<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_tZVufRlMtzM/Rs35jbmVAsI/AAAAAAAAAH8/csxEhO30RLg/s1600-h/Natalie.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_tZVufRlMtzM/Rs35jbmVAsI/AAAAAAAAAH8/csxEhO30RLg/s200/Natalie.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5102008339979895490" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"  >Blogger: Natalie</span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"  ><a href="http://tashadoestulsa.blogspot.com/2007/07/new-correspondent-brings-quest-to-tdt.html">The Quest</a> continues. Thanks to everyone for the recommendations. They’ve been added to the list of places to try.<o:p></o:p></span></p>  <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"  ><o:p> </o:p></span></p>  <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"  >Since the last time I wrote, I’ve sampled Olive Garden (pass on it), <a href="http://www.chowhound.com/topics/313245">Stonehorse Café</a> (not bad for an establishment with a menu not centered on pizza) and Umberto’s again (excellent again, and this time they used crumbled sausage instead of sliced). I’d try more, but, as I stated before, my waistline needs a bit of a break between pizza experiences. I did try pizza in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Mexico</st1:place></st1:country-region>, but that’s not really relevant to this particular Quest.<o:p></o:p></span></p>  <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"  ><o:p> </o:p></span></p>  <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style="font-family:Arial;">Anyway, </span></i></span><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"  >this time Party Brenda, her husband Kyle and I headed over to Mario’s, 3323 E. 51st St., #U. After some confusion about which pizza place it actually was (there’s another NYC pizza place just north on 51<sup>st</sup>, which has since been added to the list), we finally got on the same page.<o:p></o:p></span></p>  <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"  ><o:p> </o:p></span></p>  <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"  >A trend I’ve noticed in these hole-in-the-wall pizza places is the lack of customer service, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Mario’s was no exception. No one really acknowledged our presence until we approached the counter to order.<o:p></o:p></span></p>  <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"  ><o:p> </o:p></span></p>  <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"  >I ordered the medium New York-style sausage, which is the smallest you can buy, and I would later find out it is huge for a medium. Three people could easily share it. Kyle ordered the Sicilian (Mario’s code for deep dish) supreme.<o:p></o:p></span></p>  <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"  ><o:p> </o:p></span></p>  <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"  >Mine arrived first, both because I ordered first and because the deep dish takes longer to cook. Well, I say “arrived” – they just yelled out the pizza, and you went to the counter to get it. <o:p></o:p></span></p>  <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"  ><o:p> </o:p></span></p>  <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"  >As I said before, the pizza was huge, but hot and fresh, so you know it’s made-to-order. The sausage was sliced here as well, and they weren’t stingy with it. Brenda and I decided we like the sliced variety better than the crumbled.<o:p></o:p></span></p>  <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"  ><o:p> </o:p></span></p>  <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"  >After I cut into it (with my plastic silverware, mind you, which sort of rubbed us the wrong way, as I would think they could spring for some real silverware, especially considering pizza cutting usually requires fairly sturdy flatware, but I digress), I found it to be pretty good pizza.<o:p></o:p></span></p>  <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"  ><o:p> </o:p></span></p>          <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"  ></span></p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"  >The pros: <o:p></o:p><br /></span></p><ul><li><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"  >Hot, fresh and more-than-generously sized;<o:p></o:p></span></li><li><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"  >Very cheesy, good ingredients; <o:p></o:p></span></li><li><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"  >Excellent crust, with the perfect combination of chewy and crispy;<o:p></o:p></span></li><li><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"  >Closer to home than Umberto’s.<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul>  <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"  ><o:p> </o:p></span></p>        <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"  ><o:p> </o:p></span></p>  <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"  >The cons: <o:p></o:p></span><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"  ><br /></span></p><ul><li><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"  >A little soggy/greasy (probably from too much sauce), and, for lack of a better word, a little bland;<o:p></o:p></span></li><li><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"  >A staff that was, at best, indifferent to our presence.</span></li></ul></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"  >Kyle and Brenda didn’t care for the deep-dish crust, but both agreed that my thinner crust pizza was pretty good.<o:p></o:p></span></p>  <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"  ><o:p> </o:p></span></p>  <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"  >After filling to-go boxes with our leftovers, we debated whether we were supposed to clean our own table. We decided to err on the side of caution and clean up after ourselves, since a staff member hadn’t approached our table the entire time we were there. <o:p></o:p></span></p>  <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"  ><o:p> </o:p></span></p>  <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"  >So, to sum up: Mario’s makes a pretty decent pizza, but opt for the thin crust. It’s enough to put Mario’s at the number two spot in The Quest for the best pizza in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Tulsa</st1:place></st1:city>. Umberto’s still claims the top spot.<o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;"  ><o:p></o:p></span></p>