Princeton is definitely my go-to spot if I’m in the mood for either fro-yo or cupcakes, but I’d never really considered going out to dinner there simply because most of the restaurants are too expensive for the average college student. But after walking by a little restaurant that advertised $7 paninis and fries, I decided to give it a shot.
Massimo’s Pizzeria & Cucina Napoletana is located right in Downtown Princeton on Nassau Street and is only about a 20-minute drive from campus. However, it is definitely not worth the drive unless you’re already in Princeton.
Although the restaurant wasn’t crowded, it had a very warm and welcoming atmosphere when we first walked in. I’d say it was a nice mix of pizza place and sports bar — the bright orange walls were covered with Princeton paraphernalia as well as that of other nearby colleges.
Within just a couple of minutes of being there, however, we were the only customers left in the restaurant, which made us feel a little uncomfortable. In fact, the only two workers there came out in the middle of the restaurant and sat on a bar stool to watch whatever game was on TV. It was a little awkward and we felt like we couldn’t talk at a normal volume.
Luckily, the wait for food wasn’t very long at all.
I ordered the Stewart Panini, which consisted of grilled chicken, mozzarella cheese, roasted red peppers, baby spinach and onions topped with lemon, pepper and olive oil. It was definitely a good sandwich that I would eat again, but I wouldn’t say it was anything special. The lemon and olive oil dressing was particularly good, but the mozzarella cheese wasn’t melted, which probably would have made the sandwich a little better.
My friend, on the other hand, decided to play it safe by ordering a buffalo chicken cheesesteak. (And I admit to wishing I had ordered that as well.)
It’s kind of hard to screw up a buffalo chicken cheesesteak, so of course it wasn’t awful. However, my friend said that it wasn’t much better than something he could have gotten at T-Dubbs.
Both of our sandwiches came with fries, which is always nice. But they were mediocre and we weren’t given a very generous portion.
Although the sandwich prices were fairly reasonable, the entrées on average were about $15 each, so that’s something to consider as well. I wouldn’t say that Massimo’s was a bad place to eat, but if I could go back, I probably would have just gone to House of Cupcakes for dinner instead.
