Sometimes, when an unknown restaurant is going to be visited, you ask people around you if they’d ever been there, was it any good, expensive?, etc. Whenever Stashu’s was brought up, usually everyone said it had been years since they’d eaten there, or had never been there at all. And yet, Stashu’s has been in operation for years down by Wal-mart in Moline. Maybe “nobody” has been there in years, but they must be doing something right, because they do quite a flourishing business. On a late Wednesday afternoon, the simple restaurant was busy with orders, and we all had quite an interesting meal!
The menu is simple, it consists primarily of pizzas and calzones, their specialties, with a variety of hot and sausage sandwiches, and deli and ham. The prices are very reasonable, and selection good – it’s another one of those places where you don’t know what to order first! And they should be patted on the back for the effort made for the gluten free and lo-carb customer.
There are only 2 appetizers offered, garcheezy bread and garlic pillows, one of which was ordered, the pillows. They were very good, served with pizza sauce. They were even better when the waiter brought ranch dressing, also available! These could become very addictive. Oh, goodness, one more food to be addicted to….. The 1/2 batch is $3.25 and a full is $6.25.
The pizza comes in all the usual toppings, but the prices are much lower – $4.60 for a 7″ one topping for one person, up to $17.75 for a 16″ one topping. The specialty and gourmet pizzas are a little more, of course, but still a bargain, $6.90 for a 7″ to $22.00 for a 16″. There’s a good variety here, with some unusual pizzas, like the Smoked Cajun, black olive and mushroom. Definitely going back for THAT one!
The calzones start with the Original, ricotta and mozzarella cheeses combined with Italian sausage and a slice of ham. From there you pretty much create your own, using the pizza toppings. Here again, the prices are very reasonable, from $5.50 to $8.75.
At our table, we tried the $7.00 sausage and $7.00 BBQ pork, and both were delicious. The sausage is spicier than usual, the crust between thick and thin crust, and the pizza sauce was very good, tasty and not overly spicey. The original Calzone was also ordered – it’s huge!, and also has the spicey sausage.
The rest of the menu sandwiches are all as reasonable as the pizzas and calzones. And keep in mind that the sausages are homemade by Stashu’s and worth trying. After you eat, check out the Stashu store in the next room, full of all kinds of homemade brats, sausages and something called mettwurst. They also carry frozen pizzas, calzones, cheeses and brat buns.
Stashu’s is located at 4200 44 Ave., in Moline, and their phone number is 797-9449.
