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We ordered similar items from each store: a medium pepperoni pizza, …
Katie Canales/Business Insider
… a garlic bread side order, …
Katie Canales/Business Insider
… an 8-piece order of wings, …
Katie Canales/Business Insider
… and a chocolate dessert.
Katie Canales/Business Insider
… and a medium pizza at Papa John’s cost $3 more than at Domino’s.
Domino’s/Papa John’s/Business Insider
The dipping sauces were priced similarly — both Domino’s and Papa John’s charged 65¢ for each.
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We were able to have our orders delivered from Papa John’s but not Domino’s, which we felt was strange since both chains were in close proximity to each other. Domino’s apparently had a shorter delivery range.
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So we ordered carryout at Domino’s and went to pick it up from the store.
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Because of that, the bill at Domino’s was just $42.46 versus $56.75 at Papa John’s, since there weren’t any delivery costs.
Domino’s/Papa John’s/Business Insider
But if we had chosen carryout instead of delivery at Papa John’s, the cost would have been closer to $47, so Domino’s still would have cost less.
Papa Johns/Business Insider
We could still use Domino’s handy tracker though — our order was ready in no time.
Domino’s/Business Insider
There was also a nifty tracker in the Papa John’s app that helped us keep tabs on how far out our order was. It took 25 minutes for our order to be delivered, which is what the tracker estimated.
Papa John’s/Business Insider
Finally, our orders were laid out in front of us — and it was time to feast.
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First up were the garlic-y side dishes. We ordered Garlic Bread Twists from Domino’s and Garlic Knots from Papa John’s.
Katie Canales/Business Insider
Papa John’s garlic bread was good, in a word. The texture of the bread struck a solid balance of doughy and crunchy, but the pizza dipping sauce wasn’t anything too spectacular.
Katie Canales/Business Insider
On the other hand, the garlic and marinara dipping sauces from Domino’s (the Garlic Bread Twists come with one sauce free of charge, but we added another for extra) quickly won us over. The marinara specifically was perfectly thick with a hint of rosemary.
Katie Canales/Business Insider
And Domino’s garlic twists were a perfect match for it. They were doughy, with a more enticing coating of seasoning.
Katie Canales/Business Insider
Both garlic side orders were good, but Domino’s garlic knots were a bit more difficult to stop eating.
Katie Canales/Business Insider
Now on to the main course!
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We kept it simple with only pepperoni on all of our pizzas, since you can’t go wrong with the topping.
Katie Canales/Business Insider
And as it turns out, many Americans feel that way — more than a third of pizzas sold in the US come adorned with pepperoni.
Katie Canales/Business Insider
We reached for a slice of Papa John’s pizza first. At first glance, the crust looked fluffy, the pepperoni placement was on point, and the cheese seemed generous …
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… but we soon realized that maybe it was a little too much cheese.
Katie Canales/Business Insider
Biting into a Papa John’s slice resulted in an overwhelming mouthful of it. The balance of cheese to dough to pepperoni felt off.
Katie Canales/Business Insider
Apart from the cheese overload, the pizza was doughy and, for the most part, yummy.
Katie Canales/Business Insider
The pizza also came with two dipping sauces: buffalo and garlic, which were both tasty.
Katie Canales/Business Insider
And the chain’s signature pepperoncini accompaniment was a nice touch.
Katie Canales/Business Insider
But overall, we concluded that we weren’t jumping at the opportunity to order another Papa John’s pizza in the future.
Katie Canales/Business Insider
But then we sunk our teeth into Domino’s, which was the culinary equivalent of a breath of fresh air.
Katie Canales/Business Insider
It was doughy and yummy, with just the right amount of cheese.
Katie Canales/Business Insider
And the crust was exquisite: fluffy yet crunchy and flawlessly toasted.
Katie Canales/Business Insider
So Domino’s took home the trophy for this round.
Katie Canales/Business Insider
Katie Canales/Business Insider
We somehow still had enough room to taste test the next category: the wings. We ordered plain boneless wings from Domino’s and unsauced roasted bone-in wings from Papa John’s.
Katie Canales/Business Insider
They also tasted superb. They looked like they were a bit fatty, but their roasted flavor made up for it.
Katie Canales/Business Insider
The wings category was the closest race out of all four courses. Domino’s and Papa John’s wings were neck-and-neck …
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… but the reason Domino’s wings were better was because of its distinct smoky flavor.
Katie Canales/Business Insider
We would absolutely order wings from both Papa John’s and Domino’s again because both were mouthwateringly tender and delicious, but the wings from Domino’s were just slightly more memorable.
Katie Canales/Business Insider
It was a good way to wrap up our taste test.
Katie Canales/Business Insider
In each category, there was a clear winner. The Domino’s garlic twists, pizza, and wings were knock-outs, while the dessert from Papa John’s was hard to ignore.
Katie Canales/Business Insider
Ultimately, Papa John’s was no match for Domino’s. The final count — Domino’s: 3 and Papa John’s: 1.
Katie Canales/Business Insider
It’s not that all of the Papa John’s items we tried were bad — they just weren’t as good as what Domino’s had to offer.
Katie Canales/Business Insider
On top of that, Domino’s cost the least out of the two chains, without sacrificing quality.
Katie Canales/Business Insider
It’s easy to see why Domino’s has become the largest pizza seller in the world.
Katie Canales/Business Insider
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Papa John"s vs. Domino"s: Which is the best pizza chain? - Business Insider
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