Say Cheese

Great neighborhood place.  Although the bar seems to be the main attraction, you need to realize that GI doesn't have that many bars. Bathe food has always been above par.  My son LOVES the French fries!  Service is good, but I always feel rushed while dining in.  Take out is fabulous!

One of the best deals on Grand Island for sure!

You get to take your picture with The Hulk or with Superman. Check out comic books and other nostalgic memorabilia. Have yummy beer (beer of the month) and tons of good bar food for super cheap! There's also an Ultimate Food Challenge for those of you who can shovel it and not worry about your physique.

Great place for quick lunch on the island.

I do not know how this place has slipped my radar for so long, a pizzeria/bar with a Marvel Superhero theme...seriously, and no one thought to mention this to me!?  

Last week my fiancee and I were watching her seven year old son and 12 year old cousin.  Last time this happened I decided to be creative and take the two mini-men over to Shogun on Transit for some Japanese Hibachi action.  Go take a peek at that review to see how the evening turned out.  To sum it up: complete disaster!!  The boys made it very clear that this restaurant did not meet their stringent culinary standards and let EVERYONE in the restaurant know that.   There was even a chorus of "My Mom HATES ME" at one point.  

So, many months later, I decided to give it another go with the boys and we picked Say Cheese Pizza on the Island.  All I had to do was show them the video on the website and they were sold.  Spiderman on the roof, Thor with his glorious blonde locks greeting you as you walk in, the Lizard stepping on (or more accurately through) the bar.  I mean this place looks super cool!!  They even claim to have a comic book shop, video games, and every kid gets a free comic book with their meal.  The boys were sold and super excited to go.

So we finally arrive and I notice the parking lot is completely full, actually overflowing. I drop the boys off and I find a spot two lots over.  This was my first hint that something was quite wrong here.  The place was FILLED with bar rats.  I don't mean your Allentown/Elmwood hipster crew or your Chippewa Kiddies, I mean neighborhood watering hole bar rats.  There was a lineup of dirty smokers (yeah you heard me right, I called em dirty) greeting you as you enter building, and the bar was overflowing with Grand Island's finest (that was a bit of tongue in cheek if you didn't pick up the sarcasm).

When I finally caught up with the boys it seems as if the greeting contingent did not phase them as they were mesmerized with the giant superheroes strewn throughout, naming their favorites and deciding who would kick who's ass if paired together.  (I still think Captain America wouldn't even have a chance against Batman but they wholeheartedly disagree)  When they finally settled down we decided on two pizzas and two orders of wings (BBQ and Cajun Spicy).  The food was ok at best.  The wing sauces were not that good and the pizza reminded me of Pizza Hut.  However, the boys loved the food* and thats all that really matters.  The menu is quite broad though with some creative offerings like Chicken Bread made with spicy chicken and cheese baked into bread.  They even have one of those man versus food eating contests consisting of a pizza covered in steak and cheese covered in garlic bread.  Gluttons of the world...mount up.

While we were waiting for the meals, the boys and I went exploring (leaving my not too happy with me fiancee by her lonesome at the table).  We stumbled upon the Comic Book shop which left much to be desired.  It was super tiny and way overpriced for what they were offering.  Furthermore, the promise of video games came to naught, because we did not see any games anywhere (with the exception of a few dart board which kept the aforementioned bar rats distracted).  The boys even checked the bathroom with the hopes of finding something cool contained therein, thank god they came out empty-handed.  One of the cutest moments of the evening was when the seven year old asked the completely unprepared waitress where his free comic book was.  She started with "I think we ran out" but came back with some crappy unknown title that had been gathering dust for months.  

Overall, this place is a bit of a let down.  The owner has a good idea just poorly executed.  They are attracting bar rats when they should be attracting families from Buffalo and the surrounding burbs.   That is where the real money is coming from and it fits the theme a hell of a lot better.  Hell, they even figured out something which most family restaurants have not, that you need a gift shop if you want to make even more money.  Of course, their gift shop was not even manned, so we could not buy anything even if we wanted to.  Say Cheese is in dire need of a marketing expert to help them, and while they are at it they should probably work on hiring the Punisher to rid the place of a serious bar rat problem.  BUT, we did get an excellent picture of the seven year old punching the Hulk in the nads and that was worth every penny.

*It should be noted that after we left I asked the boys to rate the place. One gave it a ten out of ten and the other gave it a twelve out of ten.  We'll be back.