Pagliacci’s delivers

I was more than enthsiastic when I found out that Seattle’s famous Pagliacci Pizza had opened a location in Shoreline. I’ve been a fan of their award-winning pies for as long as they’ve been open — and this year they’re celebrating their 25th silver anniversary.

Over those 25 years Pagliacci Pizza has grown to have a substantial presence in the Seattle area, now boasting six pizzeria destinations and 13 “delivery kitchens,” which includes the new Shoreline location. Offering delivery service to its King County customers in North City and Lake Forest Park, this is the first Pagliacci to break the Snohomish County barrier, providing residents of Mountlake Terrace and parts of Brier a piece of the pie, so to speak.

Situated on Ballinger Way where Shoreline, Lake Forest Park and Mountlake Terrace converge, this Pagliacci is housed in a distinctive 1950s space age meets neo-Mediterranean structure. It’s obvious once you walk in that this location is much more than a “delivery kitchen.” Ample seating in the indoor dining area and a spacious outdoor patio make this a comfortable spot for dining in as well.

Pick up a menu at the front counter and contemplate a decent selection of meal options. Eight specialty pizzas offer the familiar toppings like traditional pepperoni, Canadian bacon &pineapple, and the “Brooklyn Bridge,” a combination pie with pepperoni, sausage and veggies. Nine “Primo” pies go even further into adventurous territory, featuring topping variations like goat cheese, marinated zucchini and artichoke hearts.

Pagliacci’s speciality is pizza, but if you aren’t in the mood for their signature crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside crust, there’s also a modest menu of salad, lasagna and calzone. The Pagliaccio salad includes green leaf lettuce, garbanzo beans, diced red pepper, cheese, salami, and red onion, tossed with a tangy dijon vinagrette. Vegetarian or sausage lasagna are served with a rosemary seasoned breadstick. Calzone can be ordered in a vegetarian variety containing ricotta and mozzarella, mushrooms, sweet fried peppers and onions, or meat lovers can add Canadian bacon, prosciutto, Italian sausage, marinated chicken or salami to the mix.

The combination of self-serve and sit-down restaurant service takes some getting used to. While diners place their orders at the front counter and seat themselves, as in a typical fast food establishment, food is brought to the table by a server. Instead of a self-service beverage area, glasses are filled by staff from behind the front counter. Diners have to return to the front to request refills from an available employee; during the busy dinner rush this resulted in a line of customers waiting for refills while their food cooled back at their tables.

There are always small glitches that need to be worked out when any new business opens. A member of our group went up front to inquire what had become of our calzone order — and our receipt that was supposed to arrive with our pizza. But we didn’t expect we’d wait several more minutes for the order, or that when it was finally brought out, it wasn’t what we’d originally ordered — or right from the oven. While the filling and the golden brown crust were delicious, as was the rest of the meal, the service left our group lukewarm.