Donna Lynn's Pizza - May 12, 2023

When I started this blog, my intent was to review new-to-me pizza places. But I've made a couple of exceptions, so I didn't feel bad about adding Donna Lynn's to the list. 

Donna Lynn's used to be our go-to pizzeria. It's only about 15 minutes down the road in Murrysville and for the first 5 to 8 years we lived here, we absolutely loved the pizza (and their Italian hoagies). But then they changed either cooks or recipes, and the pizzas suddenly had a sweet sauce and the toppings didn't seem as fresh. So we stopped patronizing it.

Recipes, cooks, and taste buds change - so we decided to give Donna Lynn's another try.

It's a small carryout-only joint in a tiny strip mall with maybe 3 other businesses on Route 22. Fifteen years ago they didn't offer delivery, so we were delighted to see that they now advertise a "limited" delivery area. When I called to order at 5:15, they said delivery would be 45 minutes which is a fantastic wait time on a Friday night. 

Unfortunately the only sausage available was hot sausage, so we opted for a large with pepperoni and mushroom, a small white pizza with tomato and bacon, and - for old time's sake - an 8" Italian hoagie. 

The person taking phone orders was right on the money; the food arrived in 40 minutes. You always take a chance when ordering delivery that your location will be last on the list, but the boxes were hot so we had high hopes.

The pizzas looked amazing. Each had plenty of toppings, although admittedly the pepperoni and shroom pie did look a little saucy for our taste. 

The hoagie didn't look quite as appetizing. I wouldn't say it was light on meat, but it certainly wasn't overflowing. And I could tell when I took it out of the wrapper that the roll was a bit overtoasted.

Everything was good but not exceptional. The pepperoni and mushroom pizza was definitely my favorite. The pepp was tasty without being spicy, and the mushrooms were browned and delicious. The crust was hand-tossed and flavorful, but again - not exceptional. It was a little thin and the toppings had a tendency to slide off. And some of the slices were pretty saucy. But like 3 Rivers pizza from the week prior, the cheese really made this pie.

We were divided on the white pizza. Normally I love anything tomato bacon...the sweetness of tomato combined with the smokiness of bacon is typically a combo that can't be beaten. But I felt like the tomato overpowered the bacon, leaving a too-sweet taste in my mouth. Avery's girlfriend Steph, on the other hand, felt that the bacon overpowered the tomato. It was just sort of a muddy mess of flavors.

The hoagie had ham, salami, and capicola along with cheese, lettuce, and tomato. It was fine, but not as good as Chip or I remembered. There's still a 3-inch piece in our fridge 2 days later, which tells you something about our opinion of the sandwich.

I don't think we'd return to Donna Lynn's, particularly since if you were to drive there, you'd pass 2 other pizza places that we've already reviewed and like better (Ginny's and Penn Murry). Donna Lynn, you're a blast from the past that we'll just keep there from now on.