Believe it or not, finding a place to eat in Park City during the Sundance Film Festival can be a little bit intimidating.

It’s not that an abundance of choices do not exist — because they certainly do. It’s just that you often have limited windows of opportunity, everything always seems so packed and also, you never know which restaurants have been reserved for cast gatherings and parties making them off limits to the public at any given time.

Truth be told, I had my eye on Main Street Pizza & Noodle for several years. Located in the 500 block of Main Street — just barely uphill from where you access Main from the transit center — I have passed the restaurant countless times over the years while covering the festival. With big glass windows offering a mostly unobstructed view into the main dining room from the street, the restaurant always seemed to be bursting at the seams with patrons, which sent me scurrying to other locations.

This year, however, I finally gave in to the restaurant’s charms on the final Friday of the festival. And I’m certainly glad I did.

I planned my visit for mid-afternoon, during a two-hour block between scheduled screenings. The restaurant was still busy, but there were several tables available.

The dining room exuded a certain charm, with wood floor, wood tables and a rustic flair that was accentuated by a wagon wheel light fixture overhead. Service was fairly quick and friendly, and I had soon chosen an appetizer and a couple entrees to sample, along with a Butterfinger Shake.

The shake was the first thing to arrive, and it was indeed delicious — even on a cold day. It came chilled in a large metal glass, and nursing it along it did survive to the end of my meal. I was pleasantly surprised to find two pretty good-sized chunks of Butterfinger candy bar in the bottom of the glass — almost as if they had intentionally been placed there as opposed to just being an accident.

For an appetizer, I had selected Deep Fried Mushrooms, and I must say these were fantastic. They came served in a bowl, and there had to be around 30 of them. They were accompanied by a ranch dipping sauce that proved to be a perfect complement. Very well done, and I would definitely order them on any future return visit.

My main entree was the Charbroiled Hamburger With the Works. Now, where I come from a $6 burger is considered extravagant. This hamburger clocks in at $13.49, so I was really excited to give it a try. It turned out to be well worth the price (at least as much as any hamburger priced that much can be).

The Works burger not only came with a big slab of meat, but it also included sauteed onions, button mushrooms, lettuce, a tomato slice and your choice of cheese. The bun was soft and slightly toasted, and although it didn’t come with any condiment sauces, the burger wasn’t the least bit dry. Indeed it was juicy and full of flavor. In addition to the burger, the plate also came filled with delicious fries. My only lament was I couldn’t see any fry sauce dispensers.

I also sampled the Oriental Salad and created my own pizza with pepperoni and black olives as toppings. The Oriental Salad contained mixed greens, tri-colored pasta, red cabbage, carrots, bean sprouts, snow peas, grilled chicken and a tasty soy-sesame dressing.

The pizza featured a light, fluffy crust, homemade sauce and delicious toppings (of course, since you can pick them yourself).

Sitting there slurping up the last of my Butterfinger Shake while witnessing the very first snowfall during this year’s festival through the big front windows, I realized that everything about my visit to Main Street Pizza & Noodle was delightful.

I’m sure we will rekindle our acquaintance during future film festivals.

MAIN STREET PIZZA & NOODLE

Where: 530 Main St., Park City

Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday to Sunday

Prices: $4.99-$22.50

Info: (435) 645-8895, mainstreetpizzanoodle.com