too much crust on the outside

For me, pan pizza is all about the texture of the crust and the ratio of crust to toppings. To handle the extra thickness of the crust, it has to have more toppings too so that you don't have a bunch of dough with nothing to eat with it. I also like that because pan pizza is deeper, it doesn't need as wide of a crust to hold all those toppings in. Again, I don't need extra crust around the edge that is just plain dough. The texture of the crust should be just a little crunchy, from whatever oil/butter is used to coat the pan, and not too chewy...no bagel-like dough. Pan pizza I had from Pizzeria Uno many, many years ago is probably the one I've liked the best, but Pizza Hut does a mean job of it too.

The biggest downfall I've seen in pan pizzas are crusts that are so thin on the bottom that they get soggy or can't hold the toppings when you lift the piece of pizza. Another problem is a scarcity of toppings and cheese to balance out the thicker crust. Or so much tomato sauce that the other flavors are drowned out. I love tomatoes a lot, but I want to taste some cheese and other toppings too.

A good balance of crust and toppings

can't hold the toppings

If I'm going to eat pizza, I want to eat something that's good and gives my mouth a little crust, a little topping and a little cheese in every bite.