By ELIZABETH SCHAEFER
I hope this review reads to you, the reader, just as the dinner did me. Short, simple and just right.
Last Saturday was hot, and long — oh, so long. By the time we finished with all the running around we had to do, the 16-year-old, the boyfriend and I were starved. We pretty much stopped at one of the first places that we saw, that we knew that name of, and wow am I glad we did. Pizza Gram Plus is in Guilderland is where we ended up and I think it is one of those places that if you know it, you quickly become a regular.
It was nearly 7:30 by the time we got there, so the dinner rush had ended, and we were seated quickly. Water was poured, drink orders taken, and bread brought over to the table almost right away. It was good bread too, thick crust on the outside, and chewy inside! Just right. We went very simple the appetizer, mozzarella sticks, and the same with our dinners. I chose a meatball sub — as I saw another diner eating it, and was salivating at the looks of it. She chose the chicken parmesean sub, and he a manicotti dinner.
The mozzarella sticks came quickly, and were really good. Basic, but hot, gooey and with a good sized bowl of marinara for dipping. His dinner came with a side salad, and although he ate it too fast for me to get a taste, he actually ended up dipping bread into the blue cheese container to get every last bit. He said it was for sure homemade blue cheese dressing — which is a favorite of both of us.
Our dinners took a bit of time, but nothing too long. Just enough time for our appetite to settle, and our hunger to rise back up again. When the subs arrived, all 3 of us started laughing. Honestly, one sub would have been plenty for the 3 of us to split. There must have been 6, maybe 8 huge meatballs, a ton of sauce and cheese, all in this really delicious crusty roll. The meatballs were really good. Meatballs in a sub can be overcooked or under flavored, but these were not. They were moist and seasoned just right. I didn’t come even close to finishing – but wow, was it good the next day.
The 16-year-old’s chicken parmesean sub was pretty much a twin of mine, except with chicken parmesean, and she too loved it. She had plenty of leftovers of hers as well, and she too enjoyed them the next day.
His manicotti was the real deal — hot, gooey cheese, plenty of both mozzarella and ricotta. He almost always finishes his meal, but he too had to bring some home. (I had some of the next day — and must agree — it was delicious).
The bill was the shocker, in a good way. We knew what we had ordered, but didn’t quite realize just how reasonable their prices were. Before tax and tip the bill was $44. We were shocked, and quite pleased.
We don’t get out that way much, but next time we are in the area, we will either stop in, or place an order to go for sure. Make sure you check them out — its worth it.
Elizabeth Schaefer has lived in the Capital District her entire life and currently resides in Niskayuna. She spends the majority of her time at the gym, as both an instructor and a “gym rat,” but strategically plans on at least one “cheat” meal a week. Please submit suggestions on places to try, for either a health conscious tasty meal, or for that weekly cheat meal. She can be reached at [email protected]
