I've had 'zaw on two occasions with the non-fancy-I-can-digest-everything regular dough, and it was so delicious. It's sweeter than regular pizza dough, just the right thickness, and for whatever reason, it came out perfectly crispy on the bottom.
I did take issue with the price for a take-n-bake smallish pizza, but the flavor, presentation, and the fact that it's cheaper (and actually faster) than its neighboring fully-cooked competitor made it totally worth it.

I just had one of those frozen alsatian pizzas from Trader Joe's - what $5.00, with ham, cheese and caramelized onions. Better value, though I've enjoyed a regular crust 'zaw or two.

aw david! though i love the gluten-free crust, you really shoulda tried the regular one. i mean, you didn't get a gluten-free crust from papa murphy's did you? and the 'zaws are 15 inches, not 12..

i agree with freaking delicious. why would you compare the gluten-free, not interested in the gluten-free, but the regular crust at zaw is soooo good and they are for sure larger than that. i remain a big fan of zaw

Oh hell, we did NOT try the gluten-free 'zaw pizza crust—I misread the 'zaw website as saying ALL their crusts were gluten-free. We'll amend the piece online and run a correction in the paper. It was the regular 'zaw crust we found to be more serviceable than delicious—I would not do a taste-test pizza the disservice of ordering it with a gluten-free crust.

Yo, we like it deep dish style here in Chicago. Eat it at the restaurant, people. That's what it is for, hello???
What next for dinner. Eat it like a vulture.

The only take & bake pizza I like are the ones in the cheese/deli section of QFC (can't remember what the brand name is).

I usually but the four cheese pizza and then buy more ingredients like fresh basil, Italian sausage, mushrooms, and a couple balls of fresh mozzarella to hold it all together.

Bake it on a pizza stone, or if you have money, I've heard grilling is the way to go

I've eaten 'zaw's pizza a couple of times. The crust was so yeasty & sweet, which made it very un-pizza-like. Ugh. & they put so much sage on it, picking it off didn't help. I gave it a fair try, despite the fact that their dumb name & signs fucked me off.

We ordered Zaw for the first time on election night - the regular crust 'arugula patch' pizza was AMAZING (as was the rest of the night). They put the arugula in a bag on the side with a slice of lemon to squeeze on top with instructions to add these ingredients right after taking the zaw out of the oven. We've ordered several times since and they've all been delicious and crispy. I was surprised the reviewer didn't mention the most ridiculous, but kinda neat part of Zaw - they have suggested beer, wine and soda pairings for each pizza (they sell all suggested beverages of course).

While the reviewer may not enjoy knowing how his food came to be (wind power, etc.) we quite enjoy it and appreciate the effort. We stopped into the store once to pick up our pizza and the owner was very friendly and excited to tell us all about the sourcing of the ingredients, etc.

All in all, Papa Murphey's is always tasty when you're drunk, but Zaw provides a pretty enjoyable complete meal.

since when are you qualified to review restaurants???? Can anyone at the stranger take a turn and brutalize someones hard work and income???

As mentioned in your article, I gather you were stoned when you tried the pizzas. When I'm high (which isn't as much these days) any pizza will do for me too. When I want good food, I think I'll stick with 'zaw. You obviously didn't eat the same crust I did, I've had 'zaw number of times now and i have to say everytime it has been amazing. I'll get some weed though, and look forward to your next review comparing burger king with the metropolitan grill.

Not only is the branding of 'zaw stuck in the 80's ("We're the new cool kid in town"- shut up! would a cool kid actually announce his arrival?)- but they made a shitload of noise while building their cap hill location, jackhammering at all hours, starting work at 7AM on a holiday. They managed to piss off many of their neighbors in the building before even opening.

"yeah they were totally jackhammering at 2am and stuff. oh, wait, no they weren't. their construction crew worked the same hours as every other construction crew in the world and i'm just lame and have nothing else to complain about."

Dear Suzette:
You wrote
" since when are you qualified to review restaurants???? Can anyone at the stranger take a turn and brutalize someones hard work and income??? "

Well, since when are you qualified to review an article? I'm not sure you read the whole thing... It specifically states that everything was done "with research assistance provided by Stranger restaurant reviewer Bethany Jean Clement."

FYI.

Man, I guess i'm not getting high enough these days. If that was you S.R., get over it, you sound foolish. I'm pretty sure the guys doing any jackhammering are not the same guys tossing pizza downstairs at 'zaw. I'm a neighbor too and I'm really glad their here cause their food is great!!! Shit, they even gave a free neighbors reception when they opened and I'm pretty sure that was the ones running the place and not the ones running a jackhammer. Everytime in, the people are really nice at 'zaw. You sound as biased as the article reviewer. I suggest you get off your ass and try their stuff, which is what this is supposed to be all about, not finding some jackhammering jackass excuse to complain.

zaw vs papa murphy's?
I live upstairs from one of the 'Zaw's.
for a take and bake pizza. its fricken killer?!
way better than frozen murphy's

who ever David is?.... is really lucky his boss doesnt check his work?.... what a fucktard?!

one of the most retarded reviews I've ever read?

fuck it who is his boss? I need his job? shit my talking parrot could spit a smarter review... epic fail.

go back to school.

go tell Zaw your sorry!

Prissilla?
I think you need to go back to school? to figure out how to write? you coulnd't write a decent review if your life depended on it??
you fucktard?

I've tried 'em both and I think 'zaw is way over priced, too precious, and the whole experience of waiting for the pizza by sitting on a cold bench in a cold storefront just not my cuppa tea. Papa John's is not great pizza, but let's face it...neither is 'zaw's and they really stick it to you in the price dept. And oh yes, if you can't pick out your own beer and soft drinks, well yes, you probably will be the ones persuaded by such silliness as their 'wind power' comments. Some people will buy anything to look cool...

Where did they find room for a wind machine in Capitol Hill? If I lived in a building and a pizza store put a wind machine on top of my building I would be a little irritated as well.

But Zaw delivers beer and wine. That's the clincher.

I used to work at Papa Murphy's (8 years ago as a high school student) and I've had more pies there than I can remember. And the reviewer is right--the ingredients are fresh and delicious, but the crust is just a crime. It's so bad.

@ suzette: never & of course.

wind power is blarty. eat it like a vulture.

Suzette: you must be new here.

Of course the stranger is qualified to review. Anything.

It's the Stranger.

Welcome to pansville.

By the way:
Costco Take-Home-Raw-Pizza, for the win. Emperor of all: $7.99, 16", generous toppings that are only mere hours less fresh than PM or others.
QFC is palateable, but QuiteFuckingCostly, as usual.

$18 for a 12" or even a 15" take & bake pizza is completely absurd! For the same price, or a few bucks more, I could get a real pizza. Cooked to perfection in a coal or wood fired oven. Crust is essential, as agreed, and your home oven can't compare. If I'm stoned and want a cheap pizza I'll stick with Papa Murphy's.

we just had our first zaw pizza and the entire experience was enjoyable. the staff in the capitol hill store was super friendly and clearly excited about food and good ingredients. papa murphy's doesn't compare at all. we ordered the shroom fest, which is lots of mushroom goodness on a thin, bubbly crust. a cheaper alternative to pizza delivery and delicious!