Pizza Hut...Draft Beer served at 39-degrees

For a lot of people beer and pizza go together naturally. For me, I usually drink soda with pizza.

I, starting with the teenage social pizza, then the stretch the food budget college pizza, through a six hour radio disc jockey shift all night pizza, and now, take the family out for pizza, have always ordered soda.

Today for lunch at the Pizza Hut located at 4710 East Speedway, I ordered a Bud Light to go with the pizza and salad buffet. The beer came in a 16 oz glass mug and registered 39 degrees.

I told my brother Ed, who I was dining with, that there was not much to write about the decor and atmosphere of a Pizza Hut. “You would probably have the same experience in Sacramento or Srcanton,” I said. He pointed out that the art on the wall was, while unique, consistent throughout the restaurant. I noticed that all the patrons were relaxed, smiling and having a good time. Our waiter was friendly and quick and worked the entire restaurant with ease.

Ed told me that Brent Kyte, the owner of the Pizza Hut franchise in Tucson was a great guy. Pizza Hut has been the only business that has made a donation to Musicale Regale, the fundraiser for the Tucson Arizona Boys Chorus, every year since it’s inception. “You should pump him up,” Ed said. (Done.)

The lunch buffet at Pizza Hut features two self serve stands, one for pizza and pasta and the second for salad.

I started my lunch with a trip to the salad bar which included the choice of lettuce, diced onion, quartered tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, baby carrot sticks, peppers, grated cheese and chopped bacon. Also available were cubes of jello, potato salad, peaches in syrup and cottage cheese. For toppers there were raisins, sunflower seeds, croutons and five different dressings. I made a small green salad with onion and tomato, topped with ranch dressing and sunflower seeds. I also made room for a spoonful of the potato salad.

The salad was fresh and delicious. Everything at the salad bar looked like it had just arrived for the afternoon and had not yet overstayed its welcome.

Next I sampled the pizza and pasta bar. I was lucky enough to follow the waiter as he placed two new pies on the counter, so my slices were hot and fresh. I also enjoyed the baked pasta melted with mozzarella cheese. Being that it is an “all you can eat” buffet, I went back for seconds on both the pizza and the pasta.

For dessert I had a slice of the apple strudel pizza. Hot and really, really sweet, it was the perfect end to the meal.

It was a new taste for me, pizza and beer, but I have to admit I liked it.