Oct
23, 2003 — A
recent Wednesday night found me and my husband more interested
in watching the baseball playoffs than futzing around in the
kitchen.
A short drive found us at Cascade Pizza Inn on Meridian
Street in the Fountain District, ready for a quick meal.
A friend had been to Cascade Pizza Inn recently and
complained of a significant cigarette smoke smell. But I barely
detected it as we entered and when we were led to an upstairs
dining room where there was nary a trace of offensive odor.
This was a relief, as the potential olfactory problem had
been my only concern about my first visit to Cascade Pizza Inn.
I've heard many people rave about its pizza and lasagna over
the years and was anxious to give it a go.
Service was impeccable and fast. Although it sometimes seems
like my job to look for issues around table service, our
experience couldn't have gone more smoothly.
Our server offered a friendly smile with our menus and took
our drink order.
Cascade Pizza Inn |
Location: 2431 Meridian St.
Phone: 671-0999
Hours:
11 a.m. to 11 p.m., daily
Menu items sampled:
Meatball sandwich $6.50
Baked lasagna $7.50
Pyramid Hefiweizen $3.25
Large pepperoni pizza $9.95
Ham sandwich $5.95
Cheesecake $2.25 |
We were there for a quick dinner, so we could get back to the
game. A simple order of baked lasagna for my husband and a
meatball sandwich for me was all we needed.
The lasagna arrived in a sizeable baking dish, steam rising
from the wide, flat noodles curled at their edges, sandwiched
between layers of meat sauce and topped with a sinful amount of
melted mozzarella. The oven had cooked the edges to crunchy bits
around the perimeter of the dish, a sure sign of lasagna done
deliciously.
An order of garlic bread was served on the side, which was
fine but nothing out of the ordinary
— although it did come in handy for
sopping up extra sauce, which gave the slightly dry bread a bit
more personality.
My meatball sandwich was gargantuan, an open-faced affair
built atop the same crusty bread my husband had been served as a
side.
Long, flat slices of mild meatball rested atop the same meat
sauce, topped with a generous portion of mozzarella and baked
into a magnificent melty mess. I detected a pleasant
undercurrent of what I guessed to be nutmeg, which gave the meat
sauce depth and additional pizzazz.
The next week found us throwing a playoff party at home that
called for
— what else?
— pizza. Since I drive right past
Cascade during my trip home every day, I ordered a pie and
picked it up on the way.
First of all, the price can't be beat. Less than $10 for a
large pepperoni pizza is unheard of unless you order from one of
the campus favorites that don't usually make a pie I find
palatable.
But I think Cascade's pizza is a solid contender, a thick,
heavy crust topped with flavorful tomato sauce, a layer of mild
pepperoni and a thick padding of mozzarella cheese.
My dining companions weren't blown away by the pie but agreed
it was solid, filling fare at a great price.
My only issue was the chaos at the counter where you pick up
and pay for your order. It's evidently the same line where
dine-in patrons pay and was seven-people deep when I arrived. It
was confusing to tell where to pick up takeout orders, and I saw
one man enter, cut straight to the front of the line and leave
with his pizza within 30 seconds.
Lunch at Cascade Pizza Inn serves the same hot sandwiches
from the oven, salads and baked pasta dishes that I'd seen on
the menu during previous visits, with a handful of additional
sandwiches thrown in.
Seated in the ground floor dining room this time, I was happy
to find that the entire restaurant is nonsmoking. The mystery of
the slight odor as you walk in was solved as I learned of the
lounge, tucked in the back, far from the eating area.
I tried a hot ham sandwich (or grinders), served with
mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, cheese, and a dash of seasoning on
airy, crusty bread.
It was filling and flavorful, but might have benefited from
an accompaniment of coleslaw or potato salad or some such side.
For dessert, I grabbed an order of cheesecake to go. A simple
wedge of cheesecake, the sweet treat with a thick, moist crust
was utterly satisfying.
Again, the service was spectacular. My server was dressed
smartly and was so genuinely friendly.
Normally, if someone I don't know calls me Sweetie, I'm a bit
taken aback, but not when this friendly server says it in a
kind, motherly way. She brought a smile right to my face.
The Tsoulouhas brothers also run a second Cascade Pizza Inn
in Mount Vernon. The motto is the same for both eateries:
"We may not be fancy but we're consistently good."
What more do you need from a family-favorite eatery?