Battle of the Pizza Places In Franklin, TN
As stated earlier, in this list of Franklin's best restaurants, our longtime favorite pizza place in Franklin has been the Mellow Mushroom.
But we decided to take the advice of some of the people from that first article who had recommended Mineo's for their pizza & wings. So we went there for the first time last night.
I'm just being honest when I say... NO WAY is theirs the best.
What we got:
- a medium white pizza
- a small calzone (with mushrooms, onions, pepperoni, sausage & extra cheese)
- a small order of hot wings
How It Went:
We sat at the bar for about 30 minutes while our food was being prepared.
There were a lot of people in there (it was a Friday). And we liked all of the TVs in there. But the food?... Average at best.
- The 14-inch white pizza came with nothing but cheese for $17.99! It was like eating one big breadstick. (Technically, it's got 'ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese and olive oil'.)
- The wings ($6.99) were definitely among the meatiest wings we've had, but they were just average in taste and came with 4 measly half-strips of celery.
- The calzone, while quite large, was far from tasty. In fact, it seemed store-bought, rather than fresh-made. (And my, was it expensive: $13.44.)
I don't think we'll be going back anytime soon...
By the way, we asked 2 different people who were working inside Mineo's for a take-out menu. Both people went on the hunt for one, but never returned. Alas, we have no take-out menu.
Nor does Mineo's have a website. What's with that? (Update: They do now.)
Mellow Mushroom To The Rescue
For comparison's sake, the day before we had gone to an old standby: Mellow Mushroom.
And, like usual, their 14-inch gourmet white pizza was to die for -- in terms of toppings (sun-dried tomatoes, for starters) and price!
Their huge calzones are so fresh-tasting and completely overstuffed with toppings (...$2 cheaper too -- we ordered the exact same toppings mentioned above). Instead of wings, we got their small tossed salad ($3), and while very simple, it's very tasty -- loaded with fresh mushrooms and tomatoes. And their Espranza dressing is amazing.
In case you're wondering...
Mellow Mushroom's white pizza has: 'minced garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, provolone, mozzarella, feta, fresh tomatoes, onions, and olive oil sauce'. All of that, and it's a dollar cheaper!
We're definitely sticking with our initial list of favorite pizza places, that's for sure!
By the way, a friend from out-of-town joined us for both of the above pizza/calzone dinners. And he wholeheartedly agrees with our ratings of the pizza, calzone, and wings from Mineo's and Mellow Mushroom... so it's not just us.
UPDATE 3/15/08:
There's a new pizza place in town, and they're giving Mellow Mushroom a run for the money. See why we love Garlic Jim's Pizza.
Mineos's Vs Mellow Mushroom
First of all I like both of these pizzas. Mineos is more traditional NY pizza and I would consider Mellow a more of a gourmet type pizza.
You cant compare "white" pizzas first of all. There are several different ways that the white is made.
You have to start with a cheese or 1 topping pizza. The crust and sauce at Mineos is excellent. The cheese is flavorful and the wings are the best ive had here in Tennessee. (Garlic, Hot, Naked).
The service is fair AT BEST. The kitchen is disorganized and the staff is rarely pleasant. That being said I will still go there to get the pizza/wings often.
MELLOW MUSHROOM has a great tasting crust, it is thick but cannot be called a NY Style pizza. Their toppings are fresh, the sauce is tasty. Their specialty pizzas are very good aswell. They do NOT offer chicken wings which is a disappointment. The staff is mostly friendly and courteous. I enjoy Mellow quite often.
I Recommend Mineos for slices. They are large, tasty and fair priced for lunch. Dinner is a different story as one slice can get near the $7 range which is ridiculous.
All and all Mineos has the best pizza IMO in town when you are talking traditional NY style pizza. Mellow may be the best in town for Gourmet. We love em both, but a comparison if difficult as they are two very different rests.
Trevor I agree. We wanted a good pizza and ended up at Mineo's one night. Pizza was okay, but service was horrible!!! We ordered a half and half pizza, one half Italian Stallion and one half meat lovers.....both pizzas were exactly the same price ($19.99 for large). Believe it or not, when we got the check, the server gave us a bill for almost $30.00, stating she took the meat lovers pizza and added $1.39 for three addititional toppings to make the Italian Stallion pizza and charged us $1.39 x 3 for the extra toppings. We told her that both pizzas were the same price and that it was not right to charge us extra. She refused to change the ticket and noted the manager was not in. We will "never" return to Mineo's Pizza.
Mineo's may have decent pizza but the service is HORRIBLE. The manager Sean refuses to speak with customers about any problems with food and service and is also reluctant to give out his name. In addition you must wait a long time for your orders. Take out orders are usually wrong. Any good reviews must have been written by employee's of this dive.
Are you kidding me!! you have some of the worst pizza places as your favorites.
I really think this review is so unfair, how can you compare a gourmet white pizza such as the one from Mellow Mushroom to a traditional white from Mineos? Doesn't seem right to me.
Me and my family are big supporters of Mineos, They have some of the best pizza around.
In my opinion if you are reviewing pizza you should be doing so with pizza with the same ingredients on it comparing crust, sauce & flavor any other way just is not right.
why don't you compare it the other pizza places you have listed??
Mineos has amazing pizza and everyone should try them and and be the judge.
I have to disagree with you. Mineos has the best N.Y style pizza in Tennessee.
There is simply no comparing the two I agree with the other post about maybe you having a bad experience because there is no way that Mellow Mushroom has better pizza or food overall then Mineos.
My family goes every week and gets a pepperoni and sausage pizza ,20 wings(hot,rasberry) and an antipasta salad and we love it.
Mineos does a wonderful job and everyone should try it
Since moving here two years ago, all we hear about when people talk about pizza is Mellow Mushroom. I just don't think the pizza is that great. I'm probably biased since I went to one of the first stores they opened in Athens, GA to drink beer while I was in college.
Maybe my familiarity with it keeps it from seeming so special. That said, the Chef Salad with Esperanza dressing is amazing.
They also have some really fantastic sandwiches. I'm just not ga-ga for the pizza.
My husband and I have been to both Mellow Mushrooms and Mineo's pizza & wings. I have to say that Mineo's pizza & wings is one of the best pizza and wing places I have been to in a while. I'm from NY, and their pizza is right on the money. They are up there with some of the best pizza resturants in NY.
I'm sorry that you had a bad experience. I believe if you want good pizza and wings head to Mineo's pizza & wings. You will not be disappointed.
Also, the owner is really friendly.
You know, we haven't tried EITHER of these pizza places in Franklin.
As much as I tend to steer away from chain restaurants, I've heard nothing but good reviews of the Mellow Mushroom.
The one at Vanderbilt is so crowded, we've never been able to find a place to park.
Now that I know there's one in Williamson Co, we'll be much more likely to try it out!