Mama Jo's Pizza offers a lotta food for little cash

NORFOLK

Pizzerias run the gamut, from old-school Italian joints to gourmet eateries that serve versions without a drop of tomato sauce or mozzarella. Now, Mama Jo's Pizza, near Old Dominion University, is trying to carve out a slice of the pie.

A couple of yellow fliers touting Mama Jo's found their way to my car windshield in recent weeks, and I thought of them at the end of a lazy weekend that left me simply not wanting to cook.

I remembered that the prices were cheap and delivery free. "Sold," I thought as I logged on to the pizzeria's website.

The choices are basic - cheese, pepperoni, sausage, veggie or supreme pizza in three sizes. Prices are the same for all except supreme.

I figured that Mama Jo's catered to ODU students, and I was proven right when the online ordering icon re-directed me to a Campus Special site. Ordering was a snap, and in addition to a vegetable pizza, I threw in meatballs ($5.99 for a pound) and mini calzones ($2.99 for six) as sides.

The total was just over $20 - not bad for that much food. The order confirmation predicted the food would arrive in 45 minutes.

When 50 minutes came and went, I called to check on the order. I was promised it was on the way, and my pizza arrived a few minutes later. My boyfriend already had our bags inside when we realized the meatballs were MIA. Fortunately, I caught the driver before she left the building. She apologized profusely and offered to give us our cash back until she returned with the rest of the food.

"I guess the meatballs will be dessert," my boyfriend said. The bread on the calzones was soft, hot and chewy - quite delicious and a marked difference from the thin, plain crust on the pizza. The cheese inside was more like cream cheese than the ricotta I expected, and the slice of pepperoni was a surprise. Sauce on the side would have made this appetizer even better.

Toppings were piled on the pizza generously, and despite our pickiness - we skipped the mushrooms and ordered black olives on only half of the pizza- the pie met my online specifications. The rest of the pizza was ordinary - nothing to complain about but nothing to write home about, either.

I was finishing up a slice when the meatballs arrived. The sauce had a nice spice to it, with some peppers and basil mixed in. The meatballs themselves were a little less exciting.

At the end of our dinner, we had plenty of leftovers - cold pizza for lunch the next day and some meatballs to throw in a pasta dish later in the week. A pretty good bargain in my book.

As evidenced by some issues with delivery, Mama Jo's is still working out kinks in its business. Even with those issues ironed out, you might want to skip this pizzeria if you prefer gourmet pizzas with blue cheese, pine nuts or housemade mozzarella.

But with its late hours and location near ODU, Mama Jo's is positioned perfectly for students who want a lot of food for a little cost. Families feeding a table full of hungry kids also might want to bookmark its website for those nights when you just need an easy meal.

Janelle Cogan, 446-2336, janelle.cogan@pilotonline.com