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