Like my opinion matters... Pizza Pie Cafe (Restaurant Review)

Was driving around on Wednesday and noticed that a new pizza restaurant had opened up where Tony Roma's used to be by the Albertsons on the Parkway.... so, of course I had to try it out and we went there that night.  The Pizza Pie Cafe has a pizza/pasta/salad bar buffet as well as a regular menu.  We tried the buffet after first taking a sneak peek to see what was there.  The buffet was $6.99 for dinner for adults and there was a children's price but I don't remember what it was-- drinks are extra.

First off, the restaurant is a PEPSI restaurant which gives it extra points in my book.  Restaurants with Diet Pepsi or Diet Dr. Pepper will always score higher for me... And since we are talking about drinks, I should give my ice review.  We all have our quirks and one of mine is that I like ice!  Another quirk is that I love stale Peeps!(but I digress..)   The best ice is the powdery snow-like ice that you get at shaved ice places, but that wouldn't be very practical for a drink.  So, for me the ideal for drinks is crushed ice, not cubes.  The best ice I've found in the valley is at La Caretta's and they are always willing to fill up the glass to the top with ice before the pop so that it's almost a slushy... yum!  At Pizza Pie Cafe, the ice machine gives you a choice-- although I didn't notice that at first.  I filled up with the cube ice that you get everywhere and then Kim pointed out that you could press a button and get crushed ice.  So I dumped the ice out and started over.  The ice is good!

Now, I suspect that if you are actually reading this you are probably more interested in the food than the ice...  can't imagine why... The pizza and overall selection was much better than at most pizza buffets, by far. There were at least 8 different pizzas and 6 dessert pizzas.  The pizzas were warm and were replenished regularly.  You didn't have to time your trip perfectly to get to the line when a pizza first came out and before the football team that always seem to be sitting next to you got up there in order to eat.  Pizzas had a thicker crust than you get at most buffets, and it was breadlike and not greasy.  The toppings were good and I especially liked the Pizza Alfredo slice.  Could only eat 2 pieces so this would not be a place where you could take your department or family and break pizza eating records.  At Doc's, my department used to have pizza eating contests and the record was set by a GIRL who ate 33 pieces!  You could not do that at this restaurant-- or if you did, you would be really sick!  I watched them bring out a hot, dessert pizza so I chose that one to try.  Try the cookie dough dessert pizza-- it was wonderful!

The salad bar was average but then salads are for suckers anyway.  Don't fill up on the salad.  I didn't try the pasta bar but Kim thought it was really good.

And the verdict is..

...drumroll please...
 

Pizza Pie Cafe                    *** + (3+ Stars)