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| Thin dish sausage pizza at Bugsy's |
Bugsy's Pizza Restaurant and Sports Bar has been around forever. After retiring from the NHL (as a Washington Capital) in 1979, Bryan Watson opened Bugsy's four years later with his wife Lindy, and the pair has been serving pizza and beers to a loyal following ever since. Their luncheon buffet is legendary... still only $7.45 for all you can eat pizza and salad. My buddy Sam and I make a point to visit every now and then; and it's amazing how little has changed since the first time I visited back in the late 80's.
It hasn't always been named Bugsy's. Before 1998, the upstairs bar was known as the Penalty Box and the lower level restaurant was Armand's Chicago Pizzeria. Growing up, Armand's was pizza royalty; so it's nice to see the familiar recipe still around. Service is really good from the host station to our longtime server who's been here for more than 25 years. The cooks are another story... It takes a bit of prodding to get hot pizza; but every now and then, they surprise you and take requests. Not today however. I went up three times after my initial two slices of thin dish sausage, but only came away with one additional slice (it was admittedly slow, but we found the same pizzas each time.)
My pizza was pretty terrific (it almost always is.) I asked for a deep dish sausage and pepperoni, but the cook just stared in the distance and nodded. Needless to say, it never appeared. That's a shame, as I'd love to recommend both deep and thin dish: Maybe Bryan can check his cook "into the boards" and shake some new pizzas out of him. Only time will tell: I'm sure we'll be back next year.
Atmosphere: B (It hasn't changed in 25 years; but that suits me just fine.)
Service: B (Top notch from our waiter and hostess... Cooks seemed oblivious.)
Crust: B+ (Thin dish was fantastic. Didn't get a chance to taste deep dish.)
Toppings: B (Really good cheese, pretty good sausage and so-so sauce.)
Value: A ($7.45 a person? How can you beat that?)
Overall: B (I Wish I could go higher... but cant, due to the kitchen's shortcomings.)
