The Original Pizza Palace

ORIGINAL PIZZA PALACE
604 NW 13th Street
352.377.5571

The story of the Original Pizza Palace is an interesting one. Originally opened in the 1950s, it closed in the late 1990s and ever since there has been a legal battle over the rights to open it again. It did reopen on 13th Street this past March. It was sort of the precursor to Satchel's in atmosphere, ambiance, and food. OPP bakes all of their dough products and desserts themselves.

This might be my most complete review yet because I went there on back-to-back days. The first time I went was for lunch with Lyle and Kaicee. We sat in the room that was by the kitchen and main counter. The decor was interesting. I'm still not sure who told places that yellow painted walls were a good idea, but contrary to most places that have walls of this color, I didn't mind this so much. There wasn't much lighting so the walls brightened up the place. There was obscure art and other random things on the walls. The service was very good as there was hardly anyone there. Lyle and I ordered a large pizza with green peppers and garlic and Kaicee ordered a tempeh melt and a salad. The salad (2.50 with a meal) was a good size for a side salad and due to their lack of ranch dressing came with their own creamy garlic dressing, which was described to Kaicee as "ranch...but better." That description wasn't misleading. I tried some and it was phenomenal. Lyle tried some and liked it so much that he licked it out of the container it was brought in - and it was good enough that we asked for another helping of the dressing when our pizza came to use as a dipping sauce (which was awesome). Kaicee's tempeh melt ($~6.50, picture) was tempeh covered in cheese and caramelized onions and some sort of sauce I couldn't place, along with lettuce, tomatoes, and raw onions. Kaicee, who's usually hard to impress with food, loved it. She said it was delicious.

Our large pizza ($12.95, $1.25 each topping) came and looked amazing. The toppings were clearly fresh - the garlic was fresh garlic that they minced themselves. The pizza tasted as fantastic as it looked. The crust was thin, but not TOO thin. Despite being somewhat crispy, it somehow maintained a fluffy feel inside. I told Lyle that if you gave me just the crust with some butter or something and didn't tell me what it was I'd think it was a breakfast pastry. The toppings, while delicious and fresh, were a little light for $1.25 a piece.

Then came dessert. They all sounded so good that we HAD to get one to share, and at $3.50 each the price was right. From the selection of coffee butter crunch, French silk pie, carrot cake, brownie bottom rum cake, and cheesecake (Oreo, vanilla, and one other flavor I can't recall), we opted for the brownie bottom rum cake (picture). Lyle and I thought we died and went to heaven. It's a layer of fresh baked, soft, moist brownie, topped with "rum-infused cream," which was like a thick, fluffy consistency, and then topped with regular cream. It was out of this world.

Thankfully though, I do wait a while to review places so that I'm not biased. The food was so good that the next day when my friends Jeff, Jason, and Ian wanted to go out, I suggested OPP. We sat in the larger room that's only open for dinner. I'd say it was a good 7 or 8 minutes until someone came over and took our drink orders, and another 5 or so minutes until she came back with them to take our order. At a place like OPP where everything is clearly fresh I usually allow some time for the food to come out. They took that time. It wasn't an obscenely long wait, pretty normal for what I'd expect from a place (about 30 minutes, fair for fresh pizza and calzones); the only issue was that almost no one else was there. Jeff and I shared what ended up being the exact same pizza Lyle and I got and it was just as good, if not better. Jeff didn't waste much time in proclaiming it his new favorite pizza in Gainesville. Ian got a medium pizza with onions for himself, not expecting to eat it all, but couldn't stop himself because it was so delicious. Jason got a cheese calzone. It was delicious, but for the price ($10 and change) it wasn't as big as one would expect. Our waitress was very nice, but we had to wait several times for drink refills.

Jason had a little of his calzone left over and wanted some more marinara sauce for it, so he asked for some. We ordered dessert. I got the brownie bottom rum pie again, Jeff got the French silk pie, and Ian and Jason both got the Oreo cheesecake. About 5 minutes later she was back with the desserts but no sauce. Jason asked again and she came back about two minutes later with it.

After I told Kaicee that I went back there for dinner the next day, she told me that she and Lyle had gone back for lunch. Lyle got his own pizza and Kaicee again got the tempeh melt, which she once again said was amazing.

I can't say enough about how good the food is here. The atmosphere is relaxing as well. The service the first time was fine, nothing to rave about but no complaints either. The service the second time, though, was very subpar. I know now to never go there if I'm in a rush for anything. The pricing on the dessert is the best thing they have. A pizza isn't expensive, but the toppings make it so. The calzone, as noted, was pricey only because it wasn't mammoth, as one would expect for over 10 dollars. Of course, Jason did only get cheese, so maybe adding the two toppings that come with it for $10 would have made it bigger and more worthwhile. The tempeh melt was a good price, but they could have given a salad or fries or chips or something with it. I would say that OPP is in the running for me for my favorite pizza in town and I have dreams about the dessert. Their service will get a 6 because it wasn't bad the first time and I probably would have given it a 9 after that first visit, so it would make no sense for me to give it a 3 or 4 that I would have given it if I had just gone the second time. When I go back again, I'll update the service positively or negatively. Definitely a place I will frequent, but never a place I'll go to if I'm short on time.

Food quality: 10/10 (30)
Service: 6/10 (15)
Ambiance: 9.5/10 (19)
Pricing: 8/10 (12)
Menu selection: 10/10 (10)

Composite score: 86

New Deal Cafe followup

After getting many responses about New Deal Cafe's service and ability to properly cook their burgers, I decided to go back and see if my first time was a fluke. Service was good once again with regards to ordering and drinks. They had a beer cheese soup which I got and was delicious. I got the same order as the previous time - a cheeseburger cooked well done. When our food was brought out they had forgotten Kaicee's meal altogether and the waiter (the same one we had the first time) told us it was his fault and he completely forgot to put it in. I got my burger and it was quite obvious that it was NOT well done. The inside was pink. I told the waiter and he took it back to regrill it. He came over and apologized profusely. A woman I can only assume was the manager, whom many had told me they had poor experiences with, came over and apologized as well. About 3 minutes later she came back and told us it would just be another minute, which it was. The food was delicious as it was the previous time. At the end the waiter came by and told us he was very sorry and put a bag down on our table, explaining that it was a slice of his favorite cake, the Chocolate Mousse Bombe. It was packaged to go but we ate it right there and it was phenomenal. If no one had complained previously about the service or the cooking I would have thought nothing of it (places undercook my burgers all the time), and their rectification of the situation helped out a lot. I'm not going to change my ratings for them right now.

New Deal Cafe

NEW DEAL CAFE
3445 West University Ave.
352.371.1711

New Deal Cafe is located next to its sister restaurant, Mildred's Big City Food, on the busy corner of University and 34th. Despite the location in the heart of college Gainesville, New Deal seems to have that "hole in the wall" feeling. The dining area is not very large, consisting of a few tables lined up against the wall. The decor relies more on the well-picked colors of the paint and the large spherical hanging lights all over the restaurant than on actual things on the wall. It had a calm feeling. The menu had some variety but not very many options. It wasn't a bad thing; you can definitely find something to strike your fancy, but New Deal kept it simple with the number of menu selections. Because of the size of the place, service was pretty good. I asked the waiter a question about the tuna and then told him I was debating between the tuna melt and a burger, to which he matter-of-factly replied, "Get the burger." I hate when wait staff tells me both things I'm debating between are great and I could go either way because that just doesn't help me. I ended up getting the burger with white cheddar cheese ($9), although I have some thought to the mozzarella. Joining me were Lyle, who got the Margherita Flatbread ($8) and a cup of Seafood and Chorizo Soup, and Kaicee, who got the Eggplant and Tomato Panini ($8, picture).

My burger was cooked as I ordered and the bun was crispy and flavorful. The fries were delicious and tasted like they were baked, despite the fact that I saw the deep fryers. Whatever their secret is works very well. Lyle devoured the soup and both Kaicee and Lyle loved the salad that came with Kaicee's meal, saying that the dressing was delicious. When Lyle got his he asked if they had any garlic powder; the waiter went back and looked, and came back to apologize for not having any but said that the chef would mince a garlic clove for him if he wanted. Lyle said it'd be alright without it, but about 2 minutes later, the waiter returned with some fresh-minced garlic. Kaicee's panini was served on thick bread and came with olives and feta cheese. She took half of it home. For a quick lunch, New Deal did the trick and was delicious. And as a side note: Mildred's and New Deal buy all their produce, seafood, and meat locally and claims to have bought more local food this year than all other Gainesville restaurants. Pretty cool.

Food quality: 10/10 (30)
Service: 9/10 (22.5)
Ambiance: 8/10 (16)
Pricing: 8/10 (12)
Menu selection: 7/10 (7)

Composite score: 87.5

visit: http://www.mildredsbigcityfood.com/newdeal.html

Conestoga's Restaurant

CONESTOGA'S RESTAURANT
14920 Main St.
Alachua, FL
386.462.1294

Conestogas is located off US-441 in Downtown Alachua, which is an area I'd never been to. Main Street looks like a traditional downtown area, with one lane going each way, older brick buildings along the way, shops and restaurants, and lights wrapped around the trees; it was, as my travel companion Kristin described it, "super cute." (Note: there were a bunch of other places I'd heard of on Main St., such as Restaurante Deneno's and Bev's Better Burgers, so I'm certain I'll be back in the area sometime). Parking was no problem despite what looked to be a long line outside the restaurant. We had a party of 6 and were given a huge playing card from a deck (which is how they call you, rather than announcing your name) and quoted a 15-20 minute wait. It ended up being closer to 10 minutes, which was not bad at all for a Friday night at 7:30 PM.

The inside of the restaurant has brick walls with photos and random southwestern decor. The table had two bowls of peanuts waiting for us and our drink orders were taken promptly. After giving our orders a loaf of pumpernickel bread with honey butter was brought out; it was good, but the one loaf wasn't really a good size for 6 people. Our food came about 20 minutes later. I ordered the Stogie Burger, which is their signature of sorts. At $8.59, the 16 ounce patty was big enough to, as the menu described, hang slightly off the bun. I will note that having eaten a one pound burger before, I'm almost certain that the 16 ounce weight is the pre-cooked weight. I added cheddar cheese, which cost $1 more, a little pricey for a drop of cheddar melted on (Swiss and American cheese cost 75 cents, by comparison). The burger was tasty and was quite obviously fresh. I ordered my burger well and it came cooked as such, but not to the point of being burnt; it was still juicy when I ate it. It didn't taste like a chain restaurant burger, but more like home cooking. I got sweet potato sticks, which are simply crinkle cut fries made from sweet potatoes. They were good and served with "Swamp Sauce," which as far as I could tell was mustard with a little bit of mayonnaise. I opted for ketchup. The three girls with us ordered Stogie Jr. burgers (an 8 ounce version of their burger) and they were all cooked properly to order. One of the other manly men with us also ordered a Stogie, and the other ordered a chop steak, which I didn't try but looked very good. Conestoga's also has an ice cream shop connected to it. We were too stuffed to venture in there, though.

Overall, the food was very good and it was a great departure from the norm. I'm not sure I'd trek up there regularly, but it was definitely worth the trip and could see myself going back in the future.

Food quality: 9/10 (27)
Service: 8/10 (20)
Ambiance: 8.5/10 (17)
Pricing: 7.5/10 (11.25)
Menu selection: 10/10 (10)

Composite score: 85.25

(p.s. - a note about the picture: my iPhone, like most iPhones, tend to take somewhat blurry pictures. I'll work on trying to get better shots.)

visit: conestogasalachua.com

Blue Highway Pizza

BLUE HIGHWAY PIZZA
204 NE Highway 441
Micanopy, FL
352.466.0062

My friends Emily and Kristin trekked down to Micanopy, about 15 miles south of Gainesvile, to go to Blue Highway Pizza. The place is a small building right off 441 and it screams "GOOD LOCAL FOOD HERE!" The building is not very large and though we were only three people we had to wait for a table for about 10-15 minutes. The inside of the building was bright with some interesting cluttered decorations. After being seated I checked out their menu, which included sandwiches, salads, calzones, and pizzas. They only have two different sizes of pizza - a 12 inch thin crust and a Sicilian thick crust. I opted for the Abruzzese pizza, which has homemade meatballs, sliced fresh roasted garlic, parsley, and Parmesan and Romano cheese. While waiting for the pizza we were had a problem with flies coming around our area, several of which were smashed by Kristin against the wall. One waitress said to us, "That's just part of our charm." We got our food pretty quickly. The pizza smelled delicious and it was. The crust was fantastic and you could tell the meatballs were homemade. True to its description, the garlic was really sliced fresh garlic and not the minced canned garlic that most places serve when they say "fresh garlic." I eat a lot, especially when it comes to pizza, but I couldn't even finish the pizza. At $10.95 I had leftovers for the next day, which they wrapped very neatly for me in a plate and Saran wrap. I'd heard comparisons to Satchel's, which, in my only visit, I thought to be overrated, but as that was 2 years ago I'll be going back soon to check them out again. Comparing first visits, though, I liked Blue Highway much better and also thought the pizza was superior. They are different places but I do understand the comparison. I wouldn't regularly travel 15 miles to get to it, but I'd definitely be open to going back every now and then to get some delicious, fresh pizza with homemade ingredients.

Food quality: 9/10 (27)
Service: 7/10 (17.5)
Ambiance: 8/10 (16)
Pricing: 8/10 (12)
Menu selection: 9/10 (9)

Composite score: 81.5

visit: www.bluehighwaypizza.com

The Top Restaurant

THE TOP RESTAURANT
30 N Main St
352.337.1188

I went to The Top with a few friends on Halloween, which was a Friday night, around 8 PM. I was worried that parking would be impossible and there would be a long line since it's in the heart of downtown (right off University and Main), but there is a parking lot right behind it for its customers. We had a party of five and there was a short wait, but considerably shorter than I'd expect for a Friday night just about anywhere. The atmosphere is interesting as the restaurant is dimly-lit, yet has a "fun" attitude about it with lots of clutter on the walls. After being seated by the bar I began to look at the menu. As I had heard, this place might be one of the most vegetarian/vegan friendly places I've ever seen. They have lots of meat-free dishes and you can substitute tofu or tempeh in most meals. Our table started off with the sweet potato fries and corn nuggets; both came with a garlic dipping sauce and both were fantastic. I ordered the Broccoli Alfredo, which had spinach linguine and broccoli in an asiago cheese/white wine cream sauce. For a dish with the word broccoli at the front of it, there wasn't much broccoli, but it was delicious nonetheless. The sauce was pretty heavy and filling. Other meals around the table included orange stir fry and a sirloin steak; everything looked and smelled fantastic and there were no complaints about the food. The waitress was seen pretty infrequently. We weren't in a rush but at one point we all needed water so badly that another waiter brought it for us. It's a great place for a slower-paced meal and delicious food.

Food quality: 9/10 (27)
Service: 5/10 (12.5)
Ambiance: 10/10 (20)
Pricing: 9.5/10 (14.25)
Menu selection: 10/10 (10)

Composite score: 83.75