The MOD Squad

Jim and Nancy do not disclose the fact that they will review a restaurant before they attend, ensuring their reviews are unbiased and uninfluenced by their position with the Sun Day.

This is a very stressful time for everyone, due to the Corona Virus outbreak. Nancy even stopped drinking Corona beer!!! Our editor, Chris LaPelusa, gave us the option of suspending our column or reviewing take-out/delivery. We feel we have an obligation to our loyal readers, so as the saying goes, “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead,” but don’t spare the hand sanitizer.

We received an email on 3/14/20 (which is “PI” day, 3.14…., get it?) giving us a free pizza at MOD Pizza in Algonquin. We had a difficult decision to make. Should we risk our lives for a free pizza? Of course, we’re senior citizens, it’s in our DNA to take anything that’s free whether we need it or not. Taking appropriate precautions, we dug out our snorkeling equipment, used duct tape to attach surgical masks over the snorkel tube, put on our rubber gloves, wrapped ourselves in bubble wrap, and jumped into the Mini-mobile making one stop along the way to buy more toilet paper.

The best way to describe the decor at this venue is, it’s a large open and airy dine in pizza joint. The concept of MOD Pizza is, you get to order from 10 different pizza combinations or build your own. First you have to decide how hungry you are. Would you like their Mini 6″ pizza, the MOD 11″ pizza, or the Mega Dough 11″ thick crust pizza? Both of us ordered the MOD 11″ pizza. Now the fun begins. In front of you is a buffet style counter containing a multitude of ingredients to top your pizza. You tell the pizza maker what ingredients you would like as you walk through. This includes type of sauce (6), cheese (7), meats (9), veggies (29), and the finishing toppings (8).

They also offer salads, either build your own with the above ingredients, or choose from their three classic suggestions.

Now here’s the cool part about MOD Pizza. No matter how many or how few toppings you choose for your pizza or salad, it is all the same price. 6″ Mini $6.47, 11″ MOD $8.47, 11″ Mega Dough $10.47.

Same goes for the salads. Mini $6.47, MOD $8.47, or Mega Family Sized $13.47.

By the time you get your fountain drink, grab your condiments (red pepper flakes, oregano, parmesan cheese, etc.) and find a table, you just get settled in and your name is called to pick up your pizza. It’s that quick!!!

If you like thin crust pizza cooked in a brick oven, you will love this. The MOD pizza is so thin and the dough is full of those crunchy bubbles, we guarantee you will fall in love. MOD Pizza is not like the other “fast food pizzas” where they stick tomato sauce on top of bread. Go crazy with the toppings and don’t be shy to ask for more, Nancy certainly isn’t.

The price for our “PI” day adventure was more than we expected. We thought we were going to get a free pizza with a $3.14 purchase, but Nancy didn’t read the fine print that stated free pizza is only with delivery. That fine print gets her every time! She needs to get her cataracts taken care of so she can see the fine print. That’s her story and she’s sticking to it! So we spent only $18.25 since the cashier felt bad for her. We were not the only ones, other patrons that day didn’t see the fine print, so he gave us free drinks. That was nice of him.

On a serious note, we are not making light of the Coronavirus outbreak. It is a serious situation adversely affecting countless people. We did this review when restaurants were still open. Our hope was to bring some comic relief in these stressful times. After all, “laughter is the best medicine.”

Jim’s take: I was skeptical at first, but the pizza is very, very good.

Nancy’s take: I love this pizza. I can have it my way without the high price for extra ingredients like most other pizza places charge.

Have comments or restaurant suggestions for the Dining Duo? Send them an email at thediningduo@gmail.com.

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