Many weeks ago, when most of the rest of the River City was at Thunder Over Louisville, my friend Melissa and I decided to try Danny Mac’s Pizza, at 1014 Clarks Lane off of Poplar Level Road. Primarily built for carryout, it only has two tables inside, and that’s where we ate. She got a massive calzone, and I got the Philly cheese steak, which was huge. A very generous helping of juicy, delicious shaved steak, big mushrooms, green peppers and onions, and gooey, melty mozzarella and provolone. I also got a side of boneless garlic/Parmesan wings. We loved everything we ate, and I couldn’t wait to eat there again.

So today, as I planned to watch the last two episodes ever of the foolishly canceled Pushing Daisies on Blu-Ray, I ordered a pizza with sausage and pepperoni and another side of those amazing garlic/Parmesan wings (which, without the bones, are really just big chunks of chicken, which is entirely fine by me).

Amazing.

Not only is Danny Mac’s sauce delicious, but the crust on the hand-tossed pie I got was of a really good thickness. The best part, by far, was the toppings, not just in quality but in quantity. Tons of cheese, a massive population of pepperoni, and enough sausage to send a pig farm into 47 kinds of panic.

And I can’t stress how huge the boneless wings are. Only $5.99 for 12, and they put the measly wings at any of the franchise chains to shame in both value and price. The sprinkles of Parmesan really accentuate the garlic flavor well. And like I said, they’re just really huge chunks. An order of these would easily be a meal all its own, unlike the franchise chains which barely give you enough to qualify as a snack.

I planned to eat the leftovers for a couple of days but didn’t really factor in just how filling the meal would be — after five boneless wings and just three pieces of pizza, I’m so stuffed I can barely type. Can’t wait to eat the rest.

So if you live in Louisville and love pizza and want to try a really killer value, call Danny Mac’s with great confidence. You’ll be glad you did.

Related links:

Danny Mac’s Official Site

Danny Mac’s on Facebook

Aw, man, come on.

I love Rally’s burgers. Especially the Big Buford. And now they’ve changed it for what they’d like me to think is the better.

First, some background.

One of my favorite college courses was the advertising class I took with Dr. Vijay Krishna. At the time, Rally’s had a television campaign going where they’d show close-ups of their burgers lasciviously dripping condiments. When Dr. Krishna told us one day that he didn’t like those commercials because he thought they were gross, a girl in the class and I explained to him that the commercials were very effective because they made your mouth water. And they did. Every time I saw one of those commercials, I wanted a Rally’s hamburger.

(And why did I never ask that girl out? She stood up for hamburgers!)

Dr. Krishna had never been to Rally’s, so he had us all meet at the one in Clarksville for our next class. We all ate burgers and fries while taking notes at the tables outside, and I think he was newly convinced by the burgers and the commercials.

And that’s what I’ve always loved about Rally’s (in addition to their amazing fries) — the toppings are so juicy and fresh without being sloppy. My favorite burger there is the double-decker Big Buford, which has lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles, mustard, ketchup, lettuce, and cheese.

I always get mine without pickles and mustard, because I don’t like those things. At all.

So anyway, Rally’s has decided to “improve” the Big Buford, and I’m more than a little crestfallen after trying the results.

The big offender is the new giant “gourmet bun,” which totally overpowers everything else because it’s just too much bun.

When I tried one today, the first thing I tasted was … pickles! Even though I’d ordered it without them. So I took them off and tried another bite, only to find that all of the flavors I usually get from a Buford were muted by all that bread. Even the trademark crunch of the onions was lessened.

Oh, Rally’s. Why did you have to ruin a good thing?

Maybe the next time I go, I’ll see if I can order it without pickles, without mustard, and on a regular, normal bun. Do you think they’d do that? If not, I’m afraid the Buford and I will have to go our separate ways … forever.

It’s been almost two hours, and I swear I still taste all that bread in my mouth.