[Ed. Note 1/1/11: Sal's is, sadly, now closed.]
The fruitbasket turnover of restaurant leagues in the Gump has a new player: Sal's Pizzaria in the Zelda Place Shopping Center. Already the home of one of the best places to eat in town-Michael's Table (and a chain called Moe's), Zelda Place will soon also boast the reincarnation of Nancy Paterson's and a new semi-chain Zoe's perhaps becoming a third star in the local restaurant league. We already have the Inner League which revolves around the Alley Station: Olive Room, Nobles, Lunde's, Sa-Za's, Dreamland, Bama Bistro and the Brew Pub. Then there is the Cloverdale League: Chophouse VY, Derk's Filet and Vine, Jubilee Seafood, Sinclairs, Bud's, El Rey and Tomatino's. With the addition of Sal's, the new Zelda Place league will boast: La Zona Rosa, Down the Street Cafe, Country's Barbecue (a semi-chain) along with MT, NP and Zoe's. It looks like the competition for the hottest restaurant district is heating up like a pizza oven.
Tonight Toadie and Tayteese decided to take me to the newly opened Sal's Pizza in a nondescript location on the ditch side of the Zelda Place center. No sign on the door, no sign above the door and broken A.C., but full tables, happy customers and yummy pizza. Pizza that could go toe to toe with Tomatino's at a lower price. Throw in $2 PBR tallboys and you are teetering on a bargain. Three semi-adults in and out for less than $35 including tip.
We ordered the Salsiccia Pizza which comes with house made fennel sausage, caramelized onions, panna, mozzarella ricotta, and thyme. The personal size is $8.75. A medium is $13.5 0. The large is $17. The large fed three and Toadie took two slices back home to the Ham. It was "butter pizza" if that makes any sense.
We also ordered "Nancy's Salad" as an appetizer and one serving fed all three with a particularly tasty homemade and fresh Caesar dressing.
The patrons were all from the Gump and many knew each other which meant for a collegial atmosphere despite the presence of lots of fussy baby humans who were obviously cuter to their parents than to us. The waiters seemed to all be related or friends of the proprietor: John Burns Paterson who is the son of Burns and Nancy P. All were polite and attentive tonight despite the problem with the A.C. (which will be fixed in the a.m.). The old classic video games in the corner were a nice touch.
Like Nebraska switching to the Big-10, this new competitor in the Zelda League may cause a shift in the balance of power and/or some movement in other Gump restaurant leagues. Only time will tell. All I know is as far as Sal's is concerned, so far so good! Especially when they have a sign on the door and real air conditioning. I sense some synergy developing, or, is that a squirrel?
Paterson only has one "t"
ReplyDeleteShadow Pup is not a very good speller. He didn't know if it had one "t" or two "t's" so he spelled it both ways to be sure he got it right at least once. Shadow Pup is a good boy.
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