Did you really go for pizza in the middle of Amish Country? I have driven past Pizza City in Strasburg for years. It sits in an unassuming building. You would probably miss it if you weren’t looking for it. Located in historic downtown Strasburg, it sits catty-cornered across the street from the famous Creamery. The sign is small; there is hardly any fanfare going on outside. No “open” sign. Do they even want you to know they are there? Online reviews are actually sparkling. But there is that age-old question for pizza made outside of the NY/NJ area: can it really be good or would it just be tolerable because there are hardly any other pizzerias around? Then there is the chance that it will be plain horrible. Of course, if you live where I do, we can be rather snobbish about pizza.

You may be wondering how we ended up here. Well, as we made our way from one restaurant to another over the course of the last few trips, my friend suggested that we try “local pizza” figuring it would be something different for my blog. There are a couple of chains a moderate distance away on Route 30, but those aren’t the same. We wanted a neighborhood joint.

When you walk in you will find that the dining room is pretty big. They have a cooler of “gourmet” soda bottles made by Sprecher. I got the Puma Kola while he went for the Cream Soda. I took one not realizing there was a fridge full of beer on the other side of the restaurant. I’m not a big soda drinker. In fact, I never drink it at all except when mixed with rum or whiskey. Nevertheless, it was very good. I’ve never seen the brand anywhere else. Not feeling too hungry after a mammoth breakfast, we ordered a medium cheese pizza (the smallest size they offer) and fried mushroom caps. These were battered and came with ranch dressing. For $3.50, it was a nice item to snack on while waiting for the pizza even though it didn’t have much flavor.

Now, as for the pizza itself, I am going to say it was okay. Not horrible by any means. The crust was pretty thick and the sauce was almost tasteless, lacking seasoning, but it was perfectly crisp on the bottom. A sprinkle of garlic powder and red pepper flakes was necessary to make it decent. Yeah, New York and New Jersey do it better, but for the middle of farmland, I’ll be the first to admit I was pleasantly surprised. Well, shocked might be a better word.

Prices were affordable and if you’re digging pizza in this area, it’s the only show in town. You really don’t want to degrade yourself by going to the Pizza Hut 20 minutes away, do you? Pizza City has been there forever. The place itself just screams 1980’s. This is another one solely for the locals. I cannot imagine too many tourists wandering in. Had I lived out here, I might find myself there on occasion for some beer and appetizers, and yes, maybe even a pizza. Their menu contained a loaded French Fries appetizer which sounded amazing and was probably much better than that stuff they called food at another restaurant I reviewed on this trip. The service could have been friendlier, but overall I will give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars, which is a lot higher than I thought I was going to give them.

This review was originally posted here. Pizza City is located at 6 East Main Street in Strasburg, Pennsylvania.