Hey Mac! There’s finally a pizza-by-the-slice shop nearby! Until now, if a Macalester student wanted pizza within walking distance, the only option was Italian Pie Shoppe. Don’t get me wrong, Italian Pie Shoppe is by no means bad, and I appreciate that they offer different types of pizza (thin and thick crust). However, like almost any other Grand Ave. restaurant, it’s not the most desirable for college students looking for a cheap, quick bite ($5.50 a slice). I don’t know about you, but I’m starting to get a bit bored of Grand Ave. restaurants, and have slowly crawled up Snelling Ave. instead. Just across the street from Whole Foods on Selby Ave. is a new, New York-style by-the-slice pizza and wings shop, Tommie’s Pizza. The owner, conveniently named Tommie, is almost always found working in the shop, and it’s common for every customer to be personally welcomed.

That being said, I really appreciate the shop because it’s not trying to be anything more than a pizza shop. The restaurant is small, offers quick service and is accomodating for customers whether they want a quick bite or a long stay. While the pizza restaurant will not be open for late weekend nights, Tommie’s is a gem for a quick, cheap lunch for Macalester students. The shop serves as a fruitful oasis for college students given the surrounding overpriced restaurants. For the quality itself, the pizza doesn’t disappoint. By no means is it the best I’ve ever had, but the convenient location and price force me to contemplate going nearly every day. At $3.50 a slice, Tommie will almost certainly start a fresh pizza pie so you can have the freshest slice available.

Even though the restaurant’s name implies pizza, I dare say the wings here might be the best part of the menu. While I’m not allowed to say what the secret ingredients are, I can tell you with certainty that the dry rub used for the wings provides a unique contribution in addition to all of the classic wing sauces. In terms of flavors, the traditional buffalo wings do not disappoint. The meat is juicy and the sauce has a great combination of a peppery yet sweet profile. I think it blows the Blue Door wings out of the water. However, the best wings on the menu have to go to the garlic parmesan wings. You can still see the cheese melting on the wings when they come out of the oven, and the homemade sauce will leave you licking your fingers the whole ride home. The garlic, like many of the other ingredients used for the wings and pizza, is only cut up once the order has been placed; the quality of the ingredients will make you forget that you’re at a by-the-slice pizza shop.

While Tommie’s does not currently have their buy-one-get-one-free deal, it is anticipated to come back soon. Not to bash the Italian Pie Shoppe, but with this deal, you literally get twice the amount of pizza for half of the price. Coming soon, there will also be paninis. As finals come around, whether you need to celebrate or forget your schoolwork, I highly recommend stopping by Tommie’s to get some quick pizza and wings.