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I can’t say that I’ve ever been a fan of the calzone. While the dish originated in Italy (according to Wikipedia) it has always seemed like a red-headed stepchild, born out of a marketing meeting in the 1980s when some executive decided that their chain’s pizza needed a totally radical reinvention. After 15 minutes of fame, the calzone was resigned to county fair food status and taken off the menu of every self respecting pizza shop.
Regardless of my own made-up version of the calzone’s history, I did my best to clear my head of any bias when I heard that D.P. Dough is now sort of a local company with their franchising operations recently relocated to Columbus. I figured it was worth a review.
D.P. Dough is located at the corner of High Street & Smith Place, directly in the middle of the area that can be referred to both as The Short North and The University District. The shop only seats around 20 people and primarily functions as a carry-out operation with the option for delivery service powered by motorscooter. The interior is decorated in a scarlet and gray color scheme with OSU sports memorabilia on the walls, which would seem to be aimed at attracting college students from the north rather than residents of The Short North to the south.
The day of my recent visit was on a Wednesday, which advertises a “2 for $10″ special on all calzones. Normally, they’re $6.95 each.
The Chicken ParmaZone includes breaded chicken breast, american cheese, mozzarella cheese and ranch dressing. The chicken was all white meat, and having the ranch included inside the calzone was better than the others I tried, which had no sauce at all on the interior. Probably the best of the four that I sampled from.
The Cheeseburger Zone is filled with ground hamburger meat, bacon, mozzarella and cheddar cheese. This one had some potential, but was somehow salty to the point of inedibility. I tasted each ingredient individually and couldn’t pinpoint where the salt overload was coming from. Either my tastebuds were fried and it all seemed salty, or there was some sort of salt shaker accident in the kitchen.
The Maui Wowi Zone includes pineapple and ham in addition to mozzarella cheese. One of three specialty calzones, this one included the most unique ingredients, even if that only meant ham slices and canned pineapple chunks. The flavor was along the lines of your average hawaiian pizza, but could have used some other sort of dipping sauce. The standard marinara can be substituted for something else, but none of the other sauces seem to compliment this one at all.
I also tried out a side of Tater Tots ($1.75 small / $3.00 large) just for the hell of it. They’re the frozen variety, heated and served. Nothing different than what you can buy at the grocery store, though they can also add bacon and cheese to top them if you’re so inclined.
Overall, I’d say that D.P. Dough was a let down. The dough itself is actually pretty tasty, but the toppings were average across the board. An unfolded calzone from D.P. Dough would probably make a ok slice of pizza, but I can’t really get behind the hot-pocket style format. If there’s one thing D.P. Dough has working in its favor is that they’re open late with a decent proximity to a large body of OSU students. This type of food probably goes over pretty well with that crowd during those late hours, but if you’ve graduated and you’re sober, there’s really no compelling reason to go here when there are so many better pizza options throughout Columbus. Try Element, Romeo’s or zpizza instead.
DP Dough is located at 1259 N. High Street. They’re open from 4pm to 3pm Monday through Wednesday, 4pm to 4am Thursday and Friday, Saturday 11am to 4am and Sunday 11am to 2pm. More information can be found online at www.dpdough.com.
I must respectfully disagree… if you dig the calzone to begin with, DP’s is a pretty solid offering. Selectivity with the fillings will keep you from getting a salty mess inside. It’s also for more than just drunk late-night college kids; it’s a fun trip down memory lane for those of us who went to OU or Miami!
Does anyone have any idea as to what ‘D.P.’ stand for?
@drew
In the early 1980s, Dan Haley and his mom, Penny, introduced their original calzones at The Big E, the largest fair in the Northeastern United States, held in Springfield, Massachusetts. They called their special recipe for calzones “D.P. Dough,” based on their initials. Year after year, the calzones were a major hit at The Big E. This early success led Dan and Penny to open the first D.P. Dough restaurant in 1987
There is a giant ass Short North Arch in front of it. Deciding it is for ‘drunk college kids’ hits home as it has a stereotypical view of a one of the more vibrant and growing areas of the SN.
Please elaborate on what you see, taste and experience and leave conjecture aside. :)
If there’s a “red-headed stepchild” in the pizza family, it’s the stromboli.
I’ve never had one in Ohio, but I loved calzones when I lived in NY. They are the YUM!
It’s good drunk food. Mediocre sober food.
Morgan,
I’m sorry that you didn’t enjoy your recent experience at D.P. Dough. It seems that your primary criticism is of the calzone concept itself. (“I can’t say that I’ve ever been a fan of the calzone;”I can’t really get behind the hot-pocket style format,” etc.). You reviewing a calzone restaurant is like someone who hates country music going to a Toby Keith concert: If you don’t like calzones, you are not going to like D.P. Dough.
I’d be happy to provide more context about D.P. Dough. We are a 22 unit national restaurant franchise exclusively located near college campuses (which is our core demographic). Of course, we are happy to serve everyone, but the reality is that we do most of our business from Midnight to 4AM (prime hours for college students and partiers in general). We are not a gourmet restaurant. We do, however, sell the best calzones around.(Again, you admittedly don’t like calzones. So, I do not know that you are qualified to make judgments about them.) We deliver them quickly, at an affordable price, and we stay open crazy late hours.
Finally, your criticism about there not being sauce inside some of the calzones is unfair. The ingredients are all listed on the menu. If you want sauce included, you can include sauce. Indeed, that’s why we offer so many calzones that have sauce included. Just ask for a calzone that has sauce or ask to add sauce to one that does not.
Again, I’m sorry that you didn’t enjoy your D.P. Dough experience. But, it sounds like our product might not be for you. The millions of very happy customers that we have served over the course of the last twenty years would certainly disagree with your assessment.
Respectfully,
Matt Crumpton
Vice President, D.P. Dough Franchising
Owner, D.P. Dough Columbus
I miss JimL2′s food reviews.
+1 Paul.
I guess I don’t really see the point of the review. If you don’t like Calzones, why would you review a place that specializes in them? That would be like me reviewing a …….. um.
I can’t think of any type of food I don’t like, but you get my point. ;)
This place may or may not be good, but we’ll never know because the critic was predisposed to dislike the place from the get go.
When I first read “I can’t say that I’ve ever been a fan of the calzone,” I thought you were going to follow with “but DP Dough has changed my life in a way that is utterly indescribable.”
But instead, I think I blacked out from boredom.
Also, “After 15 minutes of fame, the calzone was resigned to county fair food status and taken off the menu of every self respecting pizza shop.”
I have to question the reviewer’s pizza knowledge if he’s never been to or heard of such self-respecting pizza places as Gino’s East in Chicago,Grimaldi’s in Brooklyn, Lombardi’s in Little Italy, and Di Matteo in Napoli, all of which have calzones on their menus. I have to question his self-aggrandizing tone and needless hyperbole, if it’s to make up for a deficiency in experience and knowledge of gastronomy.
Further, I have to question why this person is the food reviewer for such a fine website as Columbus Underground.
Review Grade: F Please consult a real food reviewer for guidance and re-submit.