Des Moines' Best Pizza: Jersey Guys Pizza

Lousy service, delicious pizza. Big Tomato Pizza has no qualms about the former, in fact it has a neon sign proclaiming it. The pizza, on the other hand, speaks for itself.

Today you can find unusual pizza options everywhere, but when Big Tomato opened in the ’90s the ability to order Doritos or hot dogs on your pizza was pretty novel. In fact, in a dining scene full of balsamic vinegar and curry-based crusts, Doritos and hot dogs still stand out.

You can create your own combination or choose from one of the house specialty pizzas, with options like the Crop Top (four veggies of choice) or the Stop, Drop and Roll (four meats of choice), or the simple and delicious potato and onion ring pizza. Don’t let the name mislead you, this isn’t fried onion rings on a pizza (which does sound tasty), but rather a simple combination of sliced potatoes and large rings of onion on Big Tomato’s white sauce served on a New York style crust.

For late night slices, Big Tomato serves up a mix of cheese/sausage/pepperoni with an odd assortment of dealer’s choice topping combos. But if you’re ordering to go, the house specialties offer plenty of surprising choices that taste great together.

—Joe Lawler