Chuck E. Cheese's

My parents claim to have taken me and my brother to this pizza place when we were young, but I have no recollection of it. I remember them taking us to Peter Piper Pizza and another place called Pistol Pete's, but never Chuck E. Cheese's.  In fact according to me I'd never stepped foot in a CEC's before.

Tuesday, June 11th, it was as if we were entering a dance club, when the employee had to approve our entrance. I think we might have even gotten a stamp on our hand, I can't remember.  A salad booth next to the cash register caught my eye. We walked up to the counter to place our order, the sound of loud video games blaring in the background.

An overly friendly cashier took our order and money. Our usual pepperoni and pineapple, was the choice for the night. Hardly anyone was present that evening.  During the weekends I could just imagine the place filled with small children, running from one end of the arcade to another, begging their parents for change to play one extra game. But that was not the case, we practically had the place to ourselves.

We took our seat at a far east empty section facing a robotic animal concert.
The song being performed was "The Cupid Shuffle." My boyfriend asked a worker if the replayed concert ever got on her nerves, she said she had learned to tune it out. We laughed. 

Minutes after walking the arcade area we saw the same cashier place our pizza on the table. We filled our drink cups and made our way to the booth.

Just by looking at the pie, I was reminded of Peter Piper Pizza. The look was identical but the taste was  not the same, and the sauce made the difference. It consisted of a bland tomato taste, with hardly any crust to even comment on. The pepperoni and pineapple were good and fresh. Of course we finished our large pizza. All in all it was good.

As we were finishing our meal an employee was wiping down tables around us. She found a cup of  tokens left behind by a previous customer and gave them to us. 

I'm not exactly sure how long we played, but I'd say it was about an hour. Being that every game only cost one token, we were there for a while.  Most of our tokens were spent on Skee Ball and a Baseball game.



Before leaving we gathered our earned game tickets, placed them through the ticket counter and took the printed receipt to the front prize cabinet. There were plenty of toys to pick from but I went with something useful, three book markers and a straw. 



For being two adults at a kid's restaurant, we sure did have fun.  The colorful lights, clean booths and decorations had a way of raising our spirits. 



 http://www.chuckecheese.com/loc/332/

 

Caruso's Italian Restaurant

Tuesday June 4th.

I'd seen Caruso's many times, while driving east on Menaul. There it was, less than five miles from home, one of the better tasting pizza places in the city, and I had no idea.

We arrived late that evening, an hour before closing time, eager to enjoy a fine pizza dinner. Flickering candles on top of tables provided light and evoked a dim romantic setting.  Red checkered cloths covered table tops. A waiter asked us to pick any seat. We gladly chose a booth by the west wall. New Mexico map place mats caught our eye. Craving a change from our usual toppings, we asked the waiter for his recommendation. He suggested a pizza topped with sausage and green chile.

As our food was being prepared, I couldn't help but analyze the place. Caruso's is a quaint little restaurant adorned with outdated decor. But the restaurant's cleanliness makes up for its lack of modernity.  

After a  fifteen minute wait our medium pizza was brought out.  I first took a bite out of the crust. I was surprised at the delectable homemade taste.  It was as if the finest ingredients. had been chosen especially for our pie and It was evident that whomever prepared our dinner was skilled at his or her craft. It was just simple good old fashioned pizza. 

We spoke with the waiter after eating our meal. "Caruso's is on the top of our list." we told him. He seemed pleased to hear that.

Since then, we've become frequent customers.  Before running races we carbo-load on their half-portion spaghetti, a dish as good as their pizza.