If you ever go to lunch at Rusted Sun Pizzeria, plan a little extra time.
Don't worry — you won't regret it.
You might wait 30 minutes for your meal, but when it comes it will be handmade just for you, as fresh as can be and most likely very tasty.
I was initially confused about where to park at Rusted Sun — out front on the street seems to be the only "legal" space — but once inside I liked the comfy little dining spot, with windows on one side of the dining room and a counter running along the other.
It's the kind of place where, when a customer asks if the server heard her order correctly, the cook is close enough to hear the question and answer it himself, right from the kitchen.
The starters at Rusted Sun look great, particularly the "killer cheese dip" of sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, spinach and three cheeses with bread sticks for dipping. But we didn't order any because, after all, it was lunch, and I had a feeling this was the kind of place that doesn't skimp on portions.
I was right, too. My husband had the lunch special, a slice of pizza with salad and a drink, and his salad was a hearty and plate-filling mix of greens, thin-sliced red pepper, onions and mushrooms, with a chunky, peppery bleu cheese dressing that tasted homemade.
If the salad was large, his pizza, a single slice of barbecue chicken, was monumental, a big crusty triangle lapping over the edges of its plate. The pizza crust was close to perfect, simply made, thin and a perfect balance of crispy and chewy.
The carefully placed toppings — mozzarella cheese, red onion, lean sliced chicken and a drizzle of barbecue sauce — complemented one another well.
I had a chicken alfredo calzone, a circle of pizza dough drawn up and tucked like a blanket around a generous pile of fillings, with a little peephole giving me a nice view of the silky cheese inside and a tiny broccoli spear seeming to fasten the calzone like a button.
Broccoli was just one of the well-chosen ingredients in my calzone, in which tastes and textures blended beautifully: tender white chicken, earthy mushrooms, super-thin sliced red onions, cheese and a lovely, milky Alfredo sauce. The crust was more than up to holding everything together.
Our son ordered from the kids' menu and enjoyed his plate of penne pasta liberally sprinkled with fresh-shredded Parmesan cheese.
Appetizers $3.75-$7.50, salads $3.75-$8, lasagna $8.25-$8.75, house favorite pizza and calzones $7.75-$21.75, design-your-own pizzas and calzones $6-$21.75 (additional toppings 25-75 cents), kids' meals $4.50, dessert $2.75-$4.25.
Rusted Sun Pizzeria
Rating: ★★★
Where: 2010 S. State
Hours: Monday-Friday, 10:30 a.m.-10 p.m.; Saturday, noon-10 p.m.; Sunday, 4-9 p.m.
Phone: 801-483-2120
Wheelchair access: Easy
Also: Lunch specials available
Stacey Kratz is a freelance writer who reviews restaurants for the Deseret News.
e-mail: skratz@desnews.com