There are some standard items you'd expect to see on a national pizza chain’s menu — classics like cheese, pepperoni, meat lovers and supreme. But what about the rest of the menu, or even the secret menu?
You heard us. Hungry Howie's has a new, secret menu — although we’re not sure how secret something is when it has its own section online. Still, the unique offerings were intriguing enough to catch our attention.
Your favorite taste testing duo, Holland Sentinel reporter Mitchell Boatman and photographer Cody Scanlan, set out this week to uncover the secrets of this secret menu.
We tried three of the four pizzas offered — but our editor and one-time taste tester Cassandra Lybrink assures us the fourth item, called the "73 Classic," comes as described: a large pizza with exactly 73 slices of classic pepperoni. Says Cassie: "If you've had a pepperoni pizza from Howie's, you already know the deal. It's pepperoni-y, it's cheesy. It's classic. If you like fancy, cupped pepperoni, that is."
With one already down, here are our thoughts on the remaining secret offerings at Howie's.
Tie-Dye
Description: A large cheese pizza with colorful edible glitter.
Mitchell: There’s no way around it, this pizza looks … gross. Pizza should not be blue. Or shiny. But, if you can get past that, it tastes pretty normal. The glitter doesn’t really add any flavor or alter the texture. This would be perfect for a birthday party with lots of kids. For me, though, I’ll go with a 5/10.
Cody: Despite its unsettling appearance, this glitter monstrosity tastes like any other cheese pizza. Which is to say, totally fine. Luckily there’s no aftertaste, no metallic flavor and, maybe most importantly, no glitter in your teeth afterwards. I give it a 7/10.
The Greektown
Description: A large pizza with black olives, tomato, mild pepper rings, red onion and feta cheese. Sprinkled with Greek seasoning.
Cody: Pretty close to a standard deluxe pizza with the addition of Greek seasoning. Overall, this one is probably my least favorite of the bunch. The flavors work well together, but might be too much to fit on one pizza. This is one I probably wouldn't order on my own. The feta is a welcome addition; more pizzas should have feta cheese. I’ll give it a 6/10.
Mitchell: It feels like someone dropped a Greek salad on a cheese pizza as they were packing it up, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Obviously the flavors of the toppings go together, but I’m not sure I love them on a pizza. Not bad, but not my favorite. I give it a 6/10.