About a week or so ago, there was an electrical fire at my house. While the various contractors and electricians work hard to get things up to municipal muster—at least to the point where it will pass the draconian inspection processes of the city overseers—I’ve been stuck down in the Oklahoma countryside again, with the most metropolitan area nearby being Noble, Oklahoma.
There are very few places to dine around here, most of which I’ve already reviewed—that is, of course, except for the hot and ready pizza parlour, Pizza Peddlers. That being said, after having tried Noble’s favorite pizza—since 1985, natch—mostly out of journalistic desperation, I can say unequivocally that it is definitively the best pizza in Noble, Oklahoma.
Sure, it’s really the only pizza in Noble, Oklahoma, but, still, it’s some darn good pizza.
Situated in the middle of town at 118 N. Main St., with neon signs in the window for Schlitz and Budweiser—even though they seemingly don’t serve any brews—the inside is very much like the owners went budget-consciously crazy at a theme restaurant’s going out of business sale, with mismatched items such as a bomb from the Memphis Belle, a mostly problematic stone Native American and, why not, the Blues Brothers captured mid-performance.
But ignore the pop-goes-the-culture décor and instead focus on the righteous food, starting with their made-to-order pizza. When I went in for lunch a few days ago, I expected to get a $3 slice of whatever rubbery sliver was under the heating lamp, but the woman working the counter sweetly filled me in on the lunch special of a personal pizza, usually $7.99, for only five bucks—can’t beat that if you tried.
With a gracious offering of toppings or even the specialty pizza selections to choose from, I decided on the “Peddler’s Favorite” personal pizza as well as, for later, an oven-baked “Sooner Sandwich” ($6.99). The menu had plenty of other selections that would keep anyone trapped in this town due to the flammable ferocity of combustible materials mostly well-fed and barely panic-stricken, filling their belly for days with things like soups, salads and gyros.
Sitting next to the caricature-like Jake Blues sculpture, my Sooner Sandwich surprisingly hit the table first. Consisting of cool slices of hickory-smoked turkey, roast beef, Swiss and cheddar cheese, as well as the typical fare of tomatoes, lettuce and mayo, all situated on an over-sized oven-baked foot-long French roll—I think from La Baguette bakery, probably—it wasn’t a gargantuan monster, but it was definitely a satisfying troll of sorts.
To be honest though, I’m not exactly sure how this sandwich and it’s odd combination of meats and cheeses represents “Sooner” culture; it does, however, a good job of representing sandwich culture in Noble, far more than any soggy footlong from, say, Subway ever could.
Boxing up the Sooner for consumption later, the personal pizza was delivered soon thereafter. Even though I haven’t read all of the books on my generic Book It! list from the library, still, I felt like a real reader-leader with this winning individual pizza selection; the Peddler’s Favorite had a deliciously fresh crust, covered with spicy marinara, as well as dense mozzarella, enough pepperoni and Canadian bacon to please anyone, as well as ‘za faves including mushrooms, bell peppers and onions.
Cut into fours and served steaming, with each zippy slice, the Peddler’s Favorite soon became my favorite—even though I’ve only had just one of their pizzas. As I was leaving, there was a guy in the back, spinning the pizza dough high in the air; having never seen that in real life before, I smiled wide on my way out and, for a few minutes, almost forgot that I’m still stuck in Noble. Anyone want to visit the Rose Rock Museum with me? Cómpralo ya!
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