By Donna Price

dprice@americanpress.com

Story, photo by Donna Price

dprice@americanpress.com

Before last week, I am guessing I was among a small group of area residents who had not yet eaten at Mellow Mushroom on Ryan Street. That changed Friday when my daughter and I visited for lunch.

Every time I’ve passed by the restaurant, I vowed that when I did go, I was going to ask to be seated in the cut-out Airstream trailer in the courtyard area. I think the idea of eating in the trailer appeals to the inner child in all of us. It seems like a restaurant play house for grown ups.

We were promptly seated there — but only for about 10 minutes. That’s because I had not fully considered the ramifications of sitting inside a metal box outdoors in 93-degree heat in the middle of the day. A fan was blowing, but 93 degrees is still 93 degrees. Before we ordered, we asked our server, Bree, if we could go back inside. She was very gracious and made it happen.

I’m thinking the experience of sitting inside the Airstream would best be enjoyed in the cool of the evening or anytime in the coming weeks when temperatures begin to drop. Back inside, we were seated in a booth by a window beneath a spark plug chandelier.

We asked Bree which pizzas are top sellers. She said there are always lots of orders for the holy shiitake, the house specialty pizza, the mighty meaty and the
buffalo chicken pizzas.

Even armed with that information, my daughter and I still had our hearts set on a Maui Wowie pizza. But that was before we saw a little card on the table describing the Thai Dye specialty pizza pie that has been available about three months. It looked good, too. So we ordered a 14-inch pizza for $19.99 that was half Maui Wowie and half Thai Dye because at Mellow Mushroom, one can do that.

Our pizza arrived in a mere 17 minutes, 56 seconds.

Both halves of the pizza were delicious. The Maui Wowie has a pesto base with mozzarella cheese, ham, pineapple, jerk chicken, banana peppers and smoked bacon on it. Delicious!

However, I really, really

loved the Thai Dye pie with its olive oil and garlic base topped with grilled curry chicken, mozzarella cheese, Roma tomatoes, onions, basil, cucumbers and a Thai chili sauce. Who thinks of putting cucumbers on a pizza? The folks at Mellow Mushroom did, and it makes for a refreshing, healthy-tasting pie.

Other Thai-themed offerings available for a limited time include the Thai chili oven roasted wings, the Bangkok salad and two cocktails: the tiki time and the double rye smash.

Good food with good, quick service. Good job, Mellow Mushroom!.

l

Mellow Mushroom is open 11 a.m. – 11 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.