The Birmingham News had an article about a new type of pizza chain that had just opened up, so I thought we'd give it a try.
 
The place is called Papa Murphy's Take 'N' Bake Pizza and is located at 1580 Montgomery Hwy., in the same shopping center as T-Mobile and Dan's Fan City, across from the old Brunos.
 
They are different in that they don't have cooked pizzas.  You go in and you order the pizza you want, then take it home and put it in your own oven.  Unique concept.  
 
I went there on a Friday evening, a little after 6 pm.  It's not a big place, since they obviously don't need tables and chairs, just a counter to take orders and an area where the pizzas are prepared.  The layout is similar to a Subway, since you actually get to watch them prepare the pizza in an assembly line fashion - first person gets the dough ready, the next person does the cheese and perhaps one of the toppings, the next person does another topping or two and the last person packages it.
 
The line was pretty long when I went in.  Tip #1:  There is a menu on a holder as you walk in on the right.  Pick it up.  It has a $2.00 off coupon that you can redeem when you get to the cashier.  If you don't have the coupon, you don't get to go back and they won't take it off.
 
I ordered something called the Family Size Pepperoni.  I figured it would feed two adults and one teen.  Watching them put it together was interesting.  The pepperoni guy spent about 5 minutes putting 80 slices of pepperoni on the pizza.  Then another layer of cheese was added on top of the pepperoni.
 
Total wait time was about 15 minutes after giving the order.  
 
Once they are ready to hand it to you, it is on a paper tray covered in cellophane wrap.  Tip:  Go straight home.  I don't believe it does too well inside a hot vehicle for long periods of time.
 
Once you get home, read the baking instructions, especially the part that says that you are to use the "baking tray" that the pizza is made on.  It makes it really simple to just take the plastic wrap off and put it in the preheated oven.
 
Once done (12-15 minutes, check after 10), it sits for five minutes, then is served.
 
We made it through 4 slices and were full.  
 
Two of us liked the sauce, one of us didn't.  Toppings were more than generous.  You couldn't take a bit without eating a slice of pepperoni.
 
So here's how I would rate them:
 
Service:  N/A - You stand in line, you place your order, your name is called when your pizza is ready.  I don't know if you can call ahead.
Food:  10.  It's very good.  Generous toppings, excellent quality of ingredients, hot (since you're cooking it at home), so just plain good.  Compared to some local chains, I would say it's better than most.
Value:  8.  Use the coupons.  Pizza Hut's $10 Large Pizza Deal is still the one to beat when it comes to value, but this comes in pretty high.
 
Overall:  9
 
We'll go back, and this time try some of their more specialized pizza varieties.