Trying out Monical's Pizza in Prairie Crossing

Monical's Sausage Green Pepper, Onion, Olives and Tomatoes

By Linda Winters

One pizza place that’s probably overlooked in the midst of all the other pizza places in Springfield is Monical’s.  As my boyfriend and I were coming off the interstate, we passed by Prairie Crossing and he claimed that he had always wanted to try Monical’s but it was off the beaten path for him.  I told him I was game if he was and so we pulled in since we hadn’t eaten dinner.

As we walked in there was a nicely stationed counter with a friendly hostess asking how many were in our party.  There was a view of the kitchen where the cooks were diligently making up pizzas.  We were directed towards a booth which was very comfortable I might add…not like some that you sink into.  The place was tastefully decorated (no pun intended) and huge.  There was soft music playing in the background that wasn’t annoying (you may not even realize they were playing music) and you could easily make conversation.. Although the room we ate in was somewhat intimate with table and booth settings, they had another larger room where I guess you would hold parties.  The restaurant is somewhat family-oriented but groups of people of all ages were dining.  It was very homey and very clean I might add.

We were given our menus and I noticed there were lots of toppings to choose from as well as many other meals to eat.  We chose a medium (14-inch) pizza with sausage, green pepper, onion, olives and tomatoes.

When our pizza arrived a short time later, we devoured it.  It was so delicious.  We couldn’t stop eating. As you can see, I took a picture just in time before we ate too much. The crust was very crispy and I noticed the toppings were on top of the cheese (which was the good cheese, not the cheap cheese that some places use).  Also, the veggies were very fresh.  I could imagine the cooks chopping up the onions, green peppers and tomatoes.  The sausage was nicely sweet.  It even had seasonings on top.  It reminded me of a fresh pizza that you would make at home only tastier.  Also, get this…it wasn’t a bit greasy!!!  How do they do that??   The pizza wasn’t overly filling and we ate all but two pieces which I took home.  I might add that upon eating the leftovers, the pizza still tasted great and the veggies still tasted fresh!!!  This is very exciting to me as I love fresh produce.

Needless to say, we were impressed with this place and I’m rating it a 9.5.  We are definitely dining here again and I can’t wait!

Linda's SPP Rating 9.5