Luigi's Offers A Tasty Alternative to CiCi's

Next time you are craving a salad/pizza/pasta buffet but don't wish to torture your digestive system with greasy Cici's food, I would recommend the lunch buffet at Luigi's as a healthier and better tasting alternative.

The original Luigi's restaurant, located on the south side of Harrisonburg on Rt. 42, is a small, shady-looking establishment that nonetheless serves up delicious food. Advertising itself as having the "best pizza on the planet," Luigi's at least has the best pizza I've had in Harrisonburg and also serves calzones, salads, hot and cold sandwiches, and pasta entrees, and offers a very fun atmosphere to boot.

A popular attraction at this Luigi's is the lunch buffet, served from 11:00 to 2:00 Monday through Friday. The buffet is quite impressive, and is certainly much better than the pizza bar at Cici's, while only costing a few more dollars at $5.99. A salad bar is the first part of the buffet, and is the first to please as it offers fresh lettuce, tomatoes and other fresh veggies, real bacon bits, cheese, and various dressings.

Next on the buffet is chicken marsala (mild, but quite delicious) followed by my personal favorite, meatballs. These delicious morsels are cooked up barbeque style in a sweet and tangy sauce, and are good to eat all by themselves.

The buffet then offers various pizzas, and while it may not have nearly the variety of Cici's, out of the three or four choices there was something for all tastes, including such toppings as plain cheese, supreme, veggie, and meat lovers. Luigi's even offers a "cinnamon roll" pizza for dessert. Although there is not a large variety of choice, the pizzas that are available are certainly tasty enough to make up for it. In general, the pizza is very American; having neither strong flavors nor unusual spices. At the same time it is also not bland, and is simply a traditional and classic delight. The crust is crunchy on the outside but soft and delicious on the inside. The sauce is not spicy or highly flavored but blends well with the other tastes on the pizza. And the toppings on the buffet pizzas were not extremely crazy or spicy but were loaded on and did not leave me wanting.

While I filled up on the salad bar, meatballs, and pizza, the bar also offered spaghetti, several varieties of sauce, and garlic bread.

If you aren't up for large scale eating or cannot make it down to the restaurant during buffet hours, Luigi's has a diverse menu as well as several other specials. After a page of garlic/cheesy bread-type appetizers and an impressive drink menu (there are daily specials on those, too), the next several pages of the menu offer their specialty pizzas and make-your-own pizzas.

If you choose to create your own pie, Luigi's offers three kinds of crust (regular, thin, or wheat) and three kinds of sauce (classic red, spicy barbeque, or virgin white) followed by a list of 43 topping choices. This list covers the entire spectrum, and is certain to have something for any taste, with choices including the usual meat and veggies as well as raisins, carrots, squash, sundried tomatoes, and eggplant, to name a few.

Another notable special, also exclusively available during the week, is Luigi's "pizza special," in which a nine-inch pizza is only $3.99 with $0.75 per topping (as opposed to the regular price of $5.25 and $1.00 toppings).

In general, prices at Luigi's aren't extremely cheap, but aren't over the top, either. A large (sixteen inch) regular pizza is less than $10, while a large specialty is more like $16. All the entrees are under $8, and sandwiches range from $4-7.

I would like to add that one of my favorite parts of the "old" Luigi's on Rt. 42 was the atmosphere it offered. Outside of the downtown and mall areas, it is very quiet and relaxed, and I felt very comfortable while dining. It does look a little run-down, but don't be turned off by its appearance, because once inside I enjoyed the "broken-in" feeling of the interior, which was brightly painted and has colorful posters and photos on the walls. Another entertaining element are the tables that have the most random photographs under the glass tabletops, all of which are hilarious. Luigi's also has concerts fairly frequently, so swing by to check out what's coming up.

If you are ready for a laid-back atmosphere with amazing food and drink, stop by Luigi's just down the road on Rt. 42.