Who would have thought a pizza joint tucked in the middle of a strip mall would be so good?
I had a lunch date with a friend. We had planned on going someplace else, but circumstances required us to rethink our destination. Since she loves pizza, and I wanted to go someplace different, we ended up here.
We got there about noon. The very clean space was reminiscent of a chain burger joint. There were two guys sitting at the tables, obvious waiting for take-out orders. We walked in about ten feet before we hear someone from behind the counter call out, "If you're eating in, just sit where you want!" I must mention he was packing an order, and had the phone to his ear, taking another order. He was aware of everything going on, and made sure we were greeted as soon as we entered.
We found a table, and he, Chris, was right over with menus. We ordered beverages (soft) and he ran off and returned right away with glasses of ice (all the drinks are in bottles/cans - but when I asked about unsweetened iced tea, he inquired if I wanted some lemon for it - I don't think I've ever been asked that before anywhere with bottled drinks!) He dropped off the menu, and started to pour over it.
It's long. Lots of options, with a little of something for everyone. Of course, we got involved with talking, and debating our food options, and Chris, on his next visit told us to take our time and just wave at him when we were ready. By now, the space was starting to fill up. Most of the tables were taken, and a line of people waiting for their pick-up formed at the register (the line moved quickly, too - so they had their act together in the kitchen). My friend checked out the pies by the slice, and soon we decided. As soon as he saw my hand start to go up in the air, Chris was back and took our order. She picked a couple of slices of pizza and onion rings (her favorite thing, evah!), and I got fried calamari and Shrimp Marinara over pasta. I asked for the calamari to come out first, and everything else at the same time afterwards. I had doubts, based on other experiences at restaurants, that it would happen like that. But, I was proven wrong.
The calamari came out. He anticipated that we'd both be picking on it, so brought two side plates. As an appetizer, it was large enough that it could have been an entree for one person. It came out hot, the coating was very crispy, and the calamari inside wasn't rubbery. The ramekin of marinara was just enough, and there were a few large slices of lemon on the fish. As an added note, a little sprinkle of chopped parsley on top make it look a bit nicer. A lot of small pizza joints wouldn't bother with that. It showed me that there was a lot of pride in the food they serve. We polished it off rather quickly, but even as they started to cool, the calamari didn't lose their crispiness.
We had nearly polished off the calamari, when Chris returned with everything else. My shrimp and her rings were the first trip, and the slices and pasta were on the quick second trip (he couldn't carry them all at the same time). My plates were heated (or, at least felt that way). Eight decent sized shrimp covered in a marinara enhanced with slices of garlic and fresh basil. The pasta was perfectly al dente. There was a lot of food, and I only ate half. Chris kindly offered to wrap the rest for me. My only complaint was the the shrimp still carried their tails, but this was a very minor inconvenience-much fancier places do this too. My friend's slices were huge (for those keeping count, Meat lovers, and Pepperoni). Lots of toppings on both - more than enough that there was no question as to which was which. Again, too much - she ate half the Meat Lover's, and took just a bite of her pepperoni. I tried a bite, too - nice, thin crust and not greasy. Her rings were real breaded onion rings, not the chopped/formed stuff. There was a nice crunch as you bit into them, and, even as they cooled, didn't feel greasy.
I warned my friend that there was no negotiation on dessert - we were ordering it! She picked a Cannoli; I got daring and ordered the Zeppole, fried balls of dough coated with powdered sugar. It was a while before they came to the table because my Zeppole came out hot, right from the fryer. And, even more surprising, there were a lot of them; I expected two or three - there had to have been eight or so on the plate. My friend's comment was, "I can't remember the last time I had a cannoli where the shell wasn't soggy!" She scarfed that down and had one of my Zeppole, as well. I ate half of what was left on the plate, and Chris gave me a bag for the rest.
While we barely scratched the surface of the options on the menu, we found the food to be of excellent quality, and more than ample portions. Chris' service was on par with that of some of the finest restaurants I had visited. Kudos to him and the management. One of the best lunch experiences I've had in a very long time. read more