Lunch Ladies: Pizza Pie Cafe
The Lunch Ladies enjoyed Pizza Pie Cafe's all-you-can-eat pizza, salad and pasta buffet in Provo. The restaurant even has gluten-free options.
Gabby loved the gluten-free PPC Combo Pizza, Apple Cobbler Dessert Pizza and the gluten-free Penne Pasta with Meat Marinara from Pizza Pie Cafe in Provo.
Jennette tried a variety of slices from the all-you-can-eat pizza buffet at Pizza Pie Cafe. She also made sure she hit up the salad bar for a veggie balance.
Sylvia enjoyed the variety of toppings at Pizza Pie Cafe's all-you-can-eat salad bar.
Lyndsi had the Firefighter Pizza and Cheesebread at Pizza Pie Cafe in Provo as well as some dessert pizzas and salad.
Wise man say, “Forgiveness is divine, but never pay full price for late pizza.”
Name that movie. Got it? What if I were to say “Cowabunga!” or “Bossa Nova!” or maybe if I started talking about the Foot or Master Splinter? Still suffering from “SHELL shock, dude?”
OK, so small confession, I am a die-hard Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle fan. I love them! As kids, three of my sisters and I used to pretend we were the four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It was one of our versions of playing “house.” I, of course, was Raphael; I will tell you it was because his clever sarcasm and bad-boy attitude suited me; my sisters will tell you it was because he was the overly sensitive one always running away. PotAto, potaato.
Between our homemade Turtle Comms, my Sai I made out of popsicle sticks, and the board game we got one Christmas being played non-stop, it was clear that our love was deeply rooted. So isn’t it only natural that I associate eating pizza with my beloved TMNT?
But let me go back a few steps. When fellow Lunch Lady Lyndsi and I began deciding what restaurant we should hit up next, we were trying to brainstorm what genre of food would be a good fit for variety. We’ve recently had delicious hamburgers, Chinese food, salads, Japanese curry, Mexican — and the list goes on. But we realized one of our personal major food groups was missing … PIZZA!!!
So then we had to determine a location where we could have pizza on the lunch hour. A buffet made the most sense, so we wouldn’t go past our allotted time. But there was one more needed criteria, one of great importance to yours truly: They had to serve gluten-free pizza. Pizza Pie Café was the answer.
And once pizza was on the brain, TMNT were sure to follow. Now are you following my random brainwave? And four of them — and four Lunch Ladies. You’ve done the math; you knew side-by-side comparisons were going to happen. If each Lunch Lady was a TMNT who would they be? Well, of course, I would be Raphael, I am the most feisty and sassy of the four (in a playful way, of course … awkward silence … ).
Moving on; Jennette would be Leonardo. He is the big brother, looking out for the other turtles, he kind of mothers them and leads the way a lot of the time. He basically has their back when they get into trouble, which let’s face it, they always do.
Sylvia would be Donatello. The problem solver, who just likes to get things done! He likes to avoid conflict and would just rather get to the root of the problem, rather than talk too much about it. That’s our Lunch Lady Sylvia.
And last but not least … Mikey!! Lyndsi is Michelangelo, hands down! Fun-loving, life of the party, pizza fanatic; couldn’t be more of a perfect fit.
So how did these Lunch Ladies do at channeling their inner pizza-loving Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle at Pizza Pie Café? Here are the results:
Lyndsi: Lunch Buffet $7.25 + Drink $1.78
I will come clean and confess that I love pizza and could probably eat it every day and never get tired of it. That would definitely be true if I could eat at a pizza buffet like Pizza Pie Café every day. It has a wonderful salad bar in case you don’t like veggies on your pizza or if you just want to justify eating copious amounts of pizza and pasta with some lettuce. I tried several pieces of pizza, cheese bread, garlic knots, and a couple of pieces of dessert pizza. My favorite items were the firefighter pizza with pepperoni and jalapenos, and the cheese bread; I had to tell myself to stop before I got so full, the girls were going to have to roll me to the car. Pizza Pie Café is a great spot to grab lunch with a group because of the variety, instant food and great price.
Jennette: Lunch Buffet $7.25
When I heard that we were going to go to a pizza place for lunch I was a little worried that we wouldn’t be able to enjoy our time since pizza generally takes a while to make. I was very happy to hear that it was a buffet. I was eager to try all the different types of pizza. I started with a salad; I was trying to be a little healthy. My favorite part of a salad bar is the beets and there were plenty of them so I was very happy. My favorite pizza was the special, BBQ’d pulled pork. Strange, I know, but delicious. It was topped with pulled pork, onion straws and pickles, which combined for a weird yet scrumptious taste. My favorite dessert pizza was the Oreo pizza. Topped with mashed up cookies and drizzled with frosting. Yummy! Sadly they only serve Pepsi.
Sylvia: Lunch Buffet $7.25
Like putting a fox to guard the henhouse, PPC’s all-you-can-eat pizza buffet really put my determination to end 2014 weighing less than when it started to the test. But the salad bar satisfied my noon-time appetite completely. I piled my bowl high with the lettuce mix, spinach, grape tomatoes, olives, cucumbers, beets, carrots, hard-boiled eggs, broccoli, pepperoni, ham, turkey, sunflower seeds, and cranberries topped with raspberry vinaigrette — oh and yes, of course I went back for a another round!
Gabby: Lunch Buffet $7.25 + Gluten-Free Pizza (add $2.00)
So basically you order your custom-made gluten-free pizza for $2 more, and then you can also partake of the salad and pasta bar which has gluten-free noodles and two gluten-free sauces. I asked if I could split my pizza in half, and got half PPC Combo and half Apple Cobbler dessert pizza. I chose to try the pasta while my pizza was being made, which took about 15 minutes; not bad. The gluten-free penne pasta and meat marinara were quite good. I liked that the pasta is heated when you ask for it, and that you can put as much sauce as you personally prefer. Then my tantalizing pizza came! It was a thin crust, delightfully topped with pepperoni, Canadian bacon, Italian sausage, mushrooms, pineapple, olives and green peppers, plus great sauce, ample cheese and seasonings. Loved it! And then the dessert pizza. Yowser! It was fabulous! Warm apple pie filling, drizzled with cream cheese frosting and caramel, jumping with cinnamon. AMAZING! Thank you, Pizza Pie Café, thank you!
So whether or not you are an avid fan of TMNT like I am, I think you can easily become a fan of Pizza Pie Café. Great pizza, pasta and salad, easy to fit in the lunch hour, and even options for gluten-free diners. What more could you ask for! Radical, dude!
– Pizza Pie Café: 2235 N. University Parkway, Provo. Open Monday to Thursday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday to Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Closed Sundays.