Satchel's Pizza, Gainesville, FL

Perhaps it's redundant or pointless to offer yet another opinion on Satchel's, the quirky pizza joint that is the de facto standard of Gainesville pizza culture. If you were to ask most Gainesville residents what the best pizza joint in town is, most of the time they'd say, without hesitation, Satchel's. I'm not sure I'd go that far, but the place does have an intriguing charm and quite good pizza and salads.

I'll preface all that I have to say about Satchel's with one semi-obvious (at least to any Gainesville resident) point of advice: Don't go to Satchel's if you are in a hurry. There is a very long wait to be seated no matter when you no go (though you can shave a couple minutes off that wait time if you're willing to sit in the gutted 1960s VW van that they've stuck some tables in). And you'll have to wait a while for your food once you sit down, too. Luckily, this wait is part of the Satchel's experience, so it isn't a massive negative as it would be at many places. Satchel's is rife with distractions to ease your impatience. Most nights you can catch some live, local music, and there is always the bocce court and abundance of eccentric decoration and memorabilia. Perhaps most notably, Satchel's also houses Lightnin' Salvage, a junk store. If you're unfamiliar with this concept, it's hard to pin down. They have cheap novelty toys, Satchel's souvenirs, a museum of junk (found items, local collections, neat garbage, etc), and all kinds of other random stuff. The interior of Satchel's itself usually lends it's walls to all sorts of art from local artists. With all these things going for it, if one were to rate Satchel's for atmosphere, it would certainly receive a ten out of ten.

Krystin and I headed to Satchel's after a long day of driving knowing what to expect. We indulged in all the bizarre attractions of the place, except for bocce, which was unfortunately monopolized by misbehaving kids. We eventually were seated in the front of the van, a cramped but fun place to sit. We ordered their signature Satch Salad and a medium The Major pizza. If this hadn't filled us up, we may have tried one of their well-spoken of desserts, but we never made it that far. The rest of the menu is what you'd expect for a pizza joint. In addition to their standard pizza and Satch salad, they have calzones and (sometimes) a deep dish version of their pizza.

Our salad arrived and, being starving, we tore into it. Simply put, it's a really good salad - at least in theory. It's got two kinds of lettuce, romano, tomato, nuts, sunflower seeds, carrots, onions and cucumbers. Perhaps most tasty are the slices of apple and the house vinagrette; it's these two ingredients that make the salad distinctly Satchel's. All in all, it's tasty. Unfortunately, ours was lukewarm on this particular visit. A cool greens salad should be chilled, or at least cool; it isn't that hard to manage. I'm fine with the long waits and so-so service at Satchel's because it's part of the experience and it can be fun, but they should take all that time to do the food right. But it wasn't all bad, because I still enjoyed the salad (in my opinion, it's good enough to be enjoyed no matter the temperature).

Our pizza eventually arrived, big and greasy and loaded with pepperoni, green peppers, onions, sausage, onions, and olives atop a heaping of cheese and sauce. It not a cheap pizza at $20 for a medium, but it's a good one. There's not too much to say about good pizza when you're hungry - it's just good. And Satchel's makes good pizzas. They don't skimp on anything and their sauces and toppings are full of flavor and of high quality. Is it the best pizza in town (or in the world, as some would have you believe)? I don't know. It's good, but I think I've had better (that might have come with a cool salad!). Blue Highway Pizza in Micanopy is certainly a contender. And maybe Satchel's is bit overpriced, too (we spent about $30 on a medium pizza and small salad with no drinks). But that's beside the point. Satchel's food is all quite tasty, and the surroundings make it a whole experience. Throw in it's status as a cultural icon in Gainesville, and it's almost certainly worth a visit sometime (or several times). You certainly won't regret it, regardless of whether it's actually the best pizza in town, or in the world, or in whatever other hyperbolic realm people use to describe it.

Note that Satchel's is cash only, but has a small ATM. They are closed on Sundays and Mondays.

Overall rating: 9/10, largely for atmosphere
Date visited: August 22, 2009
Address: Satchel's Pizza, 1800 NE 23rd Ave, Gainesville, FL 32609
Phone: 352-335-7272
Website (with menu): http://www.satchelspizza.com/

Driftwood Grill, Williston, FL (Lunch)

The Driftwood Grill is a small establishment that sits just east of downtown in the little city of Williston, Florida. We stopped there for lunch on the advice of a nice lady we met at a nearby thrift store; she said it's a local favorite with good prices. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner, which they describe as being "Southern style home cooking."

The restaurant is a stand-alone affair on one of Williston's larger roads. It's a fairly welcoming little place, giving off somewhat of a mom-and-pop restaurant vibe. We went in, and were told to seat ourselves. The interior is divided into two dining areas, a smaller one near the cash register and entrance followed by a slightly larger one beyond that. They are outfitted with simple booths and tables, with many of the former showing intense signs of wear. For this reason, we chose a small table. The place was not perfectly clean, and I would have liked it slightly neater, but it did not detract significantly from our visit.

The waiting staff was quick and friendly. We were immediately given our menus, which we looked over. We were there for lunch, so we only really looked at and sampled that portion of the menu. It consisted primarily of hot sandwiches and burgers, with a few soups, cold cuts, and salads thrown in. Krystin ordered a Cajun style chicken breast sandwich served with coleslaw ($5.99), while I decided on the Angus Beef country-fried steak sandwich with curly fries on the side ($6.99).

The Cajun chicken sandwich was pretty good. The chicken was juicy, flavorful, and well cooked, but there was limited Cajun flavors coming through. It came with several toppings, including mayo, tomato, lettuce, and onion, on a soft hamburger bun. As a whole, it was a good sandwich, though nothing breathtaking. Unfortunately, the coleslaw it was paired with was not as enjoyable. It was exceptionally soggy with oodles of mayo, lacking all of the crispness that can make coleslaw so refreshing a side. We took a couple bites of it and decided not to finish it - it was the low point of our dining experience.

Like the cajun sandwich, the country fried steak sandwich was good but not amazing. It consisted of a breaded and fried ground beef patty, served on a hamburger bun with the same toppings as the cajun sandwich. The taste was pretty much that of an average burger. The meat was slightly dry, prompting me to add a little ketchup about halfway through the sandwich, but it was a satisfying lunch. The curly fries were enjoyable, though pretty average. They tasted like the curly fries served at countless restaurants, probably premade and frozen, but those can be prettty enjoyable at times, so I have no complaints there.

Overall, the food was pretty average, but it is a decent option for a quick, fairly inexpensive sit-down meal. Everything was suitably enjoyable to make me interested enough in the restaurant to want to return for dinner sometime. For lunch, there's nothing too fancy or special, but everything is good enough (except maybe the coleslaw) while being reasonably price. This, coupled with the friendly waitstaff and nice atmosphere, make it a satisfying, even if not amazing, lunch choice if you're in Williston.

Overall rating: 6/10
Date visited: August 22, 2009
Address: Driftwood Grill, 515 E. Noble Avenue, Williston, FL 32696
Phone: 352-528-5074
Menu (as of 08/22/09):