There's someone in Clover my sister and I are so happy we met -- The Pizza Man on Bethel Street.
OK, we didn't really get to meet "The Pizza Man," owner of the smoke-free, alcohol-free, family-friendly pizza hall with six billiards tables, Skee Ball and arcade games.
But we did meet the head cook, Shawn Latta.
And we watched him work in the open-view kitchen, which resembling the restaurant's logo of an Italian man tossing dough in the air. It's always fun to see.
Better yet is the pizza The hand-tossed dough bakes into a wonderful crust. The Pizza Man does it right.
In fact, after my sister and I ate our order from The Man Pizza (with everything, and I mean everything) and cheese sticks, she said she could forgo the pizza for just the dough. Yep, it's that good. There won't be crust wasted here.
But I don't recommend ordering just the crust. The toppings on our The Man Pizza -- pepperoni, Italian sausage, Canadian bacon, beef, ham, onions, green peppers, tomatoes, jalapeno and banana peppers, mushrooms, extra cheese and black olives -- were fresh and blended together for a flavorful, tasty slice of heaven. Or in my case, two slices of heaven.
The pizza is light on red sauce, which is OK, because we could enjoy the taste of each topping and, of course, the crust.
"That's the best pizza I've had down here," my sister said. We hail from Elmira, N.Y., where great pizza is easy to find. In fact, The Pizza Man's pizza is similar to an icon back home called Pudgie's. It's not greasy, not thin slice, with a sweeter sauce, and just like homemade.
Pizzas come in four sizes: small 8-inch for $6.99, medium 12-inch for $14.99, large 14-inch for $15.99, or extra large 16-inch for $17.99. However, right now, every day The Pizza Man is open there is a large special: $10 Monday-Wednesday or $12.99 Thursday-Sunday. The Man Pizza costs $2 more.
Of course, we had more than the pizza. We tried an order of cheese sticks ($4.99) and teriyaki with a kick Buffalo wings ($6.99). The Pizza Man also offers breadsticks and stromboli and calzone ($6.99 regular or $12.99 family).
The cheese sticks aren't really sticks. It's really a small pizza, an actual white pizza, with just garlic and cheese like mom used to make. She loved it, naturally.
I savored the wings. Coming 12 to an order, they are huge. The wings come in boy (hot), man (extra hot), barbecue with a kick and our order of teriyaki with a kick.
The slathering of teriyaki and wing sauce dipped in excellent homemade bleu cheese had me begging for more. The wings seemed baked -- not greasy, not crunchy -- perfect.
We took home enough for another two meals each! Everything was good cold or re-heated, too.
While you can get an order to go or delivered in the Clover area, you'd miss out on all The Pizza Man fun. I'm already making plans to bring friends along and spend more time playing some of the games, including pool, which cost 75 cents per game, $3 for 30 minutes or $5 for one hour.
The Pizza Man has hometown charm, like it's been here forever. The gray walls bear the painted words "Clover Blue Eagles" and there are even a few signs for other local businesses. There are five booth-style seats, three large tables and bar-style seating (but again, no alcohol served here), with views of three large televisions.
The welcome from the staff, especially Clover-native Latta, is Southern hospitality at its best.
To get into The Pizza Man, you'll have to park on Main Street and walk through the front entrance, or park in the back alley, and come through the big white door.
The Pizza Man definitely tops our list of hometown favorite restaurants. The bottom line, we felt at home and The Pizza Man made us happy.
