Tale of the Pie: Tony's Pizzeria & Italian Restaurant

This blog is not called The Calamari Project. When we typically decide to try a restaurant's pizza, we will usually complete the order with a side to keep things interesting. Usually it is something like wings, mozzarella sticks, or, yes, calamari. If the appetizer should be particularly good, we, of course, mention it. Same with if it should be bad. But the grade that we present at the bottom pertains to the pizza. The pizza in other words is the main attraction and what every restaurant we go to is ultimately judged upon.

Except for this review. In this one, we will adjust our rules and downgrade this restaurant based on the taste of the worst calamari (nay, DISH) I have ever had in my time on the planet we call Earth. But let's get to the pizza.

Tony's Pizzeria & Italian Restaurant is a fairly nondescript strip-mall pizza joint next to a Wawa on Egypt Road in Norristown. I saw it one day when I stopped into said Wawa to see if they had a bathroom in which my toddler could urinate. They didn't, but one positive of the attempt was that I determined that we would try Tony's Pizzeria some time in the near future. When we did decide to try it, I was a little concerned when I showed up to pick it up. The place was very empty. It was just the dudes making the pizzas, me, and a couple sitting at a table. I believe that one of the individuals dining there was certifiably insane, but that is neither here nor there. There was a little bit of a problem with the service as it took the two college-aged fellows behind the counter at least five minutes to ask if I, like, wanted my pizza or something. However, if this place could say that the biggest problem they had were a couple of workers being slow on customer service, they would be very lucky. It was not until I returned home with the pie that I realized the bigger issue.

Monthly Roundup: September's Top Posts

To close each month, we'll do a quick roundup of the not-to-miss posts. In a blog with so much fascinating content, it could be easy to miss one or two good posts.

If you need a break from thinking about that Phillies loss tonight, take a look back at some of our best content from September.

• Senor Crusty joins the team and introduces a fun new feature, When I Googled. Check out monogram turkey platter and pierogi dinner.
• To mark the end of the shore season, Saucy reviews a few spots in Wildwood and Cape May: Mack's Pizza, Nino's Family Restaurant and Cabanas.
• It's that time of year again ... Oktoberfest, beerfest, beer dinner. Whatever the name of the event, the beer's the main attraction. Emmental reviews the Newtown Beerfest and Crusty interviews Spicy and Saucy about the fall beer dinner at Chap's with Joe Sixpack.
• Their season's only just begun, but some of us are already over them. Yep, we're talking about the Eagles. LOL, Saucy, LOL.
• We review Port Richmond's legendary pizza spot, Tacconelli's. And Ellio returns from his honeymoon with a report on pizza in Curacao.

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The Pizza Project
Just a nibble: http://twitter.com/ThePizzaProject
Single slice: http://www.facebook.com/ThePizzaProject
The full pie: http://thepizzaproject.blogspot.com/

You got the gabagool? Because the Jersey Shore girls sure didn't eat it ...

I don't think I truly knew the meaning of "guilty pleasure" until I saw my first episode of Jersey Shore. I had heard how absurd it was and mentioned it to the hubby, so we checked out an episode one day to see what it was all about.

Yikes. I was entertained. I laughed. And for some reason, I found myself unable to turn away and even wanting more once the episode was over. I was hooked.

When I admit my fondness of the show to anyone who knows me, they are shocked. I can't blame them - I'm shocked myself. After all, I can count the number of "shows" I've had (for which I knew the channel and time they came on) in my entire life on one hand. I don't really like TV all that much. And I HATE reality shows. I even formed a friendship at my last corporate job with a fellow reality hater as we laughed and emailed with mutual disdain for our colleagues huddling around the coffeemaker to discuss what happened last night on Survivor or who might be kicked off The Apprentice.

The Freezer Case: Amy's Organic Spinach Pizza

On Thursday, the hubby went out for guy's night, which means the nibble and I get to eat whatever we want for dinner ... without hearing complaints about how horrifically healthy it might be. So we enjoyed an Amy's Organic frozen pizza.

A blend of feta cheese, basil, organic spinach and tomatoes topped with a sprinkling of part-skim mozzarella cheese, it was pretty tasty. The crust was a bit heartier than what I typically prefer on a frozen, but it wasn't too doughy and I believe it helped to make the pie more satisfying. Overall, I'd give the pie one and a half thumbs up and would buy it again (for another time that the hubby isn't around, of course).