The Wawa Pizza Hype!

Yes, Wawa now has pizza

Hey there, fellow food enthusiasts! It's been a while, but I'm thrilled to be back with another blog post. We've been swamped with life lately, but that doesn't mean we've stopped exploring Philadelphia's vibrant food scene. In this episode, we're diving headfirst into the latest craze taking Philly by storm: Wawa Pizza.

I couldn't help but notice that over the past three to six weeks – or somewhere around that timeline (who's really keeping track, anyway?) – Wawa has been bombarding us with ads hyping up their new pizza. They've been blowing their own horn, claiming their pizza is something extraordinary. So, naturally, I couldn't resist giving it a try.

On this culinary adventure, I was accompanied by my trusty crew – Meek, her daughter, and her daughter's friend Yanna. We ventured to one of Wawa's locations in Glen Holden, a charming small town in Pennsylvania. Little did we know; that this would be the start of an unexpected pizza journey.

Our first pitstop was a Wawa store in Glen Holden, PA. However, much to our dismay, they were fresh out of sauce! Yes, sauce – the cornerstone of any good pizza. It was around 7 PM, and here we were, with a pizza-shaped hole in our hearts. This sauce shortage was a buzzkill, to say the least.

Undeterred, we decided to give it another shot. We headed to a Wawa store in Philly near the airport, off Bartram Ave. And what did we find? You guessed it – no pizza on the screen. The saga continued as they had also run out of sauce. It seems like sauce – or "sauce" as it's affectionately called in Philly – was the elusive ingredient of the day.

Despite our hopes being a bit crushed, we hung in there. We placed our order at our 3rd Wawa stop near Penrose Avenue across from the Chick-fil-A on one of those nifty touchscreens and waited for our pizza. Surprisingly, it didn't take too long, 20 minutes tops.

             This is not an actual Wawa pizza in the photo, this image was taken from stock footage.

Finally, we got our hands on Wawa's pizza! We opted for a large cheese pizza. After all, you can't go wrong with a classic if you have quality ingredients – decent bread, a good crust, a savory sauce, and top-notch cheese, especially mozzarella. With our pizza in hand, we eagerly opened the box in the Wawa store. Our hopes were high, and we were ready to taste what all the fuss was about. The large pizza cost us around $13.99, a fair deal considering the size. Let's dive into our first impressions of Wawa's pizza, shall we?

Our verdict? Well, let's just say it didn't exactly meet our expectations. The sauce, which we earlier referred to as "sauce," left much to be desired. It had us scratching our heads, wondering why it tasted like Chef Boyardee SpaghettiOs.

We were left disappointed, and if we were to hand out pretzel ratings, it would be just one lonely pretzel – that's our code for saying it wasn't great. Wawa had hyped up this pizza like it was the second coming of culinary delights, but it just didn't cut the mustard.

We even drew a comparison to Little Caesars pizza. Sure, Little Caesars has its flaws, but at least the sauce tastes better than this. While the sauce was a letdown, the cheese was, in our humble opinion, a saving grace, kinda but not really. We gave it a 2 on our pretzel scale, just slightly better than terrible.

Meek, who's been on a keto diet, had a limited perspective on the pizza as she couldn't indulge in the cheesy goodness. She found the sauce simply inedible, referring to it as "nasty sauce."

After a brief phone call interruption (we're just keeping it real here, folks!), we got back on track. Our takeaway was that while Wawa's pizza commercial hype was over the top, the pizza didn't live up to it. It reminded us of the pizza we used to get at roller skating rinks – not exactly a gourmet experience.

Steffi: 🥨 🥨 kinda sucks

Meek: 🥨 sucks

Whole Hog Cafe – A Pleasant Surprise in Jersey 

We then ventured to Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and stumbled upon a hidden gem, the Whole Hog Cafe. It wasn't our original plan, but sometimes life throws delicious curveballs your way. It was the first time Meek and I tried this spot, and it didn't disappoint.

Meek is currently on a keto diet, so she had to be cautious with her food choices. She opted for a keto-friendly option – a kid's meal, which included mac and cheese and three chicken tenders. The price was right, around $6.99, and it left her more than satisfied. We gave it a solid 5 pretzels rating, a testament to its scrumptiousness.

Meanwhile, Jana, who joined us, praised the Whole Hog Cafe's prices and food quality. She also tried a kid's meal, finding it both delicious and filling. The whole experience earned this place a glowing review.

Our future dining adventures in Philadelphia are brimming with exciting prospects. There are a couple of spots on our radar, such as Mimi and a Taiwanese restaurant, where we're keen to sample oxtail cheesesteaks and much more.

🥨 🥨 🥨 🥨 🥨 yum yummy

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