Big Al’s Pizza

On my first visit to Big Al’s (which had been talked up by my coworkers), I arrived around 11:45 for lunch. I ordered a sausage, pepper, and onion stromboli. The young lady behind the counter was very nice and efficient.
After ordering, I found out that they didn’t even have peppers and onions prepped. They didn’t even have any up front. They had to go to the back to get them. That’s one strike. I realize I was a little early for lunch, but they had been open for fifteen minutes, and as a restaurant veteran I think you should have the prep done before the doors are unlocked. So I waited. Fifteen minutes later, I get a giant paper bag that smells delicious.
I open the bag when I get back to work and my stromboli is sitting on about a dozen paper plates inside the bag. No styrofoam container or anything around it. Not even foil. Strike Two. I’m not a germaphobe but no telling what is in those bags and they aren’t very insulating to keep it hot. Thank goodness I wasn’t far from my office. The stromboli was HUGE! It was hanging off both sides of the plate. I would have taken a picture, but by this time my blood sugar was somewhere near the Marianna’s Trench. So I inhaled half and saved the other half for my boyfriend.
The sausage was the processed slice kind, but there was a lot of it. Kinda skimpy on peppers and onions. Sauce was on the side. I would have preferred higher quality sausage crumbles. BUT the crust made up for it. I don’t know if it’s the same crust they use for their pizza, but I’ll definitely be back to try it. Same goes for the marinara… perfectly acidic and very garlicky, not a hint of sweetness to it… just tomato heaven.
With a little effort and attention to ingredients this place could be top notch. The shopping center they are in is kind of a pain to get in and out of but the inside was spotlessly clean and their customer service is great. I’d really like to give them 3.5 stars, but I’m going with 4 as I really think having to wait on peppers and onions to be cut might have been a one off.