Mellow Mushroom

Whenever my mother comes to town she always wants to visit Mellow Mushroom...or, as she calls it, The Merry Merry Mushroom.

So, last week we headed that way to appease my mother and check out their veggie pizza for our Local Pizza Challenge!

We started off with their Spinach and Artichoke Dip. This isn't part of the challenge but I just had to share. It was so tasty and will be my go-to appetizer each time I visit!

Now, back to business...

Taste

Rachel- 4 slices

We ordered the Mega Veggie Pizza and the name says it all!

This pizza has sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, green peppers, mushrooms, black olives, onions, Roma tomatoes, broccoli, banana peppers and tofu with mozzarella and feta cheese wrapped in tasty red sauce. That's right...this vegetarian pizza isn't for the faint of heart!

The crust is fan-freakin'-tastic! My only complaint is that the crust isn't quite thick enough to support all the veggies...so it can get pretty messy.

Chris- 4 slices

My mom ordered a small pizza with sausage and said it was tasty but a little greasy...

Affordability

Rachel- 4 slices

The 14 inch medium pizza was enough for Chris and I to enjoy...twice. We had plenty for lunch the next day...so for under $20, I can't complain!

Chris- 4 slices

Atmosphere

Rachel- 4 slices

We should have done a little research before heading there on a Wednesday night. It was trivia night and it got pretty loud. Awesome if you are participating but distracting if you aren't. Other than that, it was clean and the service was excellent. Plus, you can't beat the fun and funky decor!

Also, the music was right up my ally! While I was chomping on my pizza, I was rocking out to Backstreet Boys and Ice, Ice Baby...love it!

Chris - 4 slices

Overall Experience

Rachel- 4 slices

Overall, I love Mellow Mushroom! The pizza is tasty and the venue is unique!

Chris- 4 slices

 Total: 8 slices

Lily was actually awake for this visit!

Fleur de Lis Pizza

To kick off our Local Pizza Challenge, we headed over to Fleur de Lis Pizza.

Although embarrassing to admit, this was my first visit to the infamous BR pizza joint. I had heard so many fabulous things about this pizza that my expectations were super high and, admittedly, almost impossible to meet. So, it shouldn't be a surprise that I left wanting more...

Taste

Rachel- 3 slices

Was this pizza tasty? Yes. Did it rock my world? No.

I ordered the Large Vegetarian Pizza with no substitutions. Onions, Bell Peppers, Mushrooms, Hot Peppers, and Black Olives topped the thin crust pizza. Now, I'm not the biggest fan of black olives and there was TONS on this pizza. But, I didn't let this cloud my judgement.

This pizza was quite enjoyable... The crust had a really nice crunch, the sauce was yummy and the veggies were plentiful! It just wasn't as great, grand and wonderful as I had been told...

Chris- 5 slices

You could say we differ a bit! Chris is a huge fan of thin crust pizza and hasn't stopped raving about Fleur De Lis since we left. To each their own!

Affordability

Rachel-  4 slices

For $10.50, I left full and even had some leftover for later. Not too shabby!

Chris- 4 slices

Atmosphere

Rachel- 2 slices

I hate to be this negative...but...the atmosphere was really lacking. It was super dark, we had to move tables because the air conditioner was leaking onto our table, the tables were shaky and questionably clean...it just wasn't my style. I love hole-in-the-walls just as much as the next person but this was a little too shady for me.

To be positive, I will say that I LOVED that the drinks were served in the classic glass bottles!

Chris- 3 slices

Overall Experience

Rachel- 3 slices (average of other categories)

Overall, I just wasn't impressed. It wasn't bad but it wasn't great. The server was nice but not super attentive. The pizza was good but not life-changing. The venue was neat but just not "best of BR" quality.

If you are planning on visiting FDL keep in mind that they do not accept credit cards! Only slightly inconvenient but if you are prepared, it's no big deal.

Chris- 4 slices

Total:  7 slices

Lily slept the entire time!

The Local Pizza Challenge

Maternity leave is starting to take its toll on me! I love being at home with my precious little princess...but I'd love some opportunities to take her out into the world! So...this weekend we went out for lunch (which is my next post!) and I had a thought...

I love pizza and any excuse to eat it. So, over this summer, we will be enjoying all of the local pizza joints for the...wait for it...Local Pizza Challenge!

At each venue, Chris and I will order their vegetarian pizza option, no substitutions. We will then rank the pizza and venue on taste, affordability, atmosphere and overall experience. Each venue can get up to 5 slices and the venue with the most slices at the end wins! Wins what you may ask? Well, nothing really...just the Local Pizza Challenge...which they should be pumped about...clearly!

Since we don't agree on everything, Chris is going to guest blog on this challenge! Should be interesting!

Make sure we hit all the local places but commenting with your favorite!