After years of hearing people tell us that Big Ed's in Oak Ridge has the best pizza around, Darwin & I finally gave it a shot this weekend. We had tried going before, but had either been scared off by the massive line of people trying to get in, or shown up on a Sunday when they were closed.
Yesterday, we decided to go around 4:00 before the dinner crowd started piling in. It worked. We only had about a 5 minute wait for a table. (Of course, we had to wait more than 30 minutes for our pizza after we ordered, but we didn't mind.) We got there just in time, because shortly after we were seated, the throngs of people started lining up outside to get in the dark, cramped little restaurant. We were near the door, so it was a little chilly with the door standing open while people waited to get in.
The only things on the menu are pizza and beverages. There is only one kind of crust, and the usual toppings -- nothing fancy like prosciutto or pineapple. They bring your pizza out on a cardboard wheel, and you eat it on tiny little paper plates. It is really good pizza. I don't know about the best, but it is exceptionally good. Darwin says his expectations were exceeded, while I was a little disappointed because I was expecting something near supernatural in quality after all I'd heard. It was also a bit on the pricey side -- more than $40 for 2 -- 12" pizzas, a couple of beers, and a soda. The verdict: I might eat there again, but would likely opt for take out rather than eating in the cramped dining room.
