Pizza Pro of Lonoke, Arkansas

I've always believed that looking for treasure would increase my odds of finding it. However, most of my favorite pizzas were happened upon by accident in the first half of my life. But I love pizza more than most people do, I believe, and I'm willing to try a lot of lackluster pies in order to find the best.

Lonoke Arkansas is a nothing town, safer for boon docking than Little Rock. It's also the home of Pizza Pro. As if by accident, small town pizzas can be really special. Pizza Pro was not so special, but at least the chef knows what a pizza is supposed to be.

They had a hot box for their lunch special, and their slices looked like they were from a gas station. Either way, I only order fresh pies unless I'm in da big apple. For crusts, Pizza Pro offers Thin, Medium, and Stuffed. Since there is more than one form of "stuffed" pizza, I asked the lady at the counter what the stuffed was. She said it was really good, so as a show of faith, I got the stuffed. It was a stuffed crust pizza, like Pizza Hut's stuffed crust, with more cheese than one should probably consume.

Let's talk about that pizza. There are ratios, which score in at 3cr2ce3ch. I'll give their crust a rating of 3/5, it had a little chew, a little crunch, and a little goo. The stuffed handles were coated in parmesan and garlic, like a less yeasty crazy bread. Without the coating, their crust was generally tasteless. I'll rate their sauce a 3, adequately thick but unremarkable.

For style, they also get a 3. They had a nice little shop, and the decor was very relatable, the kind of stuff I'd hang up in my kitchen at home. For overall quality, they also get a 3/5. I might go back if I find myself returning to Lonoke Arkansas for another reason... but probably not. They get a 60% overall. Sometimes, I think about food as a movement and less of something that is merely consumed. To food, Pizza Pros fails to make much of a contribution, bringing nothing new to the table. Still I'm glad they are doing their part to fill the world with pizza.

Fried Chicken on a Stick

Meanwhile in Arkansas, time is running ten years behind. Self-checkouts haven't taken off yet, which makes it an inticing place to move to. But what can you do? Grow middle-aged chasing the past? I'll try not to.

The sign at the gas station advertised Pizza Inn Express, in addition to Homestyle Fried Chicken. The pizzas were all out for the evening, for some reason. But instead of pizza, my eyes beheld the most excessive spread of deep-fried, hot-boxed glory. This gas station had (all deep fried) egg rolls, chimichangas, burritos, crispitos, biscuits, chicken fries, white meat, dark meat, chicken tenders, bosco sticks, joe joe potatoes, cat fish, taquitos, hush puppies, okra, onion rings, corn dogs, foot long corn dogs, gizzards, pizza puffs, and... fried chicken on a stick. It was so big, I thought it was an entire chicken's worth of meat. I was wrong. There were also fried onions, pickles, and potatoes.

There's a difference between french fry batter and chicken batter. If you know the difference, then you know chicken batter isn't that great with potatoes, which always turn out too soft and too tough at the same time, instead of gloriously cripsy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, like a fry should be. The chicken part of the fried chick on a stick was aweseome. However, next time I'll try the tenders.