Blaze Pizza vs. MOD Pizza: Which restaurant is better？

Blaze Pizza and MOD Pizza are two competitors leading the fast-casual pizza industry.

They've been neck-and-neck in the race, but this year MOD's systemwide sales growth outpaced Blaze's by far, according to Nation's Restaurant News.

I went to the Blaze Pizza on Staten Island, New York, and the MOD Pizza in Bellevue, Washington, to see what the chains were doing differently.

My meal at MOD won out on all fronts, including speed, taste, and customizability. However, Blaze did make a better dessert.

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There's more than one way to fire a pie.

And there's more than one way to run a national chain of fast-casual restaurants serving made-to-order personal pizzas. MOD Pizza and Blaze Pizza have been neck-and-neck in the fast-casual-pizza race for a while. Blaze was dubbed the fastest-growing restaurant chain in history by research firm Technomic in 2017.

But, in 2019 MOD's growth has blown Blaze's out of the water, with systemwide sales growing more than 44%, according to Nation's Restaurant News. The Seattle-based chain plans to reach 1,000 locations in the next five years.

The two chains have near-identical concepts: speedy, customizable, freshly made pizzas with grab-and-go sides and beer on tap.

So who does it better？

Read more: I ate the same meal at Outback and LongHorn Steakhouse to see which would do it better, and the winner was superior in every way except service

Since I'm from Seattle, MOD was my go-to fast-casual pizza first. But I frequently ate at Blaze during my college years in the Midwest. I hadn't been to either in years, so I didn't have a favorite going into this taste test.

I went to both MOD and Blaze to compare dining experiences. I ordered largely the same meal: a side salad, a bread-based appetizer, a custom pizza, a chocolate-based dessert, and a beer on tap.

Here's how they compared: