Aron B.
Yelp
Definitely functional, or a bit better, depending on how desperate you are for a Detroit-style pizza. For reference: Loui's Pizza in Hazel Park was closed due to COVID-19, and Buddy's was open this weekend...and we'd been cooking in-house for 6-7 straight days. We needed a break and someone else to do the cooking for us for once. Without Loui's being available, the job falls to what we consider to be Choice #2.
It wasn't bad, at all, but this? This is nowhere near the stratospheric heights that Loui's reaches when Loui's is on their game. This is...this is fine. Nothing wrong here, but it's going to be C+/B- territory when all is said and done. It fed us, it tasted pretty good, but the satisfaction level and value for the money isn't up to the gold standard that Loui's provides, and it's at *least* a full letter grade off, even if Loui's isn't at the top of their game. This is decidedly second-tier.
Normally, we order a small Loui's pizza, extra well done, double cut, with sauce out to the edges, and that's enough for the three of us. We certainly won't be waddling due to being full, but for the most part, we'll be sated and satisfied with one small pizza, and we will *certainly* enjoy it. That's normally.
For this, I distinctly remembered that Buddy's is either smaller and/or lighter than Loui's is, so I decided to go with two small pizzas (don't want to sacrifice the corner crust pieces!), well done, double cut, with sauce out to the edges.
Buddy's was *busy*, and I'm glad that they were. There was no shortage of business for them, and the wait we were told was about 45 minutes. I couldn't even get *through* on the phone, and I waited on hold for several minutes. They apologized for this and indicated that the phone system was pretty new and confusing. I did not detect any shysterism from the employee who told me this, only frustration that it sounded kind of normal. Nonetheless, the order was taken and we were told 45 minutes.
About a half hour later, our pizzas came out and were served up to us in two individual boxes. I would *not* say that they were well done, but to be fair, they were done "enough"...I do wish that they'd left them in a bit longer to get more/better crust edges, a crispier bottom, etc. Having said that, with the volume of orders they were trying to stay on top of, this is forgivable.
"Sauce to the edges" for them apparently means "extra sauce", and I'm not going to fault them for that, at all. Their sauce is fine, not as good as Loui's, but fine, and they *did* spread it out to the edges. I happen to like a lot of sauce, so the extra they put on there didn't bother me a bit, but again: it would have been better had it been left in the oven a bit longer to cook and perhaps harden a bit for a less messy and a bit better/crispier eating experience.
"Double cut" was kind of funny: we did have eight pieces on each pizza, but the sizes of each piece varied *greatly* one from the other: some seemed like they were just a standard size of pizza, some were about 1.5 inches in width. Again: not a deal-breaker, but also kind of funny, and with the volume they had, understandable. At first it didn't look like they were double-cut, but I was assured that they were...it's just that the sauce covered them and made it look like they weren't.
One obvious preference about Buddy's: their green pepper slices.
As for the sizes, I *absolutely* ordered the right amount of pizza. Whereas Loui's would fill us up with one small pizza with absolutely nothing left over, if we had just ordered the one small from Buddy's, we would have been left hungry...all three of us. As it stood, we nearly finished off *both* smalls between the three of us, with only two remaining double-cut pieces out of the two pieces, meaning that it's really just one of eight total slices left over. Clearly, Buddy's is not as filling as Loui's is, and absolutely not as dense as Loui's is. I can eat Buddy's pizza a *whole* lot faster than I can eat Loui's pizza...and maybe for some that's a good thing, but not for us. We prefer the density and satisfaction of Loui's to Buddy's every day of the week.
It's OK, and they did all right considering all the circumstances...they were sort of under the gun with all the business they were getting. Still: I cannot understand why anyone would prefer this pizza over Loui's, ever. I guess if you like less sauce (which Buddy's usually has) and a lighter bread/crust (which Buddy's *definitely* is), then maybe you'd prefer Buddy's to Loui's. I just can't get there with you. Their prices for similar pizzas and toppings are similar, so there isn't much of a price difference between them, nor advantage one to the other, cash-wise.
Buddy's is a distant second place, but still respectable. They are, however, a *long* way from dethroning the king, which is Loui's. Long live the king, and may the king return quickly. I'm already hungry for some of the best.
