The Cloverleaf

 6430 6th Ave

Tacoma

Rating 2.0

"I'll have the regular Monster pizza to go"

How many times have they heard this order in this older well-established landmark near Tacoma's West Side? 

It's been there a long time. Back in the day, the pizza restaurants were the main draw and any beer or wine sales were a plus. Now it is the booze that brings the patrons and provide a friendly atmosphere to drink and watch sports on the several mounted TV screens. Seating varies from booths to tables to bar-height chairs, all drenched in the warm wood colors. 

So, yes, I did order the monster. According to the description, that includes on the red sauce an assortment of meats (sausage, pepperoni, ground beef, and bacon) plus some white onion, mushrooms, and pepper, to which I requested some fresh garlic. A 30 minute wait was advised. 

I'm waiting inside for the 30 minutes which gives me a chance to observe. With it being lunchtime on a weekday, it isn't too surprising there are 15 to 20 people gathered with still plenty of room for more. Also, everybody looked...old, like they may have come here in the earlier days. Hey, I'm old and I'm here - I didn't exactly lower the average age walking in. 

Peeking in the kitchen didn't offer a lot of clues except for what may have been missing. It was very clean and the requisite massive pizza oven was obvious, but not a lot of signs of preparation sounds like chopping and stirring. No signs of dough prep. That isn't a deal killer because I've had good pizza on premade dough, but it was something to note. 

Finally it comes out. No big reveal because I ordered it to go. I only caught a glimpse when the server opened it to toss in a container each of peppers and grated cheese. I paid the bill and left.

So, here is what it looked like:

First off, this "Monster" pizza ain't a monster. About 12" across and weighing in at maybe a pound and a half, I knew it wasn't going to go far. Thoughts of significant leftovers to take home went out the window. Second, I think it is a sin to have any listed ingredient barely noticeable, clearly not encompassing a handful or partial handful of material. Literally here, where is the beef? Some of the components should be hiding other components. 

I extract the first piece by my usual technique, sliding the hand underneath to support the tip. The tip flopped and the front third of the slice poured over my hands. What a mess! A fine time to realize I didn't get napkins (note for next time!) as both hands are filled with pizza goo. I put as much of it in my mouth in an act of removing the mess as much as getting a taste of it. Obviously, the thin crust succumbed to the collection of liquids from meat and sauce juices. The sausage and other ingredients had the same shape and consistency that is recognizable in pre-packaged frozen goods at a restaurant supply store. Also, I asked for fresh garlic and none was to be found in this mess.

I was hungry and pounded down four of the six slices in quick order, constantly licking my soiled fingers as pizza ingredients slid off the pieces. There was no point to taking the rest home either from a quality or quantity standpoint. 

By the way, the bill was $28.40. For that amount of money I was expecting to be able to feed more than one and a half people from this Monster pizza. There is a size larger but I didn't order it, thankfully, and I don't know what it would cost. 

The 2.0 rating is actually generous. From a value standpoint, I must give it or poor rating. It tasted okay, but I think places like Mod Pizza or Godfathers would win out over this fairly easily. I must conclude that it's the bar that is keeping the place going because I can't understand how the pizza could be a draw at all. It's a sideline business at this point.