CHEAP EATS
Santino’s Pizza Shack: A good spot almost any time of the year
Santino’s Pizza Shack is a good spot almost any time of the year, with a dark, cool dining room right off the old-fashioned bar and a menu that includes pizza ($5.50 for a 10-inch cheese up to $23 for an 18-inch sheet), subs, chicken (wings, battered pieces, fingers and nuggets), seafood, salads and tacos. There are also dinners, including ribs and steak dinners that range from $13.25 to $16.95, but with several selections under $10, too.
When it’s hot out, though, you want to shift into summer mode, sitting outside on the fenced-off, roofed patio and pick from selections of the Clam Shack.
John, Ruth and I considered the “Santino’s Combo,” which includes corn on the cob, a bowl of chowder and either 12 lobster dainties, six clams or 15 peel-and- eat shrimp. The price was right at just $7.25. We were also impressed by the seldom-seen dandelion pizza, dressed with dandelion greens, olive oil, onion and mozzarella, from $8.25 to $14.90, depending on size, and a steak and dandelion sub, $7.25 for a whole, $4.75 for a half.
After two of us ordered soda, the server suggested we spring for a two-liter bottle to save money, which we gratefully did.
We started with a dozen clams for $8. They were tender and sweet, a bit on the small side, but we approved of that, because occasionally larger ones can be tougher.
A chopped sirloin dinner at $8.75 started with a salad, which was plain but very fresh and tasty, a combination of green olives, onion, iceberg and a pale tomato. The dinner came with garlic bread, a vegetable combo of broccoli, carrots and cauliflower, and a mound of matchstick french fries that were crispy and sizzling. The chopped sirloin was a burgerlike 8-ounce patty, “smothered,” as the menu said, with sauteed onions, mushrooms and a brown gravy that tasted canned, which is exactly what we like. It was an incredible bargain and a good choice for any hungry person.
A small chicken finger pizza, $8.50, was covered with a thick layer of mozzarella, which must have covered a coating of blue cheese. The pizza, studded with plump bits of chicken fingers, had a solid, tasty crust.
A half Royal, $4.95; $7.75 for a whole, was delicious, with a nice patty of grilled sausage. Its seemed a bit small compared to the bounty of the dinner. But the three of us shared the fries and garlic bread, and all left satisfied.
—Anne Neville
Santino’s Pizza Shack is open from 11 a. m. to 11:45 p. m. Monday through Thursday, from 11 a. m. to 12:45 p. m. Friday and Saturday, and from noon to 11:45 p. m. on Sunday. It is handicapped-accessible.
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