HotBox Pizza
12510 East 116th Street
Fishers, IN 46037-8907
(317) 849-4200
http://www.gethotboxpizza.com/
If you spent any time in Bloomington, you would know that for a while Pizza Express owned the town. Mostly because of their breadsticks, cheese sauce and super cheap Big Ten Special (Large one topping, breadsticks and two sodas in plastic cups). Most of my friends still have the cups somewhere around. I’m rambling, but note that HotBox and Pizza Express basically have the same food. HotBox has six locations with five in Indiana and one in Texas.
What I Had: Large BBQ Pizza, Large Sausage, Pepperoni and Mushroom and two orders of breadsticks. I had a buy one-get one coupon and the total was around $25. The BBQ chicken was $18.95 for a large alone and breadsticks are $3.99.
I ordered the S,P & M on thin crust. Wow, this was bad. I think they were going for low carb, but the taste was really bad. The sausage pieces were so small, it had the consistency of sand. The mushrooms were very small and really sparse as well. There was very little sauce, but the soggy crust couldn’t handle the weight anyway.
The BBQ was ordered on hand tossed crust which I enjoyed more, but it was pretty weak as well. Very small pieces of of chicken were sparsely scattered throughout the pizza. The BBQ sauce was too sweet for my liking and the red onion didn’t add anything. The crust to toppings ratio was flirting with them being pretty cheap.
The breadsticks were okay. The cheese has to be straight from a can and the breadsticks were really chewy and salty.
Would I Buy It Again? No. I’d rather make a Red Baron and get a kick in the nuts as I would feel better than I did after this meal. Even with the buy one-get one coupon, I didn’t feel as if I got a deal because the toppings were such low quality and very sparse. Honestly, it is my least favorite pizza in Indianapolis. No, scratch that…Indiana. Sorry.
-wibia
Tags: barbecue, Food, hotbox pizza, mushroom, pepperoni, Pizza, pizza express, sausage
For me and my friends when we were in college there was never any contest between Pizza Express and Aver’s. Aver’s had the same deal and the pizza and breadsticks were superior.
I’ve never understood the appeal of Hot Box. Pizza is mediocre at best. Papa Johns and Pizza Hut have $10 pizzas now, and both are better than Hot Box imho.
@Brent Totally agree with the Avers comment, much better.
@Jugomugo – that $10 deal is like $5 foot longs. I actually saw closed Donatos…I can;t help but think that deal is part of the reason.
Well, if I understand correctly, Hot Box is really popular with the stoner crowd. And you know, smoking pot makes everything taste better. I’m disappointed to hear that this place stinks. I was looking forward to trying the Hot Box in Lafayette. I may still give it a go, but your review has certainly drained my interest. Thanks for the heads-up!
I used to eat a lot of Pizza Express back when I was at IU solely because of that kick ass deal. Finally, I woke up one day and realized that Pizza Express’ pizza SUCKED and the breadsticks were overrated. Keep in mind this is coming from a guy that likes Domino’s, so if I say a pizza sucks, then it really sucks.
When I saw that Pizza Express (subsequently changed to Hot Box Pizza) opened in Broad Ripple a few years back, I was just about the saddest person on Earth because my friends always wanted to go there. It made me sick.
Now, since this specific location is open close to a lot of the places that I hang out, my friends sometimes want to get this awful pizza and I throw a hissy fit (much like I do with the EXTREMELY overrated and terrible Papa John’s). I just do not understand how anyone finds this pizza edible. It tastes like a bunch of grease poured on cardboard. I’m actually getting nauseous thinking about it.
Okay, I better stop this rant before I go off the ledge and ruin my day. Time to start thinking happy thoughts…
I couldn’t agree more. I have never seen the allure of Pizza Express/Hot Box. I think it does good business because people who went to IU like to get it because it reminds them of their college days. Since many people don’t actually have taste buds, given the large amount of bad chains here, it doesn’t surprise me that it continues to succeed. Also, from what I’ve heard the people at Hot Box basically stole the franchise and idea from the Pizza Express people. That is why there was a name change shortly after they opened in Indy.
Pizza Express/Hot Box pizza is terrible. I learned that by the end of my freshman year at IU. There are so many better options in Bloomington and definitly better options in Indianapolis. At IUB, Avers was great and madmushrooms cheesy/garlic bread was fantastic. However, if I was going to order pizza and have it delivered I would go Pizza Hut and then Papa Johns. If I was getting carry out I would hit up Puccinni’s, which I believe tops all previously listed.
Too bad the pizza sucks but I really miss breadsticks and cheese. I moved out of Indiana a long time ago and everyplace else in the world (or at least where I’ve lived) just has tomato sauce or garlic butter. I grew up going to Noble Roman’s in Bloomington about every day for lunch and it was quite a shock to find out that once I left Indiana one of my favorite things was no longer an option.
You tried the one by our house. Disgusting. Someone bought us one once…it was burned and disgusting. Never again. Did I mention it was disgusting?!?!?
Just tried the Roselli’s off Michigan/106th. Now that thin crust was yummy.
WIBIA, love your reviews – keep ‘em coming!
@Taco
If you’re talking about pizza in Bloomington you can’t have the conversation without mentioning Mother Bear’s. If you wanted to go some place and sit down and eat pizza that was it for me, especially if you are talking about their deep dish. Also, Avers not only had better pizza, but I think my freshman year their deal of medium pizza, breadsticks and 2 drinks was only 8.99 then it went up to 9.99. I think Pizza Express was somewhere around 10.99 when I left.
With all this talk about Bloomington, I can’t help but throw out my favorite pizza place in West Lafayette: Bruno’s. Adam Bomb, you ever been?
And even further off topic–What I really miss from my college days at Purdue is Lovshack (calzones). Omggg heaven.
I’m sad that all you guys are blaspheming Pizza Express (Taco, IE, Wibia). C’mon man! Where’s the nostalgia?
On a serious note, WIBIA’s comments are dead on about the cups … I still have like 15.
@Show: I think wibia showed proper acknowledgement of the nostalgia factor by saying that he and others always got their pizza. Now that we have more “refined” tastes as we’ve gotten older, we’ve come to realize that their pizza sucks and the only reason we got it then was for the deal. By the way, I also have like six or seven of those cups as well. LOL.
Well, I used to enjoy Chef Boyardee was good when I was 8 and think that Red Lobster was good when I was 12. Nostalgic, maybe…but now…I know better!
However, a few things made the cut. I can get crazy on Mrs. Grass Chicken Noodle soup or Count Chocula.
Pizza Express/Hot Box did not make the cut!
OMG! Mrs. Grass! My favorite! Every time I’m really sick, I make it
No one I know has any idea what it is. So glad you can still buy it!
I have always laughed when people say how much they like Olive Garden….because it is not real Italian food as their commercials claim. Ask 10 people who say they like Olive Garden why and they will say the all you can eat breadsticks and salad. Salad should be good at every place that offers it. I am not sure how so many places mess up salad.
If you ask people who say they love Hot Box/Pizza Express why, the answer is usually the breadstix. Unlike salad, finding a truly good breadstick is rare and Hot Box delivers. So many places make breadsticks that tast exactly like pizza crust and that is just wrong. They way the salt is built into the crust of a Hot Box breadstick makes them my absolute favorite and with it being the closest place to eat to my house, I have a feeling I will be stopping in to get them a lot…wit another places pizza. I have tried a half dozen different varieties of Hot Box pizza and is just plain bad….better than Red Barons but maybe close to Tony’s frozen pizza.
Mmmmm. Pizza. Wibia needs to take a trip to the only REAL Noble Roman’s on 10th street and get a sicilian and breadsticks.
I’m a Butler student and a dedicated reader and I would just like to applaud you for this. Late at night my frat brothers always want Hotbox but I insist on Marcos or even just getting Jimmy Johns. Hot Box is terrible. The only time its worth it is when they have their pizza of the week and one can get a specialty (bbq chicken, buffalo chicken, etc) for half price. Even then I only get the buffalo chicken or the hotbox (pepperoni and peppers). I would prefer Marcos pepperoni to any other chain in the area and their garlic bread is simply to die for.
WIBIA, you still have yet to disappoint.
I lived in Bloomington for a short while in the summer of ’97. I always thought Pizza Express Pizza was decent. Nothing fancy, but for the price of the Big Ten Bargain, it was actually pretty good. Their bread sticks were good, but only because they were really salty. Outside of the salt, they were just bread.
Years later, I was driving down 10th Street near IUPUI. I glanced over and saw Pizza Express. About 10 years from that summer of ’97, three guys had purchased rights to open one here. While their prices were up a little, I still think the pizza was decent. Again, the salt sticks were good because they were salt covered.
Side note:
I did some digging around your blog and enjoy your reviews. I am a picky eater and cheap at the same time, so the wife and I rarely go out to eat. Pizza is my #1 food, and we usually make it at home on a stone using Boboli crust. Anyways, I plan on hitting up Pizzology, Tony Sacco’s Coal Oven, and Apezza over the next couple of months.
I see that you travel a lot, so here are some pizza places far and near that you might want to try, if you haven’t already:
-Mellow Mushroom Pizza: Have eaten at the one in Carmel twice (years back) and the one in Orlando. The one in Chattanooga was packed (very cool set-up) so we skipped it due to the wait. Nothing spectacular. Would likely eat there more often but we live out east of Indy.
-Ogle’s Brick Oven Pizza: Gatlinburg. Good stuff at a very good price. Awesome atmosphere.
-Best Italian Cafe & Pizzeria: Gatlinburg. My wife liked her Italian dish. I had their pizza, which folks rave about on-line. I thought the pizza was OK, but for the price, it should have been better. Ogle’s is better and costs a lot less.
-Bruno’s Pasta & Pizza: This place is in Billings, MT. It is very well priced and the pizza is great. I have tried to find them on-line and I believe Google street view shows them to be closed. There is another place in Billings called Bruno’s Taste of Italy. Not sure if it is the same place or not.
Napolese: This is the new place just south of Broad Ripple. Hot oven, quick cooked pizza. The pizza was good, but it was way too pricey for me. I doubt I will ever go back due to the costs. You do get a lot of food, but I believe the location and product in general are commanding a high price. We went just after they opened, and it was busy. We were offered a seat at the bar by the owner so we took it and got great, fast service. I have no complaints outside of the price. It almost feels like a pizza place for rich Meridian-Kessler/Butler-Tarkington types. Two pizzas and two waters set us back almost $40.00 with a tip. The pizzas are big and you could easily only need four slices (out of six) to fill you up, but still too pricey for my frugal self.
@Crizzle Noble Roman’s…seriously?
@Myke…I like Marcos just fine. Cheap pizza and not all that bad. Hit and miss at times, but straightforward and I have had worse… a lot worse.
Regarding Noble Roman’s on 10th Street, there really is something different about that location. I went there a few times with family that lives on the south side, then tried two different ones in Hamilton County. Could’ve been in different worlds, the difference was so huge. I don’t know what they do differently on 10th Street, or why they don’t do that at the other locations, but that’s just how it is.
Ok, I will trust you….. The one on 96th and 69 was pretty bad…
@Jdoe….Where is Ogle’s? Mellow Mushroom is not all that bad…I actually like their calzone’s better than their pizza. Thanks for taking the time to write the comment…good stuff there.
Ogle’s is an out-of-state place in Gatlinburg, TN within a mile or so of the Great Smoky Mountains Nat’l Park. Every time I go on vacation, I research for mom and pop type pizza shops to try out.