FiremenKnowFood "Experience, honesty, & honor make firemen natural food critics"

I’m not much for the franchised pizza restaurants that I unlovingly refer to as “Pizza Gut”, “Pappy Jones”, and my personal unfavorite “Dammit-NOes!”. We ate at the Mellow Mushroom tonight and fell in love with this quaint little pizzeria that deals with the freshest ingredients. The crust itself was a treat, which I usually don’t enjoy. The crust, which isn’t listed on the menu itself, MUST be one of nature’s wonders of the world. It is not a white-breaded crust, but more of a wheat crust that tastes a little like fresh sourdough. It is light and flaky, which has neither greasy after taste, nor is it overly chewy. The sauce is light and barely noticeable.

The decor is something that Jerry Garcia would have loved and it is both colorful and relaxing at the same time. Several statues line the archways a sorcerer, a frog, a bard and so on actually tell the menu as well as create fascinating conversation peices. The Mellow Mushroom boasts an obvious pride in their cleanliness. There was a pub section that housed an impressive list of beer and other spirits.

Our waitress was very friendly and quiet, but mostly she was good at perceiving when her customers needed something. She kept up with our drinks, made sure that we got all we wanted, and what amazed me the most was her bringing us a take-home box. This is quite nice for those that hate asking for it, but don’t like to waste either. These left-overs will be thoroughly enjoyed at lunch tomorrow.

When the check comes your way, be expectant that it is a little higher than those run-of-the-mill pizza factories that advertise on national TV, you know the ones… But the cost is well worth the value.

I don’t typically like to critique chain restaurants, but the Mellow Mushroom deserves the above kudos and accolades. There are several Mellow Mushroom restaurants, mostly they are in the southern states, with some in the midwest and in Arizona. If you would like more information, go to www.mellowmushroom.com, they have a well put together website.