in his game that I think he’ll even continue to improve on, as well, and the strengths of his game are limitless. He’s great, man, he’ll make any team a lot better.
Obviously, Super Bowl is right around the corner, what are your general thoughts on the matchup between the Chiefs and the Niners?
I think it’s exciting, I think it’s exciting. They both have tremendous defenses, so much offensive firepower. So, it’s hard to say it’s going to be an offense or a defense, which one can outperform the other. It’s just going to be an all-out grudge match, I think, and that’s exciting. I think they’re definitely the two top teams in the league, so to see them go at it, it’s going to be exciting, along with all the drama that this season has and the NFL promotes. It’s a lot of fun to see it all unfold, so, it’s exciting. Some U-Dub players on both sides, so I’m excited to see the matchups. But it should be a great game.
Who is your favorite player to watch in this game? Are you somebody who tends to gravitate towards watching wide receivers when you’re just kicking your feet up and watching a football game?
Definitely. I always like to watch the wide receivers and watch them make plays. Definitely will be watching all the wide receivers on both sides very closely, specifically Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, I love watching their game. And then on the Chiefs, I’ll definitely be looking at Trent McDuffie. I think that matchup of them vs. Trent McDuffie is going to be awesome to watch — I went against Trent in high school my freshman and sophomore year, so I know what he brings to the table, as well.
And then, watching the quarterbacks play. Watching Patrick Mahomes play, it’s always exciting. Watching Brock Purdy do his thing as Mr. Irrelevant is super incredible. So, I’m rooting for all those guys.
Can I get a pick out of you or are you trying to stay away from that?
No, I’ll make it.
Let’s go.
I’m going Niners. I’m going Deebo Samuel, Super Bowl MVP. And I’ll give you …I’m going 35-24 Niners.
So you think it’s just going to be “We’re getting the ball in Deebo’s hands, he’s gonna make stuff happen”?
I think that’s what they always do. I think when you take advantage of that, the Niners have a lot of success. Every time the ball is in his hands, he’s doing some special with it. So, as much as they can get him the ball, I would do it as much as possible.
Record Store Day 2024 is quickly approaching. The annual event, aimed at celebrating independently owned and operated record stores, has found its official musical partner for the year.
On Saturday, February 10, Uproxx cover star Paramore took to their official Instagram page to announce that they’ve been named the 2024 Record Store Day Ambassador.
After a long career in the music industry, we have decided to announce that…we are going to continue to have a long career in the music industry (sorry for any inconvenience).
Our first order of business as a freshly independent Paramore is to shine a light on independent record stores – a vital part of our journey from music-obsessed school friends to professional music makers.
With that being said, we are humbled to be your Ambassadors for Record Store Day 2024. The timing feels kismet.
The discovery of music was always meant to be romantic. Indie record shops are some of the only spaces we’ve got that offer a tangible, tactile experience of music discovery.
In this world that feels more disconnected and hostile than ever, it feels important to remain in touch (literally) with what inspires us, empowers us, or simply brings us joy.
Thankfully, for all our sakes, there still survives among the chaos, the purity and radical simplicity of a great record store.
Record Store Day 2024 is scheduled for April 20. Find more information here.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Last week a special counsel investigating Joe Biden’s mishandling of classified documents found that he was not guilty of any malfeasance…while stating that his memory was “hazy,” “fuzzy,” “faulty,” and “poor.” Meanwhile the person likely running against him for president later this year isn’t doing so hot either. Donald Trump has been having massive, bizarre brain farts for months. When a fellow GOP candidate pointed that out, one of Trump’s lackeys couldn’t cut her off fast enough.
Nikki Haley: “Trump got me confused with Pelosi not too long ago”
Sean Hannity immediately ends the interview.
I bet millions of Republicans don’t even know that Trump repeatedly confused Haley with Pelosi. pic.twitter.com/MPMKA4KoPK
Per Media Matters, Nikki Haley — the last remaining GOP candidate who’s not the former president — went on Hannity Thursday, and she ended her stint by pointing out one of Trump’s biggest recent gaffes: when he repeatedly confused her with someone whose first name also starts with an “N.”
“We’re doing this because we have a country to save, and everybody’s blinded by the fact that we’ve got these two 80-year-old candidates,” Haley said as Hannity tried to rush her off.
“I mean, Trump got me confused with Pelosi not too long ago,” she added.
At that point Hannity ramped things up even more, saying, “We’ve got to roll.”
Before Haley’s mic was completely cut off, she was in the middle of saying, “We need to move forward.”
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