By Alaina Loughridge - Photos by Wen Mcnally
Tybee Island Pizza
Welcome to Cheese Town, folks!! Y’all will be flat out delighted with what I
am about to tell you is going down on the South End! This time round Wen
and I brought friends (we had to with the amount of food that was coming
at us): Mac aka Chief Chief, our lovely editor Margie, Wen’s newly minted
50-year-old husband, Sean, and his newly minted 37-year-old friend,
Jeremy, throw in two extra young’uns and we still had food left over!!! Let
me explain how it went down:
It was a terribly hot and humid day. Clothing optional. We all met at
Tybee Island Pizza for this fantastic job of mine. Rick Abbuhl (Operator
and Master Chef) met us at the door with Swamp Mustard Wings. Now,
I’m not really a wing girl. They are messy and there are never enough
napkins. Mind altered. Those Swamp Mustard Wings were fabulous! Not
hot (sissy alert), perfectly juicy and moist, these bad boys are my new
go-to for munchie time! No napkins required as you will be licking your
fingers clean. For $9.99, you get a full pound of wings, and if you are not
down with Swamp Mustard, TIP also offers Hot, BBQ and Teriyaki flavors.
Licking our fingers clean, we moved on to the Salad. Yes, the salad. Pick
five toppings for $8.99. This salad was literally ravaged by seven people
and there was still salad left. It was huge! All fresh, this good for you food
will stuff you silly and you will feel good about your dietary choice …
until, that is, the Calzone arrives. Crammed full of Ricotta, Mozzarella,
Parmesan and two extra toppings, you have just entered Cheese Town.
Baked crisp to perfection, you can’t not help but start using your elbows
to get at it! I’m not new though and I knew the Stromboli was coming, so
I saved room.
The Stromboli hit the deck and there was a mad clatter of flip flops to
get at it! Hand crafted, stuffed with pepperoni, salami, capicola (a spicy,
Italian ham), spicy Dijon, mozzarella and parmesan, my God! Served with
homemade marinara, it was drool worthy and big enough to feed a starving
family of four. This monster was perfect. No leftovers on that plate. For
$11.99, it is easily the best deal in town.
We could not not have the Pizza! And I know, pizza is pizza is pizza, but not
here my children. The Pesto Chicken Feta masterpiece that was placed
before us was not only pretty, it was fabulous! Hand tossed with love, it
really was it for me! I was ready for nap time … but wait … another pizza
came flying out and I can’t not do my job! Pepperoni, mushroom, onion,
green peppers - and yummy it was! No leftovers on that plate either.
All seven of us were ready to fall over by that time, until Rick brought
out the Nightingale Ice Cream Sandwiches. With three flavors, Fat Elvis,
Classic and Strawberry Shortcake, those sandwiches were spot on for a
hot day. Delish and not at all fat free, I highly recommend starting with
those first and ending with the salad so you feel really good about yourself!
14 TYBEE BEACHCOMBER | AUG 2018
Although, if you are really a healthy eater, Tybee Island Pizza does offer
a 10” gluten free crust. However, what you put on top of it may be your
undoing.
I am so excited for Tybee Island Pizza! Perfect location (1605 Inlet Avenue)
next to the Chu’s convenience store, they offer quality food at reasonable
prices. Every detail of their food is made with love and you can tell. Not
only is the dough made in-house (unheard of), the ingredients are all rock
solid too – from the Whole Milk Mozzarella to the Extra Extra Virgin Olive
Oil to the flavors on their sauces that are personally made by Rick’s BFF,
Buddy Taylor, owner of Gator Hammock and Sauce God.
You have so many options you won’t know what to do – from dining in,
to carry-out or delivery (island-wide), Tybee Island Pizza is open 11am to
midnight, with carry out available till 2 am on Friday and Saturday. Call
Rick right now at 912-786-7499. I am going to get me some Swamp
Mustard wings and you should too.