A Calzone from the Grand View Buffet at the Rivers Casino

Awe.  Some.  We love the Grandview Buffet!

We took part of our winnings (yes, we did have winnings!) and bought dinner at the Grand View Buffet.  We loved everything we tried, from the huge soup and salad bar on through to dessert. 

On our last visit to the Grandview, we tried pizza, and liked it.  This time, I could see that the pizza station was very popular.  When I saw this lonely piece of calzone left at the buffet, I quickly transferred it to my plate.  It was very good - the calzone was tender inside with a firm, yet flaky, exterior.  I don't normally choose pepperoni as a topping, but I did like the spicy pepperoni and red pepper filling ... which also had a perfect proportion of luscious, creamy cheese. 

I can't wait to taste what the chef's come up with next!

P.S.  Honestly, if you go, don't miss the dessert bar!

Muffin Tin Pizzas - Every Day Food Magazine

The September issue of Martha Stewart's Everyday Food Magazine has some great pizza ideas - including making mini pizzas in mini muffin tins.  I would have never thought of that!!!   You should buy the magazine to see the photos in gorgeous full color and read the instructions, but basically the idea is using your mini muffin tins to make mini deep dish pizzas.  I love it!

Book Review: Pepperoni Pizza Can Be Murder by Chris Cavender

Fun, with a great plot and several recipes!

I read quite a bit, and this book combined two of my favorite things - cozy mysteries and pizza!  The book centers around a pizzeria in a small town in Tennessee, the owner - Eleanor - and her sister, Maddie.  The set up seems natural, the characters believable, and it kept me guessing until the end.  There were two recipes included in the book - which looked easy to make - and suggestions for other pizza-type recipes sprinkled throughout the book.

Loved it and can't wait for the next installment!

Pizza Warehouse at Kennywood

It wouldn't be summer without a trip to Kennywood!  We made our annual visit earlier this week.  It was late when we arrived, so we went with the less expensive "Nightrider" ticket option.  Since it was late, we were also pretty hungry,  we walked past the new Sky Rocket roller coaster (I miss the Turnpike!) and headed straight for the first pizza that we found.  That happened to be the Pizza Warehouse, which is located near the Ferris Wheel.   I have to admit that I wasn't expecting very much from the pizza, but as it turns out, I liked it!  The pizzas are already made, so we weren't able to ask for our usual extra sauce and light cheese - as you can see, our pizza arrived covered in thick, luscious cheese that turned out to be quite tasty.  The crust was decent, and I especially liked the edges, which were a crisp and had a good flavor.

We thought we'd try some of the other pizzas at Kennywood, but didn't taste any others that night.  The personal pizzas at Lost Kennywood looked especially good and we'll try one next time ... maybe for a Fright Night visit? 

We also stood in line for over half an hour at the Potato Patch and the line hardly moved.  A gorgeous woman in front of us kept stalking off and returning impatiently to the line.  She finally turned to her boyfriend and said "I am just not getting what I want."  (Whenever I have my own diva moments, I just think to myself , "I am just not getting what I want" and laugh.)   On the other hand, I was just not getting what I wanted either!  When half an hour stretched into 45 minutes and the line wasn't getting much shorter, we left and went to the food pavilion and ordered french fries with cheese.  And you know what?  They were awesome! 

But back to pizza!  Was the Pizza Warehouse pizza as good as our favorite handmade pizzeria pizzas?  No, but for a sweet summer night, it was just perfect.

Sunseri's Mushroom Pizza

2805 Custer Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15227
(412) 885-8833

We love to try new pizzerias, but every now and then we need to visit an old favorite - Sunseri's!  We normally order a plain pizza, but this time I had a sudden craving for mushrooms - and they were plentiful!  Great flavor, as usual, and a reminder as to why they remain on our top favorites list.

Diamond Pizza @ PNC Park

Diamond Pizza (formerly Vincents)
PNCPark
Pittsburgh, PA

This is a review from a guest blogger.  Thank you!

"My friend Norm and I went to the Pirates game a couple of weeks ago; the one that had the Steve Miller concert afterward.  Lo and behold, we saw that they sold pizza there at Diamond Pizza.

"It was the end of the seventh inning and I knew I had to try that pizza.  It was three stories down and to the right, in the first floor out field area.  Long walk.  Then it started to rain.  Perfect timing, I thought.  We went in to get the pizza and asked a few questions while we were waiting.  The man working there said that everything is made fresh every day.  I believe him, because it looked very fresh.  The pizza was evenly covered in cheese and a nice amount of sauce, too.  I ordered the plain; my friend got the pepperoni. 

"Everything was great, except that I wanted to take a picture and forgot my camera ... which was three stories up, back at my seat!  That meant carrying my pizza and going back to my seat in the pouring rain.  Do you know how hard it is to do that, carrying it through thousands of people, and trying to keep your pizza dry?  And not take a single bite?  Anyway, I got my camera and snapped a photo.  Not the best one, out on the ramp with everybody else, but the pizza held its own.  Sorry for the thumb.

"Great multi-cheese taste, a mild sauce, and not too greasy.  We liked it.

"And Steve Miller was pretty good, too."