I found a place that makes pizza like it was in the 1970’s!

******* I AM NOT A FOOD CRITIC, AND I HAVE NOT BEEN COMPENSATED IN ANY WAY FOR POSTING THIS BLOG…I AM JUST A FAT GUY WHO LOVES A GOOD PIZZA …AND THIS ONE WAS SO GOOD I HAD TO TELL OTHERS ABOUT IT!

Remember pepperoni pizza back in the 70’s??? Thick little slices of pepperoni that curled up in the oven…crispy edges…little pools of grease and cheese in the middle…For decades I have dreamed of pizzas like that. The last one I had was at Bob’s Pizza in Bath back in the early 80’s.

After Bob closed his shop, I figured I would never find pizza like that again! And then last week, on a trip to LaGrange we decided to stop into LaGrange General Store for some sandwiches to eat on the ride home.

Once inside, we discovered Bishop’s Market. My wife and son decided it would be better to sit and eat. They ordered a pizza, but I had just had pizza a few days before, so I decided on a sandwich.

As soon as the pizza started cooking, I began to doubt my choice. The smell of cheese and oregano was almost intoxicating. And then? Then the pizza came out. And I squealed like a little girl when I saw it!012

It was the image I have in my mind when I think of the word, “PIZZA!”… Thick gooey cheese, a thick crispy outer edge on the crust, and the old style pepperoni!  Complete with crispy edges, and little pools of grease and cheese!014

I told my wife and son they would have to share.  There was NO way I was missing out on this!  Even if the sauce, and crust turned out to be a let down, just to taste one of those wonderful little pepperoni slices would be pure bliss!015

I grabbed a slice, and risking 4th degree burns, I bit into it…  AMAZING!  The sauce was rich and flavorful with bits of garlic, and a generous amount of oregano.  The cheese was thick, and smooth.  And that pepperoni?  Thick, and wonderful!  The edges made a satisfying crunch as I chewed, and the thickness of the slice allowed for intense flavor, that wasn’t overly spicy like a lot of pepperoni I find these days!  I ended up eating 2 slices.  I couldn’t help it!  It was that good!

So if you are out in LaGrange, and you crave pizza they way it was when I was a kid, you owe it to yourself to stop into Bishop’s Diner!  I’m already trying to find a reason to go back!024

Doug Alley

About Doug Alley

I grew up in Bath, Maine in an upper lower class family with 3 step sisters, a step brother, and a little sister. After high school I spent 3 years serving in the USAF at Elmendorf AFB in Anchorage AK. I've competed in, and won, demolition derbies. I've competed in, and never won, stock car races. I am the 47-year-old father of an 11-year-old boy who is pretty sure he is smarter than I ever was. We live on a little less than an acre of land in a 1973 mobile home in Stetson with my wife Jen, some cats, a few chickens, and rabbits, and a couple of goats. I hunt, fish, camp out, dabble in photography, gardening, and I cook in variable degrees of near success.