EXtreme Pizza

On our way home from church Sunday evening, hubby and I decided to stop for a quick bite before the long trek back up 301.  Usually we pass a lot of fast food restaurants, so we decided to try to grab something before we ended up with french fries and burgers.  We pulled off 288 onto Broad Street toward Short Pump, VA and looked around for something that might catch our fancy and we saw a strip mall that contained a pizza place called "Extreme Pizza."

You might wonder what would be so 'extreme' about the pizza they serve.  I was hoping they offered something that was not the 'typical' pizza fare we get when we go out.  When we lived in Germany, my favorite pizza was my 'dandelion greens' pizza with ham.  I thought that was pretty extreme.  I am happy to say that I was impressed by the extremely good prices, variety of ingredients, and the excellent service.

When we stepped through the doors, it looked like any other strip mall food spot.  There were a few tables around, two televisions angled to the center of the room in opposite corners of the ceiling.  Toward the back on the right was a place for patrons to get their own fountain drinks, sweet, and unsweet tea.  On the left in the back was the counter to place orders.  Up on the wall they have cardboard samples of their pizza sizes so you know what you are getting.

As we walked to the counter, I walked by a few patrons that had already received their pizza's and were chowing down.  The pizza was delivered to the table piping hot and I could smell how delicious the ingredients were as I passed. 

The menu they offer contains more than just pizza.  They offer wings, salads, subs and desserts.  I'm not going to say that the menu is exactly 'health food' since it is not, but they take popular quick foods and try to make them taste less like 'processed food' and more like a good, fresh meal.  They also offer a gluten free menu for those who are gluten intolerant or have celiac's disease!

The pizza selections can be on either a wheat crust or a traditional crust.  Hubby and I decided to get 2 individual size pizzas in our own choice of flavors.  I got the Boar'der with a wheat crust and hubby chose the Everest and got a traditional crust.  We discovered that they had a Buy 1 get 1 half price offer (great!) so for two individual pizzas and two regular sodas, the price came to about $15.

We got our drinks and sat down.  I got sweet tea and hubby got diet soda.  There was some issue with the carbonation, but that was quickly handled when the employees were informed.  Within about ten minutes, both of our pizzas were placed in front of us and both were piping hot.  On mine, the ingredients were a perfect balance, not greasy, full of flavor. My pizza had a barbecue sauce base, a mixture of cheddar and mozzarella which were hot enough to still be melting as I picked up my slices of pizza.  There was an even distribution of stripped pork over the entire pie. I even enjoyed the onions and I am not typically a fan of onions on my pizza.  They didn't sit on top to get burnt, but were under the cheese, with the sauce.  The ingredients all tasted fresh, the crust was light and crisp.  I thought it was the best pizza I had eaten since Germany.  Hubby wolfed down his entire pizza and also refused to share because the flavor was so delicious.  His only complaint was that the cashier did not ask him if HE wanted a wheat crust. 

Taste: I give 4/4 stars for flavor.  Everything was fresh, came out quickly, was properly cooked, and had delicious flavor. 

Service:  I give 2/4 stars for the service of the staff.  We had a few minutes of a wait for someone to take our order.  The person who took our order didn't ask my husband if he wanted wheat crust.  However, we did get the discount and our food was cooked quickly and arrived at our table quickly.

Prices:  I give 3.5/4 for the prices.  The special price for our two pizzas were excellent, but I wouldn't have known about the special if it hadn't automatically come up in their computer.  No where was the special listed as far as I could see.  The prices on the menu were a little higher than average, but I would expect that for the freshness and quality of the food.

Atmosphere: I give a 1/4 stars for the ambiance. The place is not impressive. It looks like any other strip mall pizza/burger joint.  It didn't have good lighting.  The two televisions were on different channels, but one had the volume turned up.  The other didn't even have subtitles on the screen.

Overall, I think we would return.  I'd be willing to order from them for a pizza party at the church.  I wouldn't recommend dining in the establishment, but the prices and the flavor and freshness would definitely make it worth my while to purchase food there again.  The fact that they offer a gluten free menu is particularly of interest in my family since my brother's wife and most of her family are gluten intolerant.  Maybe next time I'll try their salad and wings!