Sam’s Chicago Style Pizza & Wings

I am about to try the food, but this is now Papa Sam’s Chicago Style Pizza. Sam’s is closed, but there is still pizza at 43^rd Ave and Union Hills. The phone number is listed in review below. Look up Papa Sam’s under Unilocal

I got two pizzas. One was overcooked — crust on bottom too hard and dry and cheese on top too brown. The other had a topping I didn’t ask for, which probably doesn’t sound that bad to most, but I find sausage disgusting and digging it out and loosing cheese is no fun. One of the pizzas was supposed to be «double cheese», but there was no difference in the amount of cheese between the two. What really matters– the pizza didn’t taste that great, not even that good… The service is not that great either.

Pizza was mediocre, took 45 minutes 4 delivery even though it’s literally around the corner & the delivery person wud very scattered.

I love this place. Sad we moved too far to enjoy. Family owned. Great homemade sauces and dough, good prices. Calzones are to die for.

Sam’s Chicago Style Pizza & Wings is… CLOSED

1.5÷5 stars … here’s why:
Pros:
1. Wide variety of menu items
2. Pasta is cooked al dente
3. Meatballs have excellent texture and flavor; taste is like homemade
Cons:
1. Wide variety of menu items
2. Pizza is confused; crust is neither Chicago-​style nor New York/​Neapolitan-​style
3. Long wait times
4. Poor value for your money
Previous reviewers who have stated this is «the best pizza in Phoenix» have not gone beyond this storefront to sample other options, because there’s a lot left to be desired at this hole-​in-​the-​wall eatery. «Chicago-​style pizza» apparently means neither traditional deep-​dish nor stuffed, but rather some oddball hybrid developed in the Midwest that’s between thin and thick, chewy and crunchy. It’s like an ugly red-​headed pale cousin of lavosh. (But hey, if you’re into that kind of thing, then this is for you. Just don’t get upset by others who point and laugh.)
I zeroed in on spaghetti ($ 7.99) for my Sunday lunch, but two 2-​inch meatballs were a $ 2.50 premium (!!!). It came with four slices of garlic bread and a mixed salad. I have to say, the salad was excellent — but the garlic bread needed more garlic. The spaghetti was al dente, the sauce average. Tabletop parmesan is foul stuff; I believe they merely transferred crappy Kraft-​in-​a-​can into a glass shaker.
My girlfriend had the Chicago hot dog combo (with fries, $ 5.99). For an establishment to prominently display «How To Make A Chicago Hot Dog» on a sign as you walk in, what came out of the kitchen was a joke. Yes, it was a Vienna dog; yes, it was served with a dill pickle spear on a poppyseed bun. But it had large sliced onions, not diced; there was one tomato wedge and sport hot pepper, not two; and I don’t think you could have had less neon-​green pickle relish and still claim it had been added. Honestly, at best there was a teaspoon worth — and that’s no exaggeration.
The other half decided she would also like to try the pizza, so she ordered a slice of mushroom despite enduring another «10-​minute» wait. (Another customer who ordered a Philly cheesesteak ended up cancelling his sandwich order because the one person behind the counter still hadn’t begun making it after 15 minutes’ time.) When the slice came out, we were perplexed by this funky «Chicago style» crust — and the sauce was nothing but plain, crushed tomato. Where’s the oregano? or basil? As much as we had hoped for something better, we both felt it was lackluster in flavor and the crust’s texture was simply … awful.
There are a myriad mom-​and-​pop pizza joints in the metro area, and for what you get — relative to others and/​or the chain restaurants — this falls sadly short of good value. I want to like them better, but I also want to enjoy what I eat out. This unfortunately was a once-​and-​done experiment in culinary adventure.

I believed this place is under new management. Their Flyer say; «PAPA SAM’s Chicago style Pizza. It has same address with a different Phone number, 623−580−9475.
I am normally not a pizza fan. However, I’ve eaten enough pizzas to know the different between a good pizza or a bad pizza. Honestly, I don’t know the difference between Chicago style pizza or any other kind of pizza; I judge solely on how it tastes; how it please my taste bud. Occasionally, when I do find something really good (to my liking) or really bad (awful), I am compelled to write something about it.
Sam’s pizza is a small joint located in a dying strip mall at the N.W. corner of 43^rd Avenue, and Union Hill. I normally do not expect anything good to exist in a dilapidated mall such as this. I normally move on to a more robust mall; I have this preconceived notion, there couldn’t be anything good in a dying mall.
I was here to do some repair work on their refrigeration equipment, so I ended up eating their pizza.
By GOLLYYYYY, if that wasn’t among the best pizza, I ever had. Even though I am no pizza fan; even though it is a long drive for me, I came back several more times. I must say; they are among the best pizza in Phoenix. I am so impressed with it; I am compelled to write this.

They have a GREAT lunch special! $ 3.75 for a one topping mini pizza and a can of soda. A thin crust pizza, great toppings, makes for a great, quick lunch!

New owner, same great pizza and wings! Don’t forget to update your phone contact with the new phone number! (623)580−9475!

Amazing pizza with the best crust in town!!!

4.3÷5 stars — Thin crust is one of the best in AZ, they give you a lot of cheese, and the pepperoni is a little smokier than others I’ve had. Probably the best pizza I’ve had on the North side of Phoenix.

The BEST PIZZA!!! I have been coming here since I was a little girl, and it is still my favorite pizza place ever. It still tastes just as great as it use to. The sausage and mushroom pizza is my favorite. The thin crust is great! The wings are great too! I wish it was open a bit more, but I will take what I can get. Plus, it helps you to appreciate it more the days you can get it. :) Keep up the great work Sam’s Pizza!

Got the wings here… plain and simple… they’re awful. Barely any meat, very dry, no flavor. Won’t be back…
**UPDATE**
The (I assume) owner of this «fine» establishment decided to email me about my review on their wings… the following is the correspondence between myself and «Meridith». If this is how they treat their customers, I seriously don’t understand how they’ve managed to stay open for a so called «40 years»…
Message from Meridith:
«Wings were sauced like they always are. If you read the menu you could have gotten the wings sloppy. Our wings are the same size as every where else in the valley. Try our pizza next time. We’ve been in business for 40+ years. We must be doing something right. You can try Papa Johns.»
Response message from me:
«Don’t be angry cause you have horrible wings… not everyone can get them right so don’t feel bad. I can’t say anything about your pizza cause I’ve never had it but even so I doubt I’d go back just to try it…
Sure…your wings are the same size as everyone else’s in the valley… as far as the bone goes. But it’s the AMOUNT of meat on the bone which counts. And that right there is where your wings are TRUELY inferior.
Your wings were purchased to feed a party of people during a boxing match on PPV and every single person at the party who ate the wings all said they were horrible… so for your sake I hope that we just got a bad batch or something cause none of those people there said they would ever go to your restaurant for wings.
It was very immature and unprofessional to message me and talk to me in such a way about the issue when instead you should be more focused on trying to find out what the issue was and fixing it. I will be doing a follow up to my review to show everyone how you treat your customers over a matter of simply having their own opinion about your food if it just so happens to be a negative opinion.»
Sounds like a serious lack of customer service skills on their part. Looks like I’ll be getting my wings from Papa Johns from now on…*sigh* what a serious tragedy… lol!

Since this place is only open 4 – 9 W-​S and not on holidays I stopped in here on the way to Dairy Queen on a Thursday night. When I walked in, saw 3 people behind the counter. They were running around like a disorganized mob, mumbling something to each other that didn’t sound very nice. It looked like they were way behind in getting orders out. Eventually someone asked me «you here for pickup?» I told them that I was not and wanted to order. They seemed as if my order was taking them away from more important orders and made me feel rushed to make decisions. I ordered at 12″ thin at 7:05pm (approx) and it was handed to me at 7:40pm. 35 minutes to cook a thin crust 12″ pizza for a customer in the lobby? Bollocks to that.
I will say, the pizza crust was good, but nothing you can’t find elsewhere. The 6 tables they had in the lobby looked almost like they were put there for looks, not for people to stay and eat. Other people came and went as I waited for my pizza and were treated the same way I was.
EDIT: I did go back and they were nicer. Must have hit them on a real busy night. I really like the thin crust and I’ll be back. It appears they are struggling at times with the volume of orders.

Sam’s is located in a dilapidated strip mall on the NW corner of Union Hills and 43^rd ave. If you see the demolished gas station surrounded by a rental fence on the corner — then you’re in the right place.
Hours are a bit frustrating for this place since they don’t open until 3 or 4pm and close on both Mondays AND Tuesdays AND holidays. Hope you’re not hungry on a Saturday afternoon while watching the big game, or craving Chicago pizza on Memorial Day. And you can’t eat your food here since there’s no place to eat. Go home.
Crust is thin like many of the thin crust places in Chicago, but it’s also quite dry and a bit too cracker-​like. They boast the cracker quality, and take it far with the use of that meat tenderizing device to put the perforations in the crust — just like a saltine cracker has. I found no faults with the cheese and sauce, but perhaps I had lofty expectations given their advertising the use of daily made sauce and 100% Wisconsin cheese. I’ll give them another shot but may venture elsewhere when I get that thin crust craving.

Ok I’m probably biased because when I was little my grandparents took me here and Sam would always have candy for me and make me my own little pizza. But now that I’m older I have to say I still think his thin crust is better than any I’ve had in AZ. If you like spicy sausage they really pile it on with tons of cheese to keep it stuck to the crust. It’s a small place but the staff is nice and they’ll chat with you while you eat and offer suggestions if you are feeling adventurous.

I’ve been past the intersection of 43^rd Avenue and Union Hills countless times, but not until recently did I notice the sign for Sam’s Pizza. Curiosity got the better of me and I checked out the website. Seemed like an interesting place with the Chicago style thin crust. Convinced the wife and we headed over to check it out.
I was expecting a restaurant with table service for some reason, but instead it was like a Ray’s or Sardella’s where you order at the counter and they bring it to you. There were only 4 – 5 tables in the place, seating 2 each… I’m assuming much of their business comes from takeout and delivery. We were the only people in there and the counter help was friendly and quick. Our drinks came out quick. My soda tasted a little flat, but not horrible.
The wife and I each ordered «Sam’s Mini-​Sampler» which is a personal pizza w/​five hot wings. The wings came out first, and you could tell they were straight out of the fryer, as they were quite hot (temperature). The hot sauce was not overwhelming and had a nice taste to it… however, the underlying chicken, not so good. It didn’t have good flavor and also seemed a little rubbery, so maybe it had been fried a little bit too much? Anywho, by this point, at least 15 minutes had passed since we made our order and no pizza. This is only a problem b/​c the menu notes that the personal pizza is ready in 10 minutes or less usually. As there was no one there… it should have been ready quicker.
The pizza came out and smelled good. It also was a great size for a one person meal. The flavor of the pizza was good as well, though if you don’t like tomato sauce on the sweet side (kind of reminded me of Spinato’s) you might not like this. The one down side of the pizza was that while the crust was thin, the bottom was not at all crispy which the menu had me believing it would be.
Overall, Sam’s was ok. I liked the pizza (which I would have gotten the roasted garlic topping instead of plain cheese) but did not care for the wings or the wait. The wife didn’t particularly like it, so it is not likely that I’ll be back. Three stars, nothing extraordinary, nothing underordinary.