"Where Olmsted County News Comes First"

28

Should the Vikings be able to use the University of Minnesota’s TCF Bank Stadium?

 Yes

 No

 I don't care


View Results

Comments

While O’Neill’s Pizza Pub sounds like the perfect place to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day every year, and I’m sure it is, I have only been there on several other occasions and found it to be fantastic any time of the year.

Located in the Crossroads Shopping Center since 2005, this restaurant brings a huge dining attraction to Southwest Rochester. Right as you walk through the front door, you see the massive kitchen to your right. I always appreciate restaurants where you can see the kitchen, especially when you see it is clean and bright like at O’Neill’s Pizza Pub. And, I think most patrons like to see where their food is being prepared.

Then, as the host guides you back to your choice of tons of seating options, you realize how big this place really is.

I happened to stop by on Friday, January 11, the day of our company Christmas party, and I was in the mood for something different. While O’Neill’s Pizza Pub is generally well known for their subs and pizzas, I scanned the menu for something I hadn’t eaten in a while.

Ahh, there it was! Cheese ravioli sounded like a hearty meal.

So, I watched people come and go, while I chatted with the server as he stopped by to see if I need anything else.

I can’t recall the servers name, but we had a great conversation. What I do recall is that he was a big sports fan and he graduated from Stewartville. It didn’t matter what sports and at what level, he knew his stuff. I was immediately thinking this guy could write a sports column for our newspaper.

Then, as I was taking in the atmosphere, I saw a man I recognized from high school, and we struck up a conversation about going to school together. He graduated from John Marshall High School and I graduated from Mayo High School.

Seriously, O’Neill’s Pizza Pub felt like an episode of Cheers. I could get used to this place.

Well, when the cheese ravioli arrived, it was something to write home about. Smothered in a blanket of hot cheese and swimming in a pool of meatless sweet sauce, the pasta squares were melded with a wonderful combination. And, the garlic bread was awesome, too, as I used it to swipe a few more traces of the sauce.

As I was preparing to pay my bill and head for the hills, I thanked the server and told him I appreciate the conversation and food. I asked him if he anticipated a busy night, and he said, “Oh, yeah, they were getting ready for the JM faculty Christmas party.”

As I was driving away from O’Neill’s Pizza Pub on my way to our company Christmas party, I was thinking about how great it is to see that Rochester has so many restaurants to choose from, and how this one restaurant really fills a niche like no other.

If you are looking for more information about O’Neill’s Pizza Pub, you can visit http://oneillspizzapub.com. On that website, you’ll see their full menu. They are very concerned with serving the needs of many customers, so they do have a vegan menu as well as gluten free options. You don’t find many restaurants that go out of their way to make those options available. Again, their location is in the Crossroads Shopping Center, their phone number is 507-529-1200, and they are open Tuesday through Saturday at 11:30 a.m.