I have to admit that I was leery about walking into a pizza place that was once a gas station. But as a student in search of inexpensive yet edible pizza, I was willing to take a chance.
I walked into Pizza Shack, located at 3035 West Pine St., for lunch on a Friday afternoon, along with two of my friends. We were greeted with a smile and invited to sit wherever we chose. It didn’t look like a converted gas station, and was very simple in décor.
We chose a booth along the edge of the restaurant and a waitress promptly came to take our drink orders. Our drinks came in Styrofoam cups with our drink written on the side. I liked knowing that when I needed a refill, the waitress would know what I had without asking, since it’s inevitable that I seem to always have my mouth full when asked. Also, I liked that I could take my drink with me when I left.
We were left to peruse over the menu, where I noticed the buffet as the main option, though definitely not the only one. Pizza Shack offers a selection of pizzas to order, along with pasta and garlic bread. They also offer the choice of only having the salad bar for a smaller price. The buffet is offered for lunch and dinner everyday.
I chose the buffet because it not only provided more choices, but was also a reasonable price. For $5.99 I chose between seven or eight types of pizza, along with a pasta, garlic bread, dessert pizza and a full salad bar.
I was impressed with the selection, especially since there weren’t many customers. I chose a couple of pieces of pizza, one a regular crust sausage and cheese, and the other a thin crust pepperoni. I also selected a slice of garlic bread and a small piece of the dessert pizza.
The pizza was delicious. It was not overwhelmed by grease or oil. The sausage and cheese pizza had the right amount of each topping to complement each other. The pepperoni was not overrun by cheese.
The garlic bread was crispy on the outside and soft in the middle, just the way I like it. And the dessert pizza wasn’t anything fancy, but it was good and provided just the amount of sweetness to counteract the saltiness of the pizza I had just consumed.
As we were leaving, I noticed that the restaurant had not only filled up, but people were waiting for an open table. Pizza Shack plans to add additional seating, though a definite time wasn’t provided.
I enjoyed eating at Pizza Shack, and from the lunch crowd I witnessed, I’m not the only one. Word has gotten out about them and I’m sure their business will continue to grow.
