Week 21: Alfredo's Pizza & Pasta

Grab the keys to the DeLorean...  We’re headed back to 1985.  When we pulled up to Alfredo’s Pizza & Pasta (www.myalfredos.com) this week, it felt like we got out of a time machine.  Located off Business 121 in Lewisville behind the McDonald’s, the strip center seemed like time had stood still for the past 20 years.  There was an old hobby store selling RC cars and Pinewood Derby supplies, a cigarette/cigar shop, and a handful of other businesses we wouldn’t have guessed still existed.  Anyway, not to judge a book by the cover, we headed in for another week of pizza.  Considering Alfredo’s had been making authentic italian food since 1988, it was worth a visit.

The inside was just what we had expected.  The decor and atmosphere hadn’t been updated since Reagan was in office.  However, the place was spotless and the service made it feel like we’d been there a hundred times.  Our waitress, who also appeared to be the owner, knew everyone in the restaurant and had the operations spinning like a top.  With a confidence and swagger, she took our order and brought out the drinks.  We also ordered some garlic cheese toast which came out quickly, and in retrospect was an unnecessary filler.  Little did we know that the pizza would be enough to feed the family for the next 4 days!

For the first time this year we ordered what is called “Sicilian Style” pizza.  It was a thicker crust pizza and 16” square.  Never having had this style in the past, we had no idea what we were in for.  The waitress insisted that it was unlike any pizza you can get around, and even ensured that we not order anything else because it was going to be enough.  At $13.95, this pizza was easily the biggest deal we’ve had all year.  No exaggeration, we stuffed ourselves full and brought home enough leftovers for the neighborhood.

Sicilian Crust

The pizza was good, it wasn’t great.  There wasn’t anything to it that “wowed” us.  As our first time having Sicilian style pizza, we weren’t immediate converts.  The crust was almost an inch thick all the way through, and reminded us of a bisquick biscuit.  Not knowing anything about Sicilian pizza, this might be the best in Dallas, but we have nothing to compare it to.  The sauce was very plain like tomato paste, and had no sweetness to it.  The cheese was your typical mozzarella, and covered the 16” beast from edge to edge.  We were glad that we didn’t get the special which included “All Ingredients,” or we would have needed a fork lift to get us back to the car.  Other patrons in the restaurant ordered the standard crust, and from across the room, it appeared to be your typical big slice NY Style pie!

Alfredo’s Pizza and Pasta was a very average restaurant.  There was nothing that we would mention as bad, but there was also nothing that knocked our socks off.  We can’t criticize anything specific about the pizza, but I don’t think that we’ll be dreaming of Alfredo’s a few week’s from now.  If there was one thing about it worth noting, it would be that you could feed an entire family for less than $20.  So, if you are looking for a good deal on pizza, and don’t want to spend a lot of cash...  Head over to Alfredo’s and they’ll treat you like family!

The Leftovers...

 The Final Report: 5.5 out of 10

We’ve had a few weeks with so-so pizza...  It’s time to get the wind back into our sails.  It isn’t even halfway through 2011 adventure and with 31 weeks left, we need some “pizza-encouragement.”  Any ideas for next week???