This summer, something totally unexpected happened. I found myself missing Eickhoff, and it wasn’t even halfway through June. Unlimited food just a five-minute walk away — what’s not to love? However, after just five convenient, yet incredibly average, meals at the dearly-missed Eick, I found myself craving something new. I guess you always want what you can’t have.
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="269" caption="The shrimp in creamy alfredo pasta dish makes the meal worthwhile. (Amy Reynolds / Editor-in-Chief)"]
Besides, Eick was closed on Saturday night, thanks to the freshman class picnic earlier that afternoon, which was also quite average, I might add. So at seven o’clock at night I found myself hungry with no on-campus food options.
For some reason, the only two takeout options in my mind are either Italian or Chinese (I have never once tried Indian or Mexican takeout and I don’t plan to in the near future). I searched “Italian” on Grubhub and, of course, Ewing favorites like Mamma Flora’s and Two Brothers popped up, but I was feeling slightly adventurous and wanted to try something new. I decided to try Special Pizza City (not the most appealing name, I’ll admit), both because it was cheap and not very far from campus.
Because Italian restaurants are usually very generous with their portions, I decided to order just one meal (which came with a side salad for an extra $1.65) and an appetizer to split with my friend. I was in the mood for shrimp, which I often am when ordering from an Italian restaurant, so I decided to order the shrimp and broccoli alfredo. We also decided to order mozzarella sticks as our appetizer simply because it’s hard to go wrong with mozzarella sticks.
After ordering, we were told that it would take about an hour to get here, which is — sorry, freshmen — pretty typical when ordering food around here. Luckily though, “Too Cute! Puppies” was on, so the hour flew by pretty quickly. (Sidenote: If you haven’t heard of “Too Cute! Puppies” yet or haven’t watched it, I highly recommend that you do. New episodes are on Saturdays at 9 p.m. on Animal Planet. You’re welcome.)
Now to the food. The shrimp and broccoli alfredo was OK. I think it would have greatly benefitted from some more sauce. The shrimp, however, was absolutely delicious. Some of the best shrimp I’ve ever had. And I guess that’s the most important part. I’d also like to add that on the website it said that the pasta comes with garlic bread and it did, in fact, come with actual garlic bread. You’d be surprised by the amount of places that advertise garlic bread but actually just give you a roll.
While I loved the shrimp and the pasta was OK, the mozzarella sticks were subpar. They weren’t awful, but then again I don’t think it’s possible for mozzarella sticks to be awful. They would have been a lot better if they had been fried for just a little bit longer. Nonetheless, I still enjoyed them and we ate every single one.
The salad, which I paid an extra $1.65 for, I could have done without. The lettuce was super watery and it didn’t have that crunch, but at least I know that it was rinsed. It came with tomatoes, onions, sweet peppers, cucumbers and both types of olives, but it wasn’t anything special.
I’m not dying to head back to Special Pizza City, but I wouldn’t say that I wouldn’t give it another try eventually, either. Give it a try for yourself to see what you think. After all, even if it was just OK, I’d still says it’s a great break from Eick.
