First up was the Brisket Steakhouse Pizza, a hearty specialty pizza packed with steakhouse-inspired flavors.

Mr. Monroe admitted he was already a fan of the concept, but even one ingredient he normally doesn’t love won him over.

“I mean, this is excellent, I’m a big steakhouse guy. I don’t even like mushrooms that much, but they fit in perfectly here. The crispy onion does a great job.”

As someone who takes his pizza rankings seriously, Mr. Monroe gave the first pizza of the day an honest A-.

Next up was the Cheesy Chipotle Chicken Pizza, and Mr. Monroe already had a feeling this one was going to be a favorite.

“I already know I’m going to love this one. I liked every single [ingredient] you just said.”

After taking his first bite, that prediction was quickly confirmed.

“Oh, my God. I would order this every single time. The jalapeño is perfect. That’s something I would love to eat.”

“A plus plus plus. Absolutely. Order this.”

The Chicago Grind Pizza brought together a combination of flavors that immediately reminded Mr. Monroe of one of his college favorites.

“This is another great one. This reminds me, when I was a freshman in college, I used to always get this grinder.”

The nostalgia was there, but more importantly, so was the flavor.

“This was excellent. This is a perfect combination of flavors.”

Coming from a self-described staunch pizza critic, that’s high praise.

Going into the Italian Deli Pizza, Mr. Monroe wasn’t quite sure what to expect.

“Man, coming into this one, I wasn’t sure. This is not exactly what I would order if I were to come here. I’m not a big deli guy.”

But one bite was all it took to change his mind. “Holy cow, [this] exceeded my expectations.”

He was especially impressed by how well everything worked together.

Last but definitely not least was the wild card of the lineup: Chicken and Waffles Pizza.

Mr. Monroe was warned that this might be the wildest pizza he had ever tried, and he was ready to go all in.

As someone who appreciates taking chances with pizza, Mr. Monroe respected the creativity behind this one.

“I’m not a cheese pizza guy, so I love daring, and anytime you’re willing to step outside of the box.”