The Opinionated Foodie: The Love (or Not) of Food and Everything That Goes with It

Late one night, on a lonely road in the dark of night, my hungry, tired family wandered the open road aimlessly in search of sustenance. 

Well, maybe that’s a stretch.

We were traveling unknown territory.  We were hungry.  We were tired, and we had been together way too long in the car.  It was time for a pit stop.

We were passing through Murfreesboro, Tennessee.  We rolled the dice and picked an exit that looked like it might lead to food.  We found a TGIFriday’s.  An Arby’s.  A random Mexican restaurant. 

In a college town like Murfreesboro, though, we decided to go for pizza. 

I think pizza in a college town should be guaranteed good.   To serve bad pizza to poor college students would be cruel and unusual. 

Next to the China Garden, we found a pizza garden. 

Ahart’s Pizza Garden to be exact.  We walked in, and I would have paid for the smell alone.  Delish.  The décor was a little lacking-think 1980’s pink rose wallpaper border and carpet that has seen better decades-but the staff was so nice and friendly.  That and the promise of good pizza far outweighed a spot or ten on the carpet. 

We sat in a booth that had a little red duct tape on it, and we ordered.  We started with the cheese bread.  Yum.  It was a warm combination of French bread and cheesy goodness.  It hit the spot.   

I planned to order the Neptune pizza.  The menu promised a crab meat pizza with shrimp, green peppers, black olives, and artichoke hearts.  How could I go wrong?

I asked the waitress about it, and she steered me to her favorite, the first pizza on the menu-the Quattro Formaggio.  Trusting this total stranger who just happened to work at a pizza joint we just happened to find, I ordered it. 

It arrived, and I was not disappointed.  She had found for me a fresh pizza with Cheddar, mozzarella, provolone, ricotta cheese, bacon and mushrooms.  The Cheddar was a little overwhelming, and the ricotta was in four weird piles, but it was still very good. 

The husband had the Buffalo wings.  I passed on the taste he offered me, but I trust his word that it was good. 

It wasn’t long after we arrived at Ahart’s Pizza Garden that we were back on the cold, lonely road.  But, as we traveled on, we were full of good pizza making us able to tolerate the travel and each other a little better.