Barbecue sauce adds zesty flavor to pizza

COSHOCTON - It’s a pizza with unexpected flavor that might make you think of summertime and backyard barbecues. The unique Papa John’s BBQ Chicken Bacon pizza’s zesty flavor has earned it permanent spot on the menu and a favorite among customers.

The Signature Specialty pizza was introduced for a limited time, but its popularity with customers put it on the menu permanently, where it has been for the past several years, said Noah Gallagher, general manager at the Coshocton Papa John’s Pizza located at 1434 Chestnut St.

“When you think of barbecue sauce, you might not think that it would go well with pizza. But (the BBQ Chicken Bacon pizza) actually makes you feel like you are at a barbecue. It has great flavor,” Gallagher said.

Instead of pizza sauce, the BBQ Chicken Bacon pizza starts with Papa John’s special recipe barbecue sauce. Gallagher describes the flavor as a combination of smokey, sweet and zesty.

Spread on hand-tossed crust and topped with grilled white meat chicken, onions, bacon and mozzarella cheese, the flavors come together perfectly, making the signature pizza a customer favorite, he said. “We sell a lot of them. We have customers who will get a BBQ Chicken Bacon pizza with another one of their favorite pizzas, or alternate between their favorites.”

Gallagher said the quality of the ingredients adds to the flavor of all the menu items. No fillers are used in the meats, and by May, he explained, Papa John’s will only use meat from animals that are raised free of antibiotics. This goes with the company’s focus on quality, he said.

“We aren’t skimping on toppings, and we aren’t skimping on quality. It shows that we are open about what we are serving.”

And with the quality of the ingredients, customers can focus on what they love most about their favorite Papa John’s dishes, including the BBQ Chicken Bacon pizza.

“If you like grilled chicken, you don’t have to grill to get that great flavor,” Gallagher said.

Papa Johns is open from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and10:30 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday.

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