Few things are so universal as pizza. Michael Scott recognized it: “Pizza. Great equalizer. Rich people love pizza. Poor people love pizza. White people love pizza. Black people love pizza.” 

When all that I eat is the Caf pizza though, it can be difficult to realize this solemn goodness. I’m no chef, but I don’t understand how Dining Services manages to make such overwhelmingly mediocre pizza. There isn’t much to making pizza. Maybe making dough en masse is difficult. Maybe working in Dining Services is too soul crushing to make quality food. Maybe they can just feed us whatever they want because we are stuck with their meal plan eating here. God probably knows.

Of course, I still eat the pizza from the Caf. Pizza is still pizza, and I’m not unreasonable. But when expectations are high, can I not be disappointed? Pizza should rise to the occasion. Each slice should be delicious. I do not want the merely satisfactory mix of carbs, cheese, and tomato sauce. I want the brilliance of mankind’s culinary mind. The sauce should dance on my tongue, but each Caf slice lies limp.

There is one great day each week where I find get a pizza fix. Dollar pizza day at George’s Pizza. Every Tuesday I can walk in with a crisp dollar and walk out with a beautiful, hot slice. And there’s not much to it. It’s always fresh out of the oven, the sauce has the tang of real tomato flavor, and the cheese is melty. I eat George’s Pizza because it is good, not because it is what is put in front of me. 

But it’s better, too, because George’s is a part of the community. The restaurant has been here longer than any of, making pizza longer than anyone in the Caf. (They have even advertised in The Dickinsonian way back when this paper still generated revenue.) 

Now, it’s not the best slice of pizza that you’ll have. When I was writing this column one of the editors for the Dickinsonian told me George’s is “the grossest pizza ever.” I’m not saying that this is the ideal slice or the best piece of pizza you’ll ever have. We’re in Carlisle, PA – I can only set my sights so high. I’m only in my first year, so maybe I haven’t had time to find the perfect slice here in Carlisle. If you have a strong opinion about the best slice of pizza in Carlisle, let me know. (I’ve had Miseno’s already. It’s good, but that price jump is too much for a Tuesday night excursion.) I’ll take any excuse I can get to eat pizza and to get out of the caf. 

I don’t even go to George’s every week. That’s not what makes dollar pizza day great. It’s the security that dollar pizza day provides me. Whether I need it or not, there’s a respite from Dickinson Dining and the miserable pizza they try to pass off.