{"id":44427,"date":"2020-07-12T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-12T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/?p=44427"},"modified":"2021-10-06T19:28:41","modified_gmt":"2021-10-07T05:28:41","slug":"papa-johns-shaq-a-roni-pizza-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2020\/07\/12\/papa-johns-shaq-a-roni-pizza-review\/","title":{"rendered":"REVIEW: Papa John’s Shaq-a-Roni Pizza"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Papa<\/p>\n

In 2019, the garlic sauce-soaked pizza that defined my early 2000s video gaming marathons got a massive upgrade – Shaquille O\u2019Neal. <\/p>\n

Shaq came into Papa John\u2019s not only as a brand ambassador, but also a board member and part-owner of nine franchises. (LeBron James and a Blaze investment who?!) Fast forward a little over a year later and the NBA Hall of Famer gets to break the backboard of 2020 with his first signature pizza. <\/p>\n

The Shaq-a-Roni Pizza channels the energy of Shaq and promises an epic experience of extra large, extra pepperoni, and extra cheese. Sounds like I\u2019m gonna need some extra cardio!<\/p>\n

Not only does this pizza sound like a good time, the chain also donating $1 for every pizza sold to the Papa John\u2019s Foundation for Building Community – bringing relief not only to our rumbling tummy\u2019s but the community too. Count me in.<\/p>\n

\"Papa<\/p>\n

First things first – this pizza was supposed to come in a special box with Shaq\u2019s face on it and the saying \u201ceveryone loves pizza – pizza loves everyone\u201d along with a QR code to unlock another level of fulfillment via Snapchat. The location I went to didn\u2019t have the box, but the pizza itself still felt big and substantial in my hands.<\/p>\n

\"Papa<\/p>\n

All awesome NBA tie-ins aside, this is Papa John\u2019s attempt at making a NY style pizza, which harkens back to Pizza Hut\u2019s The Big New Yorker that I absolutely adored in the late 90s. The dough is spread out thinner than your average Papa John’s pizza but maintains a doughy soft chew without any of the crackery crunch one might associate with a \u201cthin\u201d crust pizza. Picking up the slices, they flip and flop all over the place like James Harden driving into the lane, and even though I can\u2019t stand that kind of offense, I love this kind of eating.<\/p>\n

\"Papa<\/p>\n

The pizza is large and intimidating with tons of pepperoni often overlapping each other fighting for space across the vast cheesy landscape. As you might expect, the initial taste is salty and just a touch spicy with spotted greasy pepperoni taking the star player role as I chew.<\/p>\n

\"Papa<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve always enjoyed Papa John\u2019s for its slightly sweet crust that pairs oh-so-beautifully with its signature (and included!) garlic dipping sauce, and the crust and sauce are just as good as I remember. The cheese definitely feels abundant, but it\u2019s more of a gooey texture than distinct flavor with the overlapping \u2018ronis that control each bite.<\/p>\n

This is a solid take on a big and thin, but chewy NY style slice, but it does falter a bit in its excess. While I appreciate the extra everything mentality, the sauce gets lost in the mix kind of like Shaq\u2019s free throwing ability. I miss that sweet and zesty zing that ties everything together. <\/p>\n

Papa John’s Shaq-a-Roni Pizza is good, and I would definitely eat it again, but it lacks that perfect balance and feels one note after a couple of slices. Fortunately for Shaq, just like his ability to dunk on whoever he wants, that garlic sauce switches it up whenever I want a little extra depth and keeps me coming back for more.<\/p>\n

Purchased Price:<\/strong> $12.00 (allegedly normally $27.99!)
\nSize:<\/strong> one XL pizza
\nPurchased at:<\/strong> Papa Johns
\nRating:<\/strong> 8 out of 10
\nNutrition Facts:<\/strong> (One Slice) 285 calories, 17 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 690 milligrams of sodium, 20 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 1 gram of total sugars, and 10 grams of protein.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In 2019, the garlic sauce-soaked pizza that defined my early 2000s video gaming marathons got a massive upgrade – Shaquille O\u2019Neal. Shaq came into Papa John\u2019s not only as a brand ambassador, but also a board member and part-owner of nine franchises. (LeBron James and a Blaze investment who?!) Fast forward a little over a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1440],"tags":[1477,1714],"class_list":["post-44427","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-fast-food","tag-papa-johns"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":44360,"url":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2020\/06\/30\/fast-food-news-papa-johns-shaq-a-roni-pizza\/","url_meta":{"origin":44427,"position":0},"title":"FAST FOOD NEWS: Papa John’s Shaq-a-Roni Pizza","author":"Marvo","date":"June 30, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Update: We tried it! Click here to read our review. Papa John's is collaborating with one of its board members and restaurant owners, Shaquille O'Neal, to launch the new Shaq-a-Roni Pizza. It's an extra large pizza made with Papa John's fresh, never frozen six-ingredient dough that's topped with extra cheese\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fast Food News"","block_context":{"text":"Fast Food News","link":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/category\/fast-food-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/News-Shaq-a-roni.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/News-Shaq-a-roni.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/News-Shaq-a-roni.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/News-Shaq-a-roni.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/News-Shaq-a-roni.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":49538,"url":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2021\/12\/29\/papa-johns-ny-style-pizza-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":44427,"position":1},"title":"REVIEW: Papa John\u2019s NY Style Pizza","author":"Denis","date":"December 29, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Papa John\u2019s has been busy lately with a bunch of new offerings, including the Triple Bacon, Shaq-a-Roni, and Epic Stuffed Crust pizzas, all of which earned generally positive reviews from my esteemed colleagues of culinary critique. Now comes the NY Style Pizza, which launched nationwide on December 27 and will\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/pjnypizza4.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/pjnypizza4.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/pjnypizza4.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/pjnypizza4.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/pjnypizza4.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":49175,"url":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2021\/11\/19\/papa-johns-triple-bacon-pizza-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":44427,"position":2},"title":"REVIEW: Papa John’s Triple Bacon Pizza","author":"Jenna","date":"November 19, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"What\u2019s meatier than a Shaq-a-Roni, more novel than a Papadia, and able to clog three times as many arteries in a single bound? 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The crust features seven simple ingredients:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fast Food News"","block_context":{"text":"Fast Food News","link":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/category\/fast-food-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Papa John s Pan Pizza","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Papa-Johns-Pan-Pizza.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Papa-Johns-Pan-Pizza.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Papa-Johns-Pan-Pizza.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":19135,"url":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2015\/09\/29\/fast-food-news-papa-johns-xl-monster-toppings-pizza\/","url_meta":{"origin":44427,"position":4},"title":"FAST FOOD NEWS: Papa John’s XL Monster Toppings Pizza","author":"Marvo","date":"September 29, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Papa John's newest pizza doesn't seem to be a new pizza. The XL Monster Toppings Pizza has a 16-inch hand-tossed crust that's topped with sauce made from vine-ripened tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, giant pepperoni, oversized Italian sausage, and another layer of Italian sausage. 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