COLUMBIA'S LUNCH REVIEW

There is no better way to put this - I've got a new favorite pizza in Columbia. Sorry, Village Idiot, I hate to say goodbye, but for now, I've got a new destination for pizza. Pizza Man, I hope there is no hard feelings. Al Amir, although your white pizza will always have my recommendation, Dano's is now my #1.

Last Friday, Rabbit and I ventured over to Dano's for lunch on the enthusiastic recommendation of a not-so-anonymous poster to the Diner, Drive-ins, and Dives entry (good call, Lady Capulet). We have both enjoyed Dano's fare before, including their excellent delivery pizza, but I had not been to the storefront since the recent expansion. We sat on the bar side of the restaurant, where we had prime seats facing two large, high-def televisions that were set on ESPN and ESPN2. Glorious. We resisted the urge to grab a pitcher of Bass Ale to make the experience complete, but just barely.

Dano's has a good menu consisting of pizza, calzones, strombolis, subs, salads, and wings. I couldn't remember the last time I had a calzone, so I ordered the special meatball calzone. Rabbit went after the Turkey sub, decked out with all of the usual fixings and some extra touches like roasted red peppers and banana peppers. While Rabbit was enthusiastic about his sub, I was smitten by my calzone. It consisted of the perfect blend of thinly sliced meatball, ricotta, and mozzarella cheese. The marinara on the side was thick and warm. In short, it was the perfection of the calzone.

The only regret that we shared when leaving Dano's for lunch was that we didn't jump on that cool pitcher of ale. To correct this cosmic error, Mrs. Tank and I had an informal date night on Friday that consisted of Dano's white pizza - meatballs added, of course - and a nice refreshing pitcher of Bass Ale. I could definitely get used to doing two-a-days at Dano's.

- Tank

p.s. Because Dano's is so incredibly baller, we have named it the Lunch Spot of the Week. Click the link up top for a full menu!