Little Caesars Pizza (Kmart, Bangor)

     Store info: A fast-growing pizza franchise most well known for their Hot N Ready pizzas for $5 each. They are located in Kmart at 688 Hogan road in Bangor, ME. Their contact number is (207) 942-5530. Little Caesars' operating hours are as listed:
Mon: 11.00am - 8.00pm
Tue: 11.00am - 8.00pm
Wed: 11.00am - 8.00pm
Thu: 11.00am - 8.00pm
Fri: 11.00am - 8.00pm
Sat: 11.00am - 8.00pm
Sun: 11.00am -8.00pm
     Cuisine: Good quality, cheap, fresh pizza.

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Overall Rating

★★★☆☆

Parting Advice:

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Speed ★★★★★

As with most restaurants, speed depends on how busy Little Caesars is at the time of order and also what you are ordering. The things that sell fastest at the restaurant are their famous Hot N Ready pizzas. The team always tries to keep at least 5 pepperoni pizzas fresh in the warmer, but when a long line of customers hits, it can be hard for two-three people to keep up! Thankfully, it only takes about 5-20 minutes to complete any order. No matter how you look at it, much faster than places like Dominos or Pizza Hut. So, don't be hard on the team. This pizza is quick and cheap. Just because the pizza you want doesn't simply materialize with a snap, doesn't mean it isn't worth waiting a little bit.
Note: Only cheese and pepperoni pizzas are "Hot N Ready" at this location. I got a quick tour of the facility, and asked why exactly only those two are part of the deal (along with why pretty much just the pepperoni is stocked.) Kass had this to say: "Each pizza made is kept in the warmer for a maximum of 30 minutes. If no one buys it before then, it gets tossed out. If we were to make a few specialty pizzas or a few deep dish and keep them stocked, our rubbish bins would be filled with pizza. Remember, someone may love veggie pizza, but we only sell one or two per day at the most. Wouldn't you rather have a fresh one?"

Choices ★★★★☆

For such a small store, Little Caesars in Kmart had a decent selection. They have everything from chicken wings, to stuffed cheese bread, to deep dish pizza, and they even have a pretzel crust pizza. The only real problem I have is that the icee machine seems to be perpetually broken. But yes, at Little Caesars, you can pretty much have it your way. Except no, they CAN NOT use marinara sauce on a pretzel crust. Yes, it is against the rules.

Price ★★★★★

I have never seen pizza this cheap anywhere. I can't even make pizza this inexpensive at home. And it. is. GOOD! Even if you show up at a really low peak and your pizza is a bit cold, you paid $5 for it plus tax. Don't whine. 

Friendliness ★★★★★

The managers Cori and Brandi are absolutely fantastic, as are the rest of the team. If you are willing, they will have genuine conversations with you while you make your order if they aren't too busy. They all have great senses of humor, and are super fun to be around. And if they mess up your order or take too long, you might be offered something for no charge. "We made you the wrong pizza? Well, here, you can have this and we will get right on giving it another go!" or "I'm sorry, the first cheese sticks got caught in the oven and burnt, so I've remade them and doubled your order for free for the long wait!" No one at this Little Caesars ever looks like they hate their job. (Unless, of course, someone is screaming at them because their $5 effing pizza has "too much sauce" even though they never said to go light on said sauce. It. Is. A. Pizza. Get over yourself.)

Seating ★★☆☆☆

Probably the only real downfall of this Little Caesars. The chairs aren't very comfortable, and it is all very close quarters. Plus the tables tend to be dirty, since full-grown adult customers can't take care of their own messes. (Seriously, I saw a couple leave all their rubbish on a table while I was on tour. Gross! You should be ashamed.) Little Caesars typically has only two or three people working at a time. So they really don't have time to baby their customers. Please, just pick up after yourself. Ask for a rag if you must. I am sure they can find you a clean one.

Quality ★★★★☆

Their pizza and everything else is delicious, I can attest to that. However, their website says the following quote:
"Little Caesars Pizza has been proudly serving delicious products for over 50 years. We only use the finest ingredients. Our dough is made fresh each day, and our cheese is freshly shredded. Our world famous pizza sauce contains a secret blend of spices that our customers love."
And it is not entirely true. Their dough is definitely made fresh every day, and NEVER frozen. I have seen this myself! They actually have a machine that they put flour, oil, and yeast water into and it mixes it all up thoroughly. But the part that lies is actually the bit about the cheese. It isn't fresh shredded. It may have been before the cheese company put it into bags, but at least it is fresh to an extent.

Taste ★★★★☆

The taste of everything is usually perfect. The very best things are definitely the Italian cheese bread and the deep dish pizza. Though sometimes, things manage to get a bit too crispy. Still edible, but I definitely prefer soft, fluffy crusts. If my crust is crunchy as opposed to chewy, I enjoy it much less. But again, these pizzas are FIVE DOLLARS. For a WHOLE MEAL. But at the same time, the normal pizza and the chicken wings don't taste *quite* as good as Dominos. But the cheesy bread sticks? The deep dish? Absolutely to die for, and better than Pizza Hut could ever offer.

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BLOG BLOOPER

While writing the section on taste, it was about 12:20am. I was exhausted. At some point while typing, I started to nod off, and began typing some really strange stuff. I still have no clue where I was going with this. What do you think?

"Personally, I prefer fluffy crust. But there's just something about Little Caesars. And sometimes the crazy bread or something else manages to get free? "

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Happy China Buffet

     This being my first official blog post, I feel it is only appropriate to start off with a restaurant in the area that nearly everyone has been to at one point or another. I am, of course, speaking about Happy China Buffet.

     Store info: This Chinese food buffet is located on Stillwater avenue in Bangor, Maine, and the surrounding businesses are PetCo, JoAnn fabrics, and the Bangor Mall. Their contact number is (207) 990-6688. The restaurant's operating hours are as listed:
Mon: 10.00am - 9.00pm
Tue: 10.00am - 9.00pm
Wed: 10.00am - 9.00pm
Thu: 10.00am - 9.00pm
Fri: 10.30am - 10.00pm
Sat: 10.30am - 10.00pm
Sun: 10.00am -9.00pm
While Happy China Buffet's website does not actually list what time the pricing switches over to dinner or even how much lunch and dinner buffet cost, their menu, if you can get it to load, gives you a glimpse of what they can offer you. From experience, the lunch-dinner crossover time is around 4pm, and I know that the price for lunch for two people (with only one person ordering a soda, and the other ordering water) is $20 even. Two people having dinner under the same drink circumstances is closer to $25-$27.
     Cuisine: Happy China Buffet has a very wide variety of food for being an Americanized Chinese restaurant. While this makes it much less authentic, it certainly makes a great choice for families that have pick eaters. They have everything from sushi and general tso's chicken to pizza slices and chocolate pudding.

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Overall Rating

★★★☆☆

Parting Advice: Just don't eat the dumplings.. Or the sushi.. Or anything, really, unless it's busy..

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Variety ★★★★★

As aforementioned, the variety at Happy China Buffet is outstanding. There is always plenty to choose from, and there should be at least one thing on the buffet that you would be willing to eat.

Quality ★★☆☆☆

Unfortunately, they are very hit-or-miss with this one. The quality at this restaurant is only high if you go at peak times of business. If you come in around 3pm, for instance, most of the remaining food is cold, and there is much less to choose from. However, if you come in between 5pm and 6pm, there are always heaps of steaming fresh food available to choose from. Oh, and one last thing. I do not know what is in the meat of the pan-fried dumplings, but it isn't edible. If you must partake, I suggest doing as I do, and only eating the doughy goodness. Also, I would rate the sushi a 1, if I didn't think it fell under "quality". The sushi is always left out until eaten, and when they do use raw fish, it looks sickly.

Price ★★★★★

You get what you pay for, after all, and you do not pay much here. You can get tons of food for such a small amount of cash. It is also cheaper at Happy China Buffet than Oriental Jade, and at least the food at Happy China is edible at least 25% of the time. Plus, they serve crab legs on Friday and Saturday nights! That's pretty much all I eat some nights, and it is well worth it.

Waitstaff ★★★☆☆

As with all restaurants, some of the waitresses are less than friendly. I am uncertain whether they just hate me for the fact that there are always uneaten dumpling middles left on my plate, or if it is because I typically drink 4-5 glasses of water during my stay. In any case, some of the waitresses very begrudgingly refill my drinks, or they wait half an hour to take my plate. On the other hand, the waiters are always spot-on. Usually if I have a male server, he refills my drink as soon as my straw slurps at the empty ice. Plus they're always smiling. Such a nice place, usually.

Seating ★★★★☆

The seating at Happy China Buffet used to be a bit tattered and overused, but they bought all new seating sometime within the last year. It is very lovely, and comfortable. The space between tables is a bit on the skinny side, so I docked them one star. However, they get a bit of a bonus from me, because they have a few more secluded areas. Also, if you request a booth, they will give you one if they have it. I have a favorite booth, though, and I almost always sit at or near it. Can you guess which table it is?

Decorations ★★★☆☆

One of these stars is for that swanky seating I mentioned. Another is for the ambiance of Happy China Buffet. And the last? Those plates are stunning. I am not joking. I want their plates. "But why did you dock them two stars?" you may be asking. Well, that is because they used to have a whole bunch of fish in the pools on either side of their front entrance. But every one of the fish died, and I am sad. Those fish added an unbelievable amount of class to the restaurant, and it's sad to see them gone. And the last star? It isn't as if they are a five-star restaurant. They don't have floating votive candles on every table, with soft violin music playing in the background. It is a buffet. Just eat the food.

Drinks ★★☆☆☆

So.. About the drinks at Happy China Buffet.. Do not order a mudslide. Happy China has a whole list of mixed drinks you can order on each table. However, no one has a clue how to make any of them besides the scorpion bowl (which is pretty great, but still!). I desperately wanted a mudslide one evening, so I tried to order one. The waitress proceeded to give me a funny look, and went off to speak with the woman at the front desk. She shook her head, and they both went off to speak with another employee. Eventually, they had apparently all decided that giving me a White Russian and charging me an extra fifteen cents was appropriate. She delivered the drink and I looked at my friend across the table. 

"This doesn't look like a mudslide. Not at all."

"What did they give you?"

I took a sip.

"I think it's.. Oh! This is a White Russian!"

"What the hell? Why?"

"I don't know, but at least they can make this right.."