station pizzeria

Saturday night the hubs headed to the hockey game, so that left me blissfully home alone for the night.  What's a girl who has seemingly tried every eatery within a few mile radius of her house to do for dinner? Find one she hasn't.

That search landed me at Station Pizzeria on the Hill.  Called in for a takeout order of a small veggie pizza and house salad.  Upon arrival, I was relieved to see that their payment options included "debit" since cash somehow never has a comfortable home in my wallet. However, besides the fact that the "debit" machine involved me retrieving a rounded cash amount more than my total and a $1.65 fee, my bill seemed expensive (my 12inch pizza for $13 and small salad for $4 somehow ended up totaling $19.50ish).

Regardless, the piping hot box was placed in my hands and the aroma was simply wonderful. Oh boy, this will be good.  As I excitedly opened the box on my counter, the sight matched the smells.  Piled high with veggies and draped in oregano, I couldn't wait to dive in. 

.....aaaaaaaaand letdown.

Now, I wouldn't say it was bad (for the record, I have only disliked ONE pizza ever. ahem, Rigazzi's).  But the feast just didn't live up to the hype.  And by "hype" I mean the one I built up in my head driving home. The crust was a nice somewhere-in-between thickness.  Thin, but still with some muscle. However, not enough muscle to support the enormous amount of toppings.  Remember when you were little making your own pizza first time and think 'the more toppings, the better'?  And then remember how disappointed you were when the pizza came out kind of soupy and not at all crispy in the middle? (What? was it just me?).  That's what it seemed like to me. And despite the beautiful sprinklings of oregano, it tasted a bit on the dull side.  Nothing a little dose of garlic powder from my cabinet couldn't fix, but still...

I experienced a similar phenomenom with the salad.  A beautiful mesclun mix was dotted with St. Louis' own pimento-provel-housedressing 1-2-3 punch.   In theory, I loved it.  On the reality of my tounge... it just didn't work. 

However, in spite of my so-so experience, I feel drawn to go back.  Perhaps it's the cute picnic tables with the parmesan cheese and red pepper flake shakers (LOVE. IT.).  Perhaps I just want to love the local pizza place.  Regardless, I think I need another try...

bottom line: the jury's still out.