25 years of serving wonderful pizza and more

Twenty-five years of expertly stretched dough topped with tomato sauce, the perfect cheese blend and the toppings that reflect your outlook on life. Two and a half decades of ooey, gooey sloppy bread knots drenched in garlic butter and dipped in marinara. A quarter of a century of any beer you can dream up and the best salad in town. Ingleside Village Pizza has turned 25 years old.

The tricky part about going to such an iconic favorite is you never want to order anything but your favorite. I’ve ordered a slice of Ultimate Village pizza — with pepperoni, sausage, ham, onions, green peppers, green and black olives, fresh garlic, extra cheese — hold the mushrooms for at least a decade now. I didn’t stray until a friend said I just had to try a slice with feta, bacon and pepperoni, and, sure enough, it was fabulous.

When I want to pretend to eat healthy, I get the Ultimate Village Salad which is like the pizza but comes with turkey instead of pepperoni and sausage. Always get the house Italian dressing, which is also delicious on the breadsticks that come with the salad.

Speaking of bread, you’re not getting the full IVP experience if you don’t have the breadsticks “sloppy” with extra garlic and melted butter. Even if you don’t use it all on your breadsticks, you can use it on your “pizza bones.”

In 25 years, I have never gotten one of their sub sandwiches, so we tried a turkey club for $6.75. It comes in a basket, toasted bun opened to reveal the sliced deli turkey, shredded lettuce and my favorite Italian dressing. While it will never match my beloved Ultimate slice or salad, if you’re not a pizza or salad person, the subs are well made and filling. Other choices include an Ultimate sub with ham, turkey and roast beef; a Village with pepperoni, ham, onions and mushrooms; and the Veggie with your four choices of veggies. And just like the pizzas, you can always build your own.

And make sure you know about the best lunch deal in town: a two-topping slice, dinner salad, and drink for just $6.25. I honestly think at that price it’s just a lure to get you back for dinner. And once they’ve got you there for dinner, you’ll be coming back on the regular for another 25 years.

Read more reviews of local restaurants

This story was originally published July 26, 2017 at 12:47 PM with the headline "25 years of serving wonderful pizza and more."