Vic's Pizza Redux

OK, so it's been a while since I made a trip down Peoria road to have a pie at Vic's Pizza.  A trivia night at Benedictine University to benefit the women's softball team brought myself and some friends  back into the friendly north end establishment for a pre-contest dinner and a few drinks.  

Where They're Located: 

2025 Peoria Rd
Springfield, IL

Call 'Em:  (217) 522-2464

The Pizzas:  Bacon & Tomato, Sausage & Pepperoni and Buffalo Chicken

The Crust: Thin

Bacon & tomato / Sausage & green pepper

 The Dish:  Vic's was invaded by my 10 person trivia team on a Saturday night, ready to pound some pizza, have a few cold ones and sling plenty of one-liners.  We rolled in just before the dinner crowd (which wasn't too bad) and got our orders in with much patience and understanding from our server.  We kept her on her toes much of the night keeping our drink orders straight and by ordering a pizza that wasn't even on the menu.... which the kitchen still found a way to make.  The Buffalo chicken pizza was not a menu item, but one guy in our party couldn't make it through a meal without having something to dip into ranch dressing so we asked and Vic's kindly delivered.  We weren't an easy group to take care of, so I must say the service we received was awfully good.  We didn't wait long for our pies and we didn't wait at all for fresh drinks.

Josh Cole and Ryan Kuethe enjoying Vic's

How'd it eat?  The bacon & tomato and sausage & green pepper were the first pies delivered to the table, fresh and hot.  They were absolutely slathered with toppings from edge to edge.  I had to giggle a little as we had a few in the party near me who refuse to eat vegetables or tomato as they tried in vain to find a piece with none of each or one that was easy for them to pick the toppings off.  Holding this plethora of fresh toppings together like so much spackle was a thick layer of mozzarella cheese.  Unlike fresh mozzarella this pasteurized version doesn't have a strong flavor of it's own but it does absorb and enhance the flavors of the toppings embedded in it.  This pizza sat on a strong crust that held up well to the heavily laid toppings and delivered them with a nice, subtle flavor of olive oil.  

Bringing together the toppings, cheese and crust was a savory, neutral pizza sauce with a hint of garlic and oregano.  Not one of the top pizza sauces I've had but it was pretty good.  Overall, a fine offering from Vic's.

Buffalo chicken pie

We also enjoyed the thrown together version of Buffalo chicken pizza.  It was a flavorful pie covered with chunks of chicken, loads and loads of pizza cheese and what appeared to be a hybrid mix of tomato based pizza sauce and a pepper and butter based buffalo sauce.  It produced a bold, spicy taste tempered slightly by the gooey cheese and crispy crust.  Not too spicy hot but more zesty than anything.  We enjoyed this little delight so much we suggested it immediately be added to the menu for the enjoyment of others.    

Vic's has bounced back in the last few years and is producing some tremendous pizza once again.  This is good news to me as Vic's was the first local pizza I enjoyed after my move to Springfield nearly 14 years ago.  I'm looking forward to more Vic's pies.

SPP rating:  7.9