Courtesy of Domino's Pizza

Domino's Pizza has altered its recipe across the board.

Most people looking to read a restaurant review in their local newspaper will not expect to see Domino's discussed.

First off, it's a national chain, and we try to focus as much as possible on local eateries.

Secondly, it's a takeout/delivery pizza business, and we enjoy reviewing places where you can sit and soak in the ambiance.

But as soon as we saw the national television campaign by the perfecters of delivery pizza, we knew it was worth a glance.

Here was Domino's, in its own advertisement, talking about how bad its pizza was. "Our sauce and crust are bland," the commercial admitted.

How's that for being brutally honest?

But times have changed, the owners, managers and chefs promised.

The sauce is now filled with spicy red pepper. The hand-tossed crust is now garlic seasoned. The cheese is now a combination of mozzarella and provolone.

Give us another chance, they asked. So at a recent staff meeting at the New River Valley office, we did. We ordered several cheese, pepperoni and vegetable pizzas for our newsroom employees to enjoy and provide their feedback.

First, I will say that newspaper reporters are not picky eaters. Anything, and I mean anything, left on a table in the middle of our newsroom will be eaten by someone.

But at the same time, we have eaten tons of pizza in our lives (thanks to a lack of disposable income) and that might make us pizza experts in some way.

Here are some of the reactions from co-workers:

"I thought it tasted great. Very flavorful, very yummy. All in all, nice improvements."

"I thought it was less greasy than their old recipe. The veggie pizza was also pretty good."

"I really enjoyed the addition of spinach on the veggie pizza. It was different, but in a good way. The garlic-laden crust also was tasty. ... I'm a big sauce fan, so I feel like they could always pour on some more sauce. Overall, I'd give it a thumbs-up, for chain delivery pizza."

"Crust was good (garliceeeey, yum). Cheese/sauce needed more flavor (salt, Italian seasonings, something!). Pepperoni pizza was less greasy than I remember on the old pizza. Very good, but still not better than Papa John's."

"When the company announced it was changing the recipe, I was disappointed -- and a little upset that the owners basically told me they had been feeding me crap and I enjoyed it. I did think the new crust tasted like Domino's breadsticks, and the sauce had a little less kick than the old recipe. The veggie pizza was delicious, though, and I would probably turn to that if I were craving all veggie."

"Pepperoni pizza was spicy and very nice. The vegetarian pizza had a great selection of toppings, but tasted a little bland; could benefit from adding garlic as a topping. Crust was very good. Sauce created a nice base. Pies were small relative to competitors."

My analysis agrees with much of theirs.

The sauce definitely had more flavor with the additional spices, but there was less of it.

The crust was much better and probably the best part of the pizza.

And it was definitely less greasy than before.

Even with all the improvements, I'd still prefer to sit down at one of our New River Valley Italian restaurants (Sal's or Backstreets, for instance) and enjoy a pie with friends. And I don't think of Domino's when I'm craving pasta or sandwiches -- even though it serves both.

But the changes to Domino's pizzas have definitely made it my first stop for delivery and takeout.