The Grub Scout
| For the Knoxville News Sentinel
I don’t know how long Super Mario’s Pizza has been around, but based on my first impression of the place, I’m thinking it’s been there awhile. All I know is, I had never heard of it until a couple of months ago, and I immediately added it to my to-do list. The Grub Spouse was super-busy on the evening I planned to go, so I headed to the North Broadway location on my own, having ordered from their website before leaving The Grub House.
Let’s talk menu first. Super Mario’s offers nearly two dozen specialty pizzas, including Buffalo chicken, pepper steak, supreme, the club pizza (sliced ham, turkey, bacon, tomato and onions), chicken fajita, Hawaiian, barbecue chicken, meatball, seafood and chicken Alfredo, to mention just a few. They also have several veggie-only options for those on vegetarian or vegan diets.
I decided to order a large pizza (14 inches), which starts at $14.99 for cheese only. A couple dozen toppings are available for anywhere from $1 to $3.50 each. I leveled up by adding ground beef, pepperoni, mushrooms (no, not Goombas) and onion to ours, bringing the total of our Super Mario’s cart to $20.99.
Generally speaking, the add-on ingredients run a familiar gamut, but they include jalapenos, banana peppers, artichokes, Philly steak, shrimp and crab. The website allows for fractional customization, which is what we did by having the mushrooms added to only half our pie.
Pizza, however, is only the tip of the Italian-cuisine iceberg at Super Mario’s. I spotted appetizers like fried mushrooms, loaded potato skins and Armadillo Eggs – deep-fried jalapeno peppers stuffed with cheddar cheese. We decided to try the fried cheese ravioli ($5.99).
Other menu groupings feature quite a few salads (including Greek and Caesar), calzone versions of most of the pizza recipes and some 20 sandwiches, including a sub, several chicken variations, Philly cheesesteak, a gyro, a healthy club, ribeye and eggplant.
Rounding out the menu are burgers and a host of pasta dishes as well as entrees like Monterey chicken, steak tips, Buffalo shrimp, flounder and fried oysters. Among the dessert selections are New York-style cheesesteak, apple pie, white coconut cake, tiramisu, red velvet cake and Italian cream cake.
Reviews I had read online were positive, although I should mention that Super Mario’s is pretty much delivery and carryout only. One of my sources mentioned the facility having a very limited amount of onsite seating, but when I arrived to pick up my food, the Broadway entrance was padlocked. I parked at the rear of the building and spotted a sign that instructs customers to enter there.
I went inside and found myself actually standing in the kitchen. A man I presumed to be the proprietor was bagging up someone else’s order, and when he spotted me, he said, “Good timing.” He then pulled my pizza hot out of the oven, boxed it up and handed me my order of ravioli. I was in and out in just a couple of minutes.
I immediately had a slice in the car, while it was fresh. I have to say I liked it quite a bit. The crust is thinnish but chewy. The sauce is proportional, and I appreciated the flavor of the cheese. Mario’s doesn’t exactly pile the toppings on thick (that goes for the cheese too), but overall, I felt this pizza was worth both the effort and the price. The ravioli didn’t break any new ground in the deep-fried-pasta category, but it was tasty enough, both with and without the accompanying marinara sauce.
Honestly, I don’t live close enough to make regular trips to or receive deliveries from Super Mario’s Pizza. But if there’s one person who’s willing to recommend it to those who live or work in their territorial footprint, it’s-a me!
Super Mario’s Pizza
Food: 4
Service: 3.75
Atmosphere: NA
Overall: 4
Address: 736 N. Broadway
Phone: 865-525-3010
No alcohol service
Hours: Noon-2 a.m. Sundays; 11 a.m.-2 a.m. Mondays through Thursdays; 11 a.m.-3 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays
This Italian-food restaurant north of downtown offers everything from pizzas and calzones to sandwiches and entrees for carryout and delivery.