Happy birthday Steph’s

Steph’s Pizza in University Place celebrated three years this past Saturday, Nov. 7. In addition to delicious gourmet pies, Steph’s also offers hearty, stuffed calzones, fresh salads, desserts and pasta dishes — check out spaghetti and meatballs, lasagna, and chicken fettuccine alfredo.

Chicken wings at this University Place spot come in two forms — either hot and spicy BBQ style or breaded and hit with Italian spices. Steph’s constantly offers great specials with online printable coupons — one of the reasons the restaurant has steady, loyal customers.

Complimentary hot wings, bread sticks and soda pop come with orders of two 12”, 14” or 16” pizzas. Bread sticks with jalapenos and cheese are a favorite.
For those thinking they can’t or shouldn’t eat pizza because of pesky dieting — here’s a pleasant discovery. One piece of a Steph’s large pizza, on average, has roughly the same calories as a Slimfast oatmeal raisin optima bar, but with 30 percent less carbs.

Whoa. I’m having pizza. — Jennifer Johnson

[Steph’s Pizza, 5510 Orchard St. W., University Place, 253.474.4000]

Morning food disc

Let me begin by admitting that pizza is my desert-island food. I could eat it every day. But let’s be clear, not that doughy, sorry excuse, Chicago-style stuff, and definitely not anything with pineapple. Otherwise I’m smitten with that brilliant pie.

Then I caught wind The Hub serves breakfast pizzas. Consider me skeptical. I’ve had many breakfast pizzas; they’re called leftover pizza. Besides, cracking an egg over something doesn’t make it automatically breakfast food. It’s the same thing it was a minute ago, only it’s been ruined and wasted an egg.

However, I’m an adventurous gal. I tried The Hub’s Traditional Breakfast Pizza Sunday.

The verdict: fantastico!

Two people could share a Traditional Breakfast Pizza from The Hub — as long as one is not a professional linebacker. But believe me, I tried my best to polish one of these 10-inch puppies off. The thin, foldable crust was favorable, supporting the perfect amount of scrambled eggs, hash browns, a three-cheese blend and sausage gravy. There aren’t gobs of toppings, which I salute. The breakfast pizza is topped with a drizzle of Hollandaise, which added some welcome spice but wasn’t too rich.

The Hub could have taken the Manwich route, loaded it up with tons of toppings, tagged it with a ridiculous name and treated it as a novelty or challenge. Instead, they made the breakfast pizza delicious.

The Stadium District restaurant also serves an artisan version with olive oil, four eggs, bacon, Parmesan, mozzarella and parsley.

Both ring in at $10.

The Hub serves breakfast 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday. Scrambles, omelets and classic dishes grace the menu, as well as three dishes for kids. — Suzy Stump

[The Hub, 203 Tacoma Ave. S., Tacoma, 253.683.4606]