On a Tuesday night, after five hours of class and a strong desire to binge-watch the most recent season of House of Cards, a friend called and asked if I would be interested in $2 pizza night at Mellow Mushroom. With $5 in my wallet that was intended for a double cheeseburger and fries, I accepted the offer, looking for anything that would get me out of the fast food rut.
Photo courtesy of mellowmushroom.com
When we arrived, we squeezed past full tables of college students to reach one of the few empty booths in the corner. For $2 a slice all day on Tuesdays, you can get up to one topping free, with each additional topping being an extra charge.
If you’re 21 and looking to accompany your pizza slice with more than a fizzy soft drink, you can add a pint to your bill for only $3.
As my stomach growled and I looked around the “That 70s Show” themed pizza joint, I couldn’t help but notice that each slice placed in front of my fellow hunger-struck peers was larger than a single plate would allow. So naturally, I ordered two.
Photo courtesy of mellowmushroom.com
When two slices of cheese pizza were slid onto a tie-dyed plate in front of me, my mouth watered and my stomach flipped, giving me a feeling I never would have felt when exchanging $4.38 for a double cheese burger meal under the golden arches.
I picked up my thin crusted slice, folded it in half to what a normal slice of pizza would have measured and took a bite from one of the greatest combinations of sauce, cheese and sweet dough that my taste buds has ever had the pleasure of meeting.
After four minutes of going mute as my friends talked around me, I had the hiccups from inhaling the pizza at the pace that I did. By the time the waiter came back to ask how we were doing, he was too confused by my empty plate to remember that it had been me who ordered the Mr. Pibb in his hand.
I’ve now fallen in love with Mellow Mushroom and have since ended my long-term relationship with McDonald’s. It was hard at first to drive past the golden arches that tempted me on my way to Mellow, but the promise of a cheap meal that didn’t make me feel dirty and used afterwards kept my foot on the gas instead of the brake.
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