Campus Pollyeyes

The website for Pagliai's Pizza and Campus Pollyeyes tells the "legend" of the opening of the restaurants in Bowling Green. I'm going to open with a selection from that history:

"...our story begins, in 1967, with a nineteen year old Missouri born pizza maker named George Nicholson. George had spent his early years mastering his trade under the tutelage of the Pagliai's brothers, Salvatori, Armond and Haldo, who had built a chain of pizzerias which stretched across Missouri, Iowa, and Illinois. One day, after having passed through a college town in Northwest Ohio called Bowling Green, Salvatori thought, rightfully so, that this town would be an ideal location for the first (and to this day the only) Pagliai's Pizza in Ohio. When George was given the opportunity to relocate from their location in Iowa City to Bowling Green to open up the pizza house, he jumped at it.

Pagliai's opened for business at 1004 South Main in 1967, across the street from the present location, with George and a handful of employees under him. Cheese pizzas for ninety cents and bottles of pop for a dime caught on... in a big way. In 1969, hot subs and the first salad bar in town were added. In 1976, having outgrown its current location, the business moved across the street to its current location at 945 South Main. In 1978, a second pizzeria was established at 440 East Court Street and named Campus Pollyeyes. The name changed to a more phonetic spelling to avoid confusion."

I included this story because I found it to be interesting, and also because this is the first time I have seen an explanation of why the names of the two restaurants are spelled differently. I've pondered this all my life, and the answer has been waiting in plain sight for who knows how long.

Campus Polleyes, in my opinion, is quite different than its predecessor. Pagliai's has a pizza, soup and salad buffet, and a bunch of Italian recipes on their menu. I had to look to see what else the Campus joint sells, because I've only ordered one thing from them, ever, and that's stuffed breadsticks.

They're kind of pricey, but the stuffed breadsticks are worth it. There's nothing else like them in town. They'll take pretty much anything they have in the restaurant and bake them in some dough with cheese and top it with garlic butter. Six come in a full order, but if it's just you, I'd advise three unless you want leftovers. Three breadsticks has always been considered a full meal by anyone I know.  That whole order will run you around $14, but there's coupons on their website that can bring it down to $11 or $12. I always get chicken and cheese with ranch (you choose a dipping sauce), but there's all kinds of other stuff to get, like steak or roast beef.

I don't visit Campus Pollyeyes in person very often, but it seems like a decent enough place. They have beer on tap (a nice selection, too), and it's close to campus at 440 East Court Street. They also serve pizza, sandwiches, salads, and more. Check out the rest of their menu with these PDF  links to the Carryout and Dine-In menus. Call for delivery at 419-352-9638.

Myles' Style is Thick

Another BG favorite is Myles Pizza Pub on East Wooster Street. Order this when you're really hungry or have a lot of people to feed, because their pizza is massive. The cheese, sauce, crust and toppings are all layered thick. Order a simple pepperoni and they'll pile it several slices high all over your pie, under a mound of cheese of course.

The restaurant is owned by Chip Myles, and it isn't his only BG staple. You can also catch him running an independent Dairy Queen located across the railroad tracks. Both have been around as long as I can remember.

They don't just get by on size and Myles, their pizza is tasty and creative. Look at their specialty pizzas, for instance. Although there are your standard meat and veggie lovers, taco, etc., Myles takes it several steps further. There's Greek lovers, Spice lovers (pepperoni/sausage/salami), Chinese chicken (pineapple/almonds), Tropical (pineapple/shrimp on whole wheat), Wild West (buffalo/mushrooms/bacon) and Breakfast lovers, with eggs and your choice of ham, bacon or sausage. A menu item I found surprisingly funny was a supreme-style pizza with lots of toppings called the "Food Lovers."

Myles Pizza also sells several sizes and styles of salads, subs and more. You'll just have to check this one out for yourself. Unfortunately they don't operate a website, so you'll have to try to look at some of those menu websites or, better yet, visit in person. Delivery is an option if you're hungry and aren't feeling motivated, which is available until 2:30 am for you night owls.

Pisanello's: Ever Have It This Good?

I can say with certainty Pisanello's is my favorite pizza place in Bowling Green. I've never been one to save the best for last, so I made it my first stop on the BG pizza trail. Their catchphrase hits it on the head for me: " A pizza never had it so good!"

I checked out Pisanello's website and learned a few new things about the restaurant, even though I've been eating their pizza since before I can remember. It turns out that a guy named Ron Pisanello opened restaurants in Alliance and Kent, Ohio in the late 1950s, who sold the name and recipes in 1964 to a Kent State University student who brought the pizzeria to Bowling Green. There are now more than twenty Pisanello's Pizza locations across Ohio and Michigan. The BG location has probably won as many honors as any other restaurant in town, including Bowling Green's best pizza for 17 years.

Their recipes are both classic and delicious. Their traditional pizza sauce is good, but for a new taste, order the California White pizza with chicken and whatever other toppings you like (I suggest tomatoes). Their dough tastes fresh, and so do their homemade breadsticks. There are also more than ten subs and sandwiches and plenty of sides. I like the tomato bread. I also like to hit up Pisanello's for a fresh salad once in a while as well. There are many kinds but I pick the Chicken Caesar, which comes topped with a mass of cheese and croutons and is plenty for two.

So check out Pisanello's, and don't be afraid to try something a little out of the ordinary, because they offer some pretty good flavors. Also remember to vote in our pizza poll in the right sidebar. Let us know whether you like Pisanello's, a chain pizza place, or one of the other local favorites!

What's Your Favorite Pie?

Pizza Places constitute a healthy percentage of the rstaurants in Bowling Green, a number of them locally owned. Shoutout to Cheesy in BGeezy. They have a cool slideshow with pretty much every pizza joint in town.

I work for a pizza place in BG myself, and I'm a little dismayed by the local places we've lost over the years. Luca Pizza sold monster oven-fired slices and some decent stuffed breadsticks out of the Woodland Mall food court until they closed shop a few months ago. Several restaurants including a few pizza places like Night Flight and Dinky's went in-and-out of the now-empty location on Mercer and East Wooster. Years ago that same place was the second Pizza Hut. Each of these restaurants had good pizzas on their menus; is it the presence of big pizza chains in BG like Marco's, Papa John's, Pizza Hut or Domino's that cost us some of the other ones? Which do you prefer? Chain or local?

Anyway, this look at local pizza places is my attempt to draw some attention away from the $10 specials of the big guys to what I consider to be some more flavorful choices in Bowling Green. I much prefer the grub from the local places. I'll touch on my favorites this week, which are the same ones in the poll on the right sidebar. Wait for my reviews or make your sleection now between the local choices or the chains. Cheesy inBGeezy also has a pizza poll up, so make sure to stop by and give them your feedback as well.