With so many food places near Buena, finding something to eat after-school isn’t much of a hassle. Vons, McDonald’s, and now Marco’s pizza, serving hot and fresh pizza ready for Buena Students. 

Marco’s has prime real estate next to Subway and Starbucks. The location itself is quite small and cramped with a front desk and a small fridge with drinks and two large TVs displaying the menu, near the entrance. The kitchen is visible to the customer while in front of the counter, so you can enjoy watching your food being made right before your eyes

Much like Papa Johns or Little Caesars, they have pre-set pizzas to choose from, as well as a build-your-own pizza. These options include the Pepperoni Magnifico, which includes three different kinds of cheese and two types of pepperoni, or the Big Cheese, which includes five cheeses and shaved parmesan cheese on the crust. The most popular option sold is the Pepperoni Magnifico.

For other choices, there are multiple types of crust, ranging from a thick crust to a thin crust. For the main toppings, there is the usual selection you can find at any pizza place.

For their non-pizza items and side food choices, there’s no shortage of options. First is the pizza bowl, which is a crustless pizza inside a bowl. I suggest ordering it with breadsticks, which is great for dipping.  

For alternatives, there are chicken wings and chicken nuggets. Both are offered with either 10 or 15 pieces, and the wings come in mild to hotter versions. Other healthy options include sandwiches or salads. 

After a 20 minute wait, our order was ready. We ordered a medium Pepperoni Magnifico on thick crust, a White Cheesy on the normal crust, and the Cheezy Bread. In total, we paid about $40 USD in total, with the medium pizzas being 12 dollars each, and the Cheesy Bread being eight dollars. 

The best out of the three was the Pepperoni Magnifico. The pizza itself is essentially just a pepperoni pizza but better, with a little more variety. The way Marco’s better pepperoni pizza formula is the pepperoni and the crust. The pepperoni has two types,  one smaller and one larger. The crust itself was the thick crust option, with butter and parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

The second item, the Cheesy Bread, was also the second-best out of the three. Coming with marinara sauce and ranch, it was the most average. Specifically, instead of having cheesy bread, it is similar to the Asiago Cheese bagel from Vons, where you get more bread than cheese. The marinara sauce that came with it tasted like a run-of-the-mill marinara sauce, with nothing special. In contrast, the Cheesy Bread from Dominos focuses more on the cheese, with marinara sauce that has a slight kick of spice.

The final item was the White Cheesy. This one, despite it sounding the most unique, was the blandest. The White Cheesy has white alfredo sauce, my personal favorite sauce, along with slices of tomato, onion, bacon bits, and crumbled feta cheese. One complaint I had is that the onion was centralized in the middle, rather than spread around the whole pie. The tomatoes and feta cheese were delicious. Since the tomato has a sharp contrast to the cheese and sauce, the feta added a zing which made it stand out from the sauce. 

Overall, Marco’s Pizza has amazing options and alright prices. Compared to Dominos or Little Caesars, both are the second and third closest places to Buena for pizza. If I had to list them based on consistency, it would be Little Caesars, Marco’s, then Dominos.