The Pizza Snob sees every road trip as an opportunity to try some new pizza. It’s a thrill that I enjoy like it was my birthday. This road trip was to see Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit in concert at the lovely Tivoli Theater just a few hours down the interstate from Nashville in Chattanooga.
A few years back, I had a pretty slick slice in Chattanooga at a place called Community Pie. But, my searching for this adventure came up with slim pickings. In fact, my first choice, a place called Lupi’s Pizza Pies, was boarded up and closed. My distant second choice was Mr. T’s Pizza and Ice Cream on the south side of town, and it proved to be one that I would have been better off passing on.
Despite our concert excitement, my running buddy and I had to deal with a nasty rainy day as we travelled from Nashville. We easily found Mr. T’s on a main drag and pulled into their adjacent parking lot. If they had anything going for them, it was their sweet location directly across the street from the tourist destination of the Lookout Mountain Incline Railway.
Seeing the giant replica of an ice cream cone atop their roof, I was certain Mr. T’s attracts many children eager for an ice cream treat after their journey up and down the mountain. (The ice cream shop right next to the railway entrance probably has the same idea.) Hopefully, those happy kids went for a cone rather than a slice of Mr. T’s pizza.
It was late afternoon, and the quite busy Mr. T’s did not offer any slices. I was mildly encouraged when I saw their pre-made pie crusts on the counter that looked optimistically thin. My buddy and I chose to split a large pie that was half plain cheese for me and half of some kind of meat for him. I also went for an ordinary salad. Well, the crust and cheese on Mr. T’s pie puffed up mighty big, and both pizza and salad wound up being quite dismal. I unfortunately suffered the embarrassment of bringing my friend to such a disappointing place.
Our pizza was woefully over-cheesed so much so that it couldn’t even stick to the crust. Said crust also had no crispness to it whatsoever, and the slices flopped big time getting things quite messy when you tried to pick one up. As off as this pie was, you start to think about how bad can pizza taste? After all, it’s just cheese, sauce and dough. So, I ate a few slices for what they were worth, trying to enjoy the taste somewhat, but begrudgingly knowing this pizza was sad. I just didn’t enjoy it. The bland taste of the cheese made even me cringe.
This was a clear case of the risk one takes when eating pizza so far from New York City. And, oh yeah, the ice cream was nothing original and just the Mayfield brand served out of tubs. Ice cream still probably would have been the better choice.
PIZZA SNOB RATING ** Why Did I Waste Those Calories?
Mr. T’s Pizza and Ice Cream
3924 Tennessee Avenue
Chattanooga, TN 37409
423-821-5084
www.mrtspizza.com
The Pizza Snob 
It’s a real shame you didn’t make it to Lupi’s. They have several other locations, and their downtown store is just temporarily closed for expansion. We eat there about once a month. We also enjoy New York Pizza Dept up the road in Hixson. It was opened by two brothers who were annoyed you couldn’t get a slice in this town of the quality they wanted.
As for Mr. T’s, I agree completely. The sign came from the building’s previous occupant, a Kay’s Kastles ice cream parlor. There were once dozens of Kay’s Kastles around eastern TN, and northern AL and GA, but only one remains today, up in Soddy-Daisy. You still see the big cone signs at other businesses here and there, like Ice Castle in Dalton.
Thanks much for the info and long-time support. Much appreciated.