Strip mall dining can be a throw of the dice. Some good....many are almost awful.
Arrived at Del's about 1235PM. A few people had arrived before me and had placed their orders at the counter. NO table service here...you go to the counter, place your order, find a table and then go get your food when it is ready. I don't have a problem with this type of service...but Del's prices were the same as any restaurant in the Smokies with full waitstaff. Their price did not reflect my jumping up and down to get my food order. The food was expensive.
I ordered one of their two baked pasta selections, lasagna for $8.99. This included a house salad and garlic knots, Garlic
Knots: Dough tied into knots topped with Garlic Dressing. I ordered an ice water and paid for my meal. My cashier told me it would be 20 minutes. I said OK and found a seat. Time wasn't an issue since I was busy with some work and tried to use their WiFi internet. The service didn't work...but I was lucky since a neighboring business had access.
After ten minutes, my salad was ready and I retrieved it from the counter. The basic iceberg lettuce salad, black olives, green peppers and onions. On the surface it looked very good...but as I got to the bottom of the salad, I found the yellow lettuce leaves that always are bitter. Then to my shock, I found an ice cube in the middle of the plate. Obviously, they were trying to revive the old lettuce.
I finished the salad and waited for the garlic knots....they never showed up. OK...will wait a little longer. Finally at 115PM my lasagna was ready. I picked this up from the counter again and there wasn't any garlic knots. I knew that they should have been there, they knew they should be there, but offered none.
My entrée arrived in an aluminum pan. For nine bucks, I expected the lasagna to be plated. Obviously, I was mistaken. Around the edges it appeared to be very greasy. I started into my selection to find it was VERY HOT from the oven. Letting it cool a bit, I found the flavor to be very good with a meaty Bolognese sauce. The only thing this needed was the addition of salt from the table.
The interior of the restaurant was clean and tidy but very spartan. Decor was at a minimum but then again...this was a strip-mall destination. There was nothing to compel me to return to Del's Pizza.
