As a former Osceola, Arkansas resident I feel quite qualified to write an epinion on the pizza joint. After all, we lived there 3 years and there are only 2 pizza places in town. You do the math.

Typically when someone is going to rate a restaurant with only 2 stars, this same person wouldn't have gone to the aforementioned establishment over 30 times during her tenure in Arkansas. Ah, but that's just not my style; you can call me a glutton for punishment.

Before I begin my written tirade, I will tell you that it's quite possible that other Mazzio's aren't horrible. In fact, I can see where with a little care, the food might actually taste good, not just palatable, to some. But alas, the only point of reference I have, and that's the little establishment on Keiser Boulevard, is just rotten. They know that they are one of the only two games in town, so you will eventually have to come in and eat. This is a common theme that plays out through the town, so I can't say Mazzio's is the only restaurant that subscribes to this viewpoint.

When you walk into this restaurant, you will immediately need to take off your Top Gun Ray-Bans. That is because the restaurant is so dark, that you may mistakenly think you are inside of some medieval dungeon. Then you smell the pizza and realize you've made it to the right place. Take a seat; don't worry if there are still dirty dishes from the previous inhabitant, it just doesn't matter. Once they clear them, the table will still be dirty enough to give a germ-a-phobe like myself a seizure. Give your space a rubdown with a Clorox disposable cloth and peruse the menu.

You will see that though this is a pizza place, it has a surprising number of choices. You can order appetizers such as nachos, wings, cinnamon or bread sticks. May I recommend the cinnamon breadsticks, they are fabulous! Skip the regular breadsticks entirely and ask for a cup of sauce to dip your crusts in, because that's what they are giving you, glorified crusts.

If you'd like a drink, you can count on them having sweet tea and they also have Coke products. For this, they receive a half point bonus. Next visit the salad bar. You'll have to dig deep into the chocolate pudding or dressings to avoid the skin that's formed on top, but I'm sure it'll be fine. I am not dead, after all. In all seriousness, I usually love a good salad, and they do have homemade ranch here, but the bar is usually understocked and wilted looking.

Well, who cares, you came for pizza anyway, didn't you? They have all of the toppings everyone else does, so you can create your own, but they have a few specialty items that they place on sale. The Meatbuster is a yummy creation for the carnivore in your family. It contains pepperoni, beef, sausage and Italian sausage. The Supremebuster has pepperoni, sausage, onion, green pepper and mushrooms. The Cheesebuster has, well, cheese. There are a few more specialty pizzas as well. These have got to be a nod at Mazzio's California roots. The first is the Chicken Club. It contains Mesquite Chicken, Bacon, Diced Tomatoes and four Cheeses. The second is called the California Alfredo and contains Alfredo Sauce, Mesquite Chicken, Bacon, Mushrooms, & Tomatoes. The last is the Mexican which contains Refried Beans, Sausage, Lettuce, Tomatoes, Black Olives, Chips & Cheddar. This is my favorite!

If you just aren't in the mood for pizza, you may try their pasta (spaghetti, lasagna or fettucine alfraedo) or their delicious baked sandwiches. They have a deluxe submarine and a ham and cheddar and truly both are wonderful. They also advertise Calzones, but that's so close to the pizza, I hesitate to mention under "other choices."

One word about the buffet: Don't. The pizza gets dried up quickly and they can't seem to keep up with the demand. You will be waiting for fresh pizzas like vultures and then you have two choices when they bring out the fresh kill, er, I mean pizza: you can hussle up there at a brisk pace and get a piping hot piece or you can play it cool like you aren't watching the chef's(and I use the term loosely) every move and possibly have to wait another 5-10 minutes for a fresh one (at which point you can repeat previous action choices).

The service here is slow, but friendly if you know the waitress, indifferent if you don't. The management has a lackadaisical attitude that can be a trifle discouraging. The upswing is that the pizza isn't bad on a good day. I have even craved it while pregnant. Unfortunately for Mazzio's the bad far outweighs the good, so a mere 2 star rating is all they receive.













Recommended: No