Local eatery offers bargain choices

Straw Hat Pizza offers students a nearby gourmet pizza choice and is located in the College Center shopping plaza within walking distance of Contra Costa College at 2300 El Portal Drive.  
While prices for pizzas range from $4.49 to $19.99, Straw Hat boasts genuine California pizza with its layered and flaky crust, airy and crispy on the bottom with a cracker-like crunch with every bite.

The crust is particularity so on the Lemon Pepper Chicken pizza, which features spiced chicken with zucchini, onion, cilantro and creamy white sauce. The different blends of cheese mixed in makes it by far the best pizza of the 12 master pizzas Straw Hat has on its menu.

The master pizzas include the Mexicali, a southern Hispanic take on gourmet pizza featuring chorizo, bell peppers and jalapenos, and the Chicken Bacon Ranch pizza, which offers a creamy ranch sauce — among many others.

Several of the master pizzas on the menu are similar to each other.

For example, The Works option is much like the Meat-E-Or Pizza, as both offer many different meat toppings.

Another example would be the California Veggie and Classic Veggie pizzas, which only have slight differences. Cajun spices, zucchini and broccoli are absent from the Classic Veggie, while artichoke, bell peppers and olives are present on the California Veggie.

Despite the repetition on the pizza side of the menu, stuffed sandwiches, known as Hot Hats, make up for any dissatisfaction one may encounter while at Straw Hat.

Made with pizza toppings baked in gourmet pizza dough until golden brown, then sprinkled with sesame seeds, the Hot Hat sandwiches beat any calzone offered at pizza joints in the area, with the exception of Americana’s extensive calzone menu, that beats out Straw Hat’s.

Inside Straw Hat, the restaurant provides a spacious and comfortable atmosphere and has a nice offering of billiards and arcade games including a Simpson’s pinball game.

The cashiers offer a knowledgeable range of the pizzas presented on the menu and their ingredients to customers who can’t quite decide what to order. And a complete salad bar is available too.