Spring Break Pizza Crusties

Hey, pizza-fans, what's up! I was in Virginia over my spring break visiting some friends and the entire time I was there I had that pizza itch. See, I try not to eat pizza while I'm in school for the most part, because I know that when I go home to my parents' I can end up eating all the pizza I want for free. So when spring break rolled around my pizza hunger was getting out of control.

I found myself in a distant land, where pizza seemed to be characterized by either Domino's or Little Ceasar's (two establishments I will not pay to eat at, but that's a whole different story). Turns out some kids I knew worked at this place called Grace's Place which supposedly had the "best pizza in town". Well, gee! I guess I should write a blog about it then.

I worked all day, cleaning Hillary's apartment for her while she was at work, building up the hunger for pizza like never before. Hillary finally got home from work where she met Stephen and I salivating for delicious, cheesy heaven. She was disappointed that we wanted pizza or something because she wanted to have something to look forward to after work the next day, but we couldn't wait another minute let alone twenty-four hours.

We rushed over to Grace's, which was getting ready to close at this point, and were greeted by our friend (who I shall leave unnamed), a most gracious host. She set us up with two pies that took us wayyyyy too long to decide on. Turns out this place had a deal where you could get two or three pies for cheaper, but only if you ordered them to go. What is the point of that? Were they trying to get customers out of the store or something? Ehh, we decided to eat there, despite the bullshit patron fee.

_{Stephen and Hillary hungry and waiting}

The pizza was rushed it seemed, but probably (I'm hoping) because it was the end of the night. We ordered a large cheese and a large vegetable. To me it didn't seem cooked thoroughly enough, but then again, I like my pizza crispier than most. Their oven was one that ran on a conveyor belt system, much like Amore's in West Chester or Quizno's Subs. These conveyor belt pizza ovens just take a lot out of the experience for me. Just knowing that there was no thought in cooking the pizza just right, turns me off sometimes. Don't get me wrong, I love Amore's, but when my pizza is calculated, it's just not the same.



_{They used this fancy two-pizza rack which was cool.}

First impressions: Undercooked. Cheese and sauce were runny, but the amounts were just right. There didn't seem to be any definable characteristic about their pizza. I wasn't amazed and I wasn't even that excited to eat the leftovers. Their cheese pizza was good, but their vegetable wasn't spectacular. Hillary said it was her favorite there, so I guess I would take her word for it. If you're looking at that picture and thinking, "where are all the vegetables?," you're not alone. They did have their own pizza boxes, which is always a plus.

I would give Grace's pizza a 5/10. Their restaurant obviously catered to a more family oriented Italian food experience than a pizza shop by my standards. Plus, I heard the management sucks and if you're a manager you gotta know that shit gets out. Wise-up and treat your staff better, fools. I have to say that I am remiss I didn't get to try their homemade BBQ sauce, as I hear their BBQ chicken pizza is worth every bite, but maybe next time.

If you're ever in Roanoke, Virginia, stop in Grace's if you're looking for a slice of real pizza, but I wouldn't plan your night around it. Try Alejandro's downtown for their California burrito and expansive salsa bar instead. It's magical.

Grace's Place Pizzaria
1316 Grandin Road Southwest
Roanoke, VA 24015-2316

Alejandro's Mexican Grill
127 Campbell Avenue
Roanoke, VA 24011

On a side note, I'm so thankful to have such delicious pizza all over my hometown that we could make a blog about all of it. PA PIZZA RULES #1

and word up to the Southeast Ridaz.