Mama Mia Pizzeria! I was going for a whole Italian feel to start this one off but I've failed miserably realizing too late that I'm not at all familiar with anything Italian. (unless the Olive Garden counts witch I'm sure it doesn't) Anyways, I tried a fun little joint today called the Gondolier Pizza and Italian Restaurant. Now settle down folks don't get your granny panties in a bunch. I'm sure you're thinking "But Theresa, this is a sandwich blog, how quickly you've lost sight of what is truly important. Where will we turn now for our daily dose of delicatessens?" They serve sandwiches too. (And the masses said: "OOOHHHHH....AAAHHHHH") They actually have quite a large array of specialty sandwiches, but I'm getting ahead of myself. A little history lesson for you first.

Gondolier was first opened by a Mr. Bill Sioutis in 1974 about 20 miles from me in Cleveland, TN. Really quick before I continue, is Sioutis an Italian name? Hold on I'll google it. Talk amongst your selves. Ok, sorry about that, it is in fact an Italian name. Ok, now I can continue without being distracted.
Starting out as a small town family owned pizza show in Cleveland, (still there today, I've been there) the restaurant has expanded to about ten different locations with a menu of over 50 items that go above and beyond pizza.
As for the atmosphere of the place, it's like stepping back in time. Definitely a family run operation still to this day. Picture if you will a dimly lit, cozy restaurant that has definitely started to show its age. Walking through the doors looking to your right you can see Cousin Joey and Uncle Vitto sitting at the booth "playin' cards," both of their eyes fixed on the TV playing the boxing match. Old Mr. Siotis sitting by him self at a table with a cigar and a beer not really sayin' notin' to nobody, but watchin' everybody. It's awesome, you feel like you might witness a mob transaction or something. Don't get me wrong, it's a perfectly friendly place. You can tell that love has kept it running all these years, but isn't the picture I painted a fun one? I guess I should get to the sandwich.

Today I picked out something I'd never tried before called the Malibu Chicken Sandwich. Not what you saw coming from the Italian restaurant was it? It was good though. It consists of a huge Grecian style chicken breast grilled perfectly, topped with ham, melted provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion and dressing; served on a bun. It was really really good, it had a very Greeky feel to it. The sandwich was huge and was served with some bad ass seasoned fries. I know that alot of you out there would probably order it minus the onion. I normally would as well (not a big fan of the raw onion), BUT you don't notice it and it really blends all the flavors together for that great Grecian taste.
As far as price went, I have to say this is where I got the most food for my money. The other places I've told you about thus far have been sandwiches and chips for over six bucks. At the Gondolier I got my sandwich (huge) and lots of fries for $4.75. It really was a great deal.
As far as service went, I was pretty pleased. I called in my order ahead of time (I was on the way to work) and they had it all ready when I got there. All in all it definitely gets a 'd'oro stella' from me. (that's 'gold star' in Italian people, eatin' and learnin' don't get no better then that folks!) Until lunch time folks, della buonanotte (good night) and buono nutrire (good eating)...