Review: Papa John's - Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza

Papa John's new Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza features a hand-tossed crust topped with beef, hickory-smoked bacon, dill pickle slices, Roma tomatoes, and a zesty burger sauce instead of pizza sauce. It's basically last year's Double Cheeseburger Pizza plus bacon.

After a sub-par experience with the Double Cheeseburger, I bought a large Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza for $12 in hopes that bacon really does make everything better.

Compared to last time, there was much less pickles here; maybe three or four slices per slice so that they actually felt like an opening act rather than the headliner.

To answer my hopes, bacon does indeed make this pizza better. Where the ground beef is relatively lacking in flavor, the bacon ups the meatiness level and tops it off with an enjoyable, porky smokiness. There wasn't any crispiness to it though.

The Roma tomatoes didn't add too much in flavor or texture; baking them gives them a stewed texture but not a stewed flavor. I wonder if fresh tomatoes might be the way to go for the burger experience. Onions would also be a nice addition.

The burger sauce mostly offers a savory base for the burger with bare hints of ketchup and mustard.

Overall, Papa John's Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza is just okay for me. While I wouldn't pick it over a standard pepperoni pizza or a burger, I give Papa John's Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza an "E" for "edible," which a big improvement over their previous effort. The reduced number of pickles was key, but the bacon helped as well.

Nutritional Info - Papa John's Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza - Large, Original Crust
Serving Size - 1 slice (155g)
Calories - 380 (from Fat - 180)
Fat - 20g (Saturated Fat - 7g)
Sodium - 950mg
Carbs - 37g (Sugar - 5g)
Protein - 14g