Sal's Reincarnated as Midtown Pizza

The news has been a roller-coaster ride recently which has caused a disturbance in the usual LITG posting schedules. Royal weddings, tornadoes and real commando raids have (in some cases) rightfully taken the national interest above mundane lunch ramblings in the Gump. I exclude the royal wedding from that list because, actually, I was more interested in where the Gump Guinea Pigs might be deployed for pizza than I was with "Kate's Poise." Of course our hearts go out to the victims of the recent storms and we urge you to support relief efforts with your time and money. However, we did have a new restaurant open up in the Gump and we have to let you know about the Midtown Pizza Kitchen.

Hopefully, the escapades of our little furry and expendable commandos (the Gump Guinea Pigs) will continue to entertain. We know their role is not even comparable to the importance of double-tapping Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan, but they do serve a role-if not nearly as dangerous or as important-in making sure we in the Gump are not exposed to poor lunch spots. At least we have the comfort--small that it might be--of knowing that if the GGPs have been in and made it out alive, it is probably a safe bet for lunch.

It was in this spirit that last week (before the tornadoes and death of OBL) that the commander of GGP Commandos ordered the group to lunch at what is now called Midtown Pizza Kitchen on Zelda Road a/k/a the "Z-Red" District. We had previously reviewed the Sal's Pizza that had occupied that space before the sad demise of the Nancy Paterson food dynasty. The reviewers had given the place glowing marks.

But when new management opens a similar themed restaurant in the same space, in the interest of gastronomic safety, it requires a squeak peek job for the Pigs. What we found was that Donovan--the on-site manager of Sal's--is still there and, we were told, chef Christophe Zagagliais is back also. So you can expect similar northern Italian pizza and pasta selections that you saw at Sal's but with some new items and names. We hit the "Zelda" because of the delicious Italian fennel sausage and found it to be very different from the type of southern Italian pizza you will get from pizza delivery joints.

The team happily devours a Zelda Road on Zelda Road.

As with many new openings, the places are often slammed and the service staff overwhelmed (especially on weekends). So although the food was good and reasonably priced (especially if you stick with the cheese pizzas), the service could be improved and we have no doubt Donovan will have the staff ship shape in a lot less time than it took to plan the Royal Wedding.

After our foray into Z-Red, the debriefing was pleasant and the opinions uniform that Midtown Pizza Kitchen was going to be a hit. One of the team even bought a souvenir.


Some of the GGPs are smarter than others....

Sal's Pizza Jumps to the Zelda Place League Like a Cornhusker

[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.

Yes, that is a PBR in the shadows where it belongs.

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?