Best Pizza in Greensboro

That's my entire kitchen table being engulfed by the pizza.

Quantity and quality, can be achieved, contrary to opinion.

I have been dying for one of those Food Network three foot pizza challenges since the middle of summer when Shannon flat out forbid me to buy one on our road trip to Canada. Then a few weeks ago, friend and fellow blogger: Barbara of Eating Up Greensboro posted her huge mistake, an accidental ordering of Mario's 24" giant Party Pizza. It has to be the biggest pizza in the Triad, possibly the state.

I knew I had to get one, I had to bring one home. Some how, some way- this was going to happen.

Giant pizza = 1/4 size of Geo Metro.

Unfortunately I own a Geo Metro and the pizza is the size of the car. No worries, it's bigger on the inside.

In fact on the way home there was two adults, two children, four backpacks, fifty pounds of dog food, and the 24" Mario's Special.

It's an air-bag, dinner, and air-freshener all-in-one.

That's two feet of high-gluten flour crust, sauce, pepperoni, cheese, ham, sausage, onions, peppers, mushrooms and olives made in the tradition New York style pizza.

It's absolutely hilarious to watch people's faces turn seeing this box take up half the car. It barely fits through the door frame, and took up the entire table. The slices are almost a foot long themselves, and are absolutely delicious. Even Shannon, who generally despises pizza demanded how great this pizza is.

It's not just good, it's flip'n awesome. It's the best tasting pizza I've had in Greensboro, and the fact that it's a giant pizza (at a very reasonable $30ish dollars) makes this the winner of take-out pizza in city.

I personally believe every restaurant should have a novelty food. I can guarantee my kid's are going to remember the night of the giant pizza forever. Where else can you buy a memory like that?

Piedmont Ale House and its Service Charge

So I think American just went crazy today. I took the family out to lunch at a local pub (Piedmont Ale House) in Burlington. Grabbed a couple beers, and burgers and left sweaty and fat. It all seemed good till I looked down at the bill and noticed a $9.55 service charge for the food.

Was it a tip they demanded (when did it not become voluntary [this was a family of four, not a party, and the bill was under $50])? I mean I've taken large groups to restaurants, or when bills have orbited above $100, I've seen the 10%-20% gratuity on the bill (and menu), but it's always clear as day and always said GRATUITY on the receipt.

I had happened to be using a gift certificate on this occasion, and I'm wondering if they consider this a fee for using the Gift Certificate (equally outrageous)?

Of course the line for a Tip: was still added onto the receipt (not shown) which further confused me.

Isn't the point of tips to reward good service?

I ended up adding a tip to the bill, though quite upset, I was prepared to write a raving review of the establishment prior to the check. I've since emailed customer service with the gift certificate company, and await a response. I'm not sure what's going on here- I mean, what's wrong with America. You sell crap at a set price, and I buy it at a set price- I don't expect surcharges on my bill, especially at the neighborhood bar!

What it did do was turn me off to returning to this restaurant, though I did feel the food was pretty good. There's no point in taking a gift certificate worth $25, and only receiving $15 of it, because the owners have chosen to do business in this matter.

If it was a tip, then let me decide the amount. I actually quite hate the idea of tipping, but continue to be a good tipper at traditional restaurants. However this new trend to put a tip box at Subway, or Ice Cream shops, gas stations, etc... is enough to blow my mind. Do I really need to tip you to do your job now? Do I really need to question the quality of food I receive from a fast-food because you may or may not have liked my tips the last time I visited?

Really? Just do your bloody job, shove the tip jar where the sun don't shine, and if I think your deserving: I'll slip something in your pocket... otherwise stop your complaining and enjoy your minimum wage (waitress/waiter wages not included). Isn't that the way it's supposed to be?

So somehow in America we went from tipping service style jobs (waiting, pumping gas, etc.) to tipping EVERYWHERE, and now we're moving on to mandatory tipping. God Bless America.