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33 replies

Stephano's - Pizza and Sandwiches

E e 2Hall of Famer
Reposting here to start the thread:

I want to echo what a couple of others said about the pizza at Stephano's. I worked there for years (in the old location). I was a customer there before that time, and I've continued to eat there regularly since that time.

Here are a few secrets to their pizza. First, they make batches of dough - from scratch - several times a day. (Chain pizza places often start with frozen slabs that they thaw out.) Secondly, they SLICE fresh hunks of REAL mozzarella cheese. (Many of those chain pizza places resort to cheap "imitation processed cheese food" junk.) So, from the start, you've got to have made-from-scratch dough and real mozzarella cheese. Real cheese is real important. Their pizza sauce is also home-made; it's NOT bought by the bucket from some food distributor.

Their toppings, the veggies and all, are cut fresh several times a day. And the italian sausage? The owner's wife's UNCLE supplies it regularly, as he makes it himself. The restaurant really is a family endeavor.

Finally, they don't skimp on the size. At least at the previous location, the "medium" was 2 inches larger than a Domino's "large" at the time - and LOADED with the toppings. You will leave knowing that not only did you get your money's worth, but even more. I remember families coming, especially those with teenage boys (big eaters), and talking about how they finally found a pizza place that served a pizza big enough to fill everyone up without having to order 3 or 4 just to do that and breaking the bank!

I highly recommend the place. Their sandwiches are equally great, by the way.
"Ignorance is excusable when it is borne like a cross, but when it is wielded like an axe, and with moral indignation, then it becomes something else indeed. " ~Flannery O'Connor
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eirinnaigneeirinnaigneMember
It's great that their food is of such good quality; the problem I have is they are open for such a short time. This is the same issue I have with the New Orleans Transfer. Their food is delicious but they are only opened for lunch between 11am and 2pm Monday thru Friday. Lunches at my office tend to be hectic and not necessarily always structured right at lunch time. It's just hard to eat at either of these places unless you are already planning to eat there.
mandomamamandomamaHall of Famer
A couple of questions:

1. When and why did they move to Sheffield from Court St.?
2. After they started the buffet, it seemed the quality of food was not quite as good. (Of course this was a while back, mid to late 90's). Are they up to the level they were when they were in the tiny little spot on Seminary Street?

If so, I can say that Stephano's is definitely my favorite place to eat in the Shoals.
E e 2Hall of Famer
Mandomama,
I'm very familiar with the restaurant, though from many years back. My best guess at your first question (and only a guess) from what I know and have heard is that it was for financial reasons.

Here's a rough description of the history of the restaurant. They started out in that little place on Seminary Street, became quite popular for obvious reasons, and moved to the Court Street location. Once on Court St., they offered a full lunch menu which included sandwiches, pizza, and italian entrees. The dinner menu focused on the main entrees and pizza. In the early 90s, they opted to put out a small pizza buffet for the lunch crowd (3 pizzas at any one time). It was popular. In 1994, they added some main dishes, lasagna included, alongside the pizza for a "lunch buffet." In late 1994 (or was it the early months of 1995) they added a salad bar. People loved it. The lunch crowd could make a huge salad just like the wanted, and the dinner crowd could pick and choose what they wanted rather than the typical dinner salad that would ordinarily come with a meal. Then they quickly expanded into a full (though relatively very small) buffet option during the lunch hours. This generally had some minestrone, a pasta salad, the salad bar, the very popular lasagna, another entree (like a chicken/pasta/cheese dish), several side dishes, bread, and a dessert (rice pudding was a regular). This option was hugely popular among the lunch regulars who wanted to pay $6.00 for all they could eat and get out in time to get back to work.

They made a change some time later to serve "Subway" style during lunch. That is to say, customers went up to the register, ordered their food, paid, filled their own drink, took it to the table, etc., with no servers on board. Dinner continued as usual. I feel that the option to drop the servers led to a downfall in business, but that's just a personal speculation. Years passed, and eventually I think that finances led to the move. (There may have been a reference in the TD to one of the owners and finances, though I can't assert that without having it in front of me.)

I don't think the quality of the ORDERED FROM THE MENU options went down after the buffet. It was the same recipe, same cooks, same ingredients, same everything. I do, however, agree with you that, for example, the lasagna people might get from the buffet wasn't quite up to par with the lasagna they would get if they had ordered off the menu and had it individually prepared for them. Such is the nature of buffets. It's not as fresh, and it's made in larger proportions. Again, the nature of the beast... You get what you pay for.

The sandwiches at the Court Street location were always as good as they were at the Seminary St. location, as were the pizzas and everything else they had on the menu at the time. At the new location in Town Plaza, everything is still the same that you remember from the old place on Seminary Street.

You can't go wrong with any pizza you want. If you're looking for a sandwich, I recommend the Chicago Fire (I can't remember if that's the name they still call it), the Reuben, or the Veggie, but they're all good.
Enjoy!
Tw0PenniesToYaTw0PenniesToYaHall of Famer
Well...first and foremost my apologies to traderc. I went to Stephano's this past weekend and he did indeed drop the steak from his menu (and sadly the Scatchia sp?) due to lack of interest. I will maintain that it is a shame for you to have missed it. To answer your question drumwrite1, the hours are 11:00-8:00 Monday thru Thursday and 11:00-9:00 Friday and Saturday. I hope this was helpful.
Y yankeegrammaPost Master
I have just gotten around to trying Stephano's pizza.They are very good.It is the best pizza that I have tasted since being down here.I'm sorry that I haven't tried them sooner.They have the added benefit of being very close to my home.The only complaint that I have is that they don't deliver.If ya'll haven't tried Stephano's give them a try!
Tw0PenniesToYaTw0PenniesToYaHall of Famer
Yankee, I'm glad you enjoyed the pizza, hopefully it was ordered and not off the buffet. Steve's sandwiches are very good as well especially the one's 'e' mentioned which I think are all still on the menu. I personally love the Italian Sub which I "sop" in his Thousand Island dressing. I still drop by when I get a chance for a sub or a scatchia when he is there and I can talk him into making me one...dang, I'm getting hungry just thinking of one of those!
E eHall of Famer
quote:
Originally posted by FirenzeVeritas:
I'm glad to know they are still around. I have asked several people, and no one knew where they were. I always loved their roast beef. Two of my more adventurous friends always went for the tongue and the Chicago Fire (or whatever it was called at Stephano's).


Tongue? Confused I'm confused...
Tw0PenniesToYaTw0PenniesToYaHall of Famer
Yes, the fact that Stephano's remained dry did hurt his business. He would allow customers to bring their own bottle of wine in, though, I'm not sure if that was "legal" and I dont' care and I know he didn't care. As for the Everybody likes a little Tonque now and then..., Steve used to say everyone likes a little ass now and then but no one likes a little smart ass! I'm sure I'm going to have to edit this. Hell, I'm going to go ahead and post and edit with my next post since I don't get to see exactly how this looks before it "goes before the jury" so to speak".
monstermonsterHall of Famer
when I lived just off campus, I'd run down and get a savior sized pepperoni pizza (them things were huge!) and a dozen mini loafs, and I'd have lunch for a week. the last time I was in, he said if demand were there, he might bring the mini loafs back.

and that was the best butter! it was good on the pizza crusts too. I feel my cholesterol rising just thinking about it.
FirenzeVeritasFirenzeVeritasOld Faithful
Since I found out where they were re-located, I had lunch there friday. They no longer had my favorite sandwich, but the ham sub I finally decided on was ab-fab and priced reasonably. They also had photos of Firenze on both walls, not me that is, but one of Florence, Italy, and one of my hometown (an old Landrum panorama--very nice). Their buffet looked great, so everyone should go by and try it.
O olwiggumHall of Famer
Yesterday, I went there for the first time since they moved across the river. Am I behind or what? Smiler

My wife and I couldn't decide what to get, so we got several things and split them. We got the roast beef sandwich (I forgot the menu name), chicken wings, and side orders or buffalo fries and onion rings.

I didn't have a complaint about anything we got. Very good stuff all around.

We had our minds set on a meat and 3, but all of the places that we drove by were closed (Momma Jeans, Garden Gate, J Fiddlers) so I guess it worked to our advantage. Smiler We'll definitely be going back.
S SHELDIVRPost Master
The first, last and only time I went to Stephano's, they were located on Court St. and business was very good. When we arrived, people were waiting to be seated. The first thing I noticed was that customers they knew were seated before people who had been waiting for a table. The next thing I noticed was that they served the food we ordered to a nearby table that was seated after we ordered, then hastily threw together food for us that was sub par, with a lame apology about the mix up.
Thank goodness for Pizza Marina... Cool
D doobiebrother88Hall of Famer
quote:
Originally posted by e:
Mandomama,
I'm very familiar with the restaurant, though from many years back. My best guess at your first question (and only a guess) from what I know and have heard is that it was for financial reasons.

Here's a rough description of the history of the restaurant. They started out in that little place on Seminary Street, became quite popular for obvious reasons, and moved to the Court Street location. Once on Court St., they offered a full lunch menu which included sandwiches, pizza, and italian entrees. The dinner menu focused on the main entrees and pizza. In the early 90s, they opted to put out a small pizza buffet for the lunch crowd (3 pizzas at any one time). It was popular. In 1994, they added some main dishes, lasagna included, alongside the pizza for a "lunch buffet." In late 1994 (or was it the early months of 1995) they added a salad bar. People loved it. The lunch crowd could make a huge salad just like the wanted, and the dinner crowd could pick and choose what they wanted rather than the typical dinner salad that would ordinarily come with a meal. Then they quickly expanded into a full (though relatively very small) buffet option during the lunch hours. This generally had some minestrone, a pasta salad, the salad bar, the very popular lasagna, another entree (like a chicken/pasta/cheese dish), several side dishes, bread, and a dessert (rice pudding was a regular). This option was hugely popular among the lunch regulars who wanted to pay $6.00 for all they could eat and get out in time to get back to work.

They made a change some time later to serve "Subway" style during lunch. That is to say, customers went up to the register, ordered their food, paid, filled their own drink, took it to the table, etc., with no servers on board. Dinner continued as usual. I feel that the option to drop the servers led to a downfall in business, but that's just a personal speculation. Years passed, and eventually I think that finances led to the move. (There may have been a reference in the TD to one of the owners and finances, though I can't assert that without having it in front of me.)

I don't think the quality of the ORDERED FROM THE MENU options went down after the buffet. It was the same recipe, same cooks, same ingredients, same everything. I do, however, agree with you that, for example, the lasagna people might get from the buffet wasn't quite up to par with the lasagna they would get if they had ordered off the menu and had it individually prepared for them. Such is the nature of buffets. It's not as fresh, and it's made in larger proportions. Again, the nature of the beast... You get what you pay for.

The sandwiches at the Court Street location were always as good as they were at the Seminary St. location, as were the pizzas and everything else they had on the menu at the time. At the new location in Town Plaza, everything is still the same that you remember from the old place on Seminary Street.

You can't go wrong with any pizza you want. If you're looking for a sandwich, I recommend the Chicago Fire (I can't remember if that's the name they still call it), the Reuben, or the Veggie, but they're all good.
Enjoy!


i think ricatoni's was the death of stephano's, that and the fact they didnt serve alcohol.

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