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    Aficionadough: Iacono’s Ristorante – Run to the (Shawnee) Hills for the Best Pizza Buffet of Our Times

    Some people love parades. I love a buffet. In 2016, I did an extensive survey of lunchtime pizza buffets in Columbus. In that era, I determined that the Iacono’s pizza buffet (at 4452 Kenny Rd.), while the most expensive pizza buffet offering, was definitely the best choice in town. Subsequently, I patronized the Kenny Road lunch buffet no fewer than 50 times through MLK Day 2020. It was the only buffet that ever mattered. Then a global pandemic blew up the restaurant business. Iacono’s never closed the Kenny Road location, but hours were reduced and the dumped dine-in service has not yet returned for any day of the week.

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    To say that I was a regular at the Kenny Road Iacono’s buffet would be an understatement. All of the staff knew me by name. They knew my son by sight (and his booth preference). He often came in with me on sick days and when school was closed. My son often received a ball of dough to play with as a VIP guest. However, in his eyes, the place was called Mr. Shawn’s because that was the person that always made sure he was treated like a celebrity from the second he entered the door.

    Iacono’s is still on our heavy rotation for carry-out, but the convenience and value of their buffet has left an empty spot in my soul for over two years. Whenever I drive by, which is frequently (I’m not stalking, I live nearby), I feel a great pang in my heart. But enough about me and my grief, let’s talk about the best next thing. It dawned on me that there is another Iacono’s location at 9303 Dublin Rd. in Shawnee Hills (near the Columbus Zoo) and that they once had a buffet too. As it turned out, that location turned the buffet back on this year. I have no qualms about driving 13.1 miles for a buffet. I made a call to make sure the buffet was still offered, heading out the door while being told what I wanted to hear, “Yes, we offer a buffet Monday to Friday from 11 a.m. to……”

    At one time, there were more Iacono’s locations but today there are two. Comparing the two is akin to the Prince and the Pauper. The Shawnee Hills location was recently remodeled, features plenty of HGTV-inspired fixtures, and part of the dining area features a sunny atrium. I won’t get too sidetracked about the Kenny Road interior, but it saw its best days in the early 1980s. The buffet area at Shawnee Hills was fancier than the space I was accustomed to. It also offered more salad selections (standard salad in one big bowl and spring mix in another). In addition to a bit more leafy greens and more upscale digs, if I was so inclined to have a beer to supplement my lunch, there are eight, largely local craft beer selections on tap.

    Iacono’s Pizza Buffet in Shawnee Hills

    So what is so special about this buffet? At $13.99 plus tax, it is not a cheap lunch, but it easily wins in the quality and quantity categories. I will make an argument that you get a good value for the price.

    Let’s start with the easy stuff. You get a fountain beverage with refills. The only downside here is that the dining space is expansive and the staff is not, so if you want to max out refills you may need to be more assertive in server stalking than you prefer.

    The buffet includes house-made soup. Iacono’s makes good chicken noodle (they make their own noodles) and wedding soup (they make their own meatballs). I have had tomato and vegetable there in the past, too. During my Shawnee Hills visit, the wedding soup was as good as I remembered from days of yore. While on the subject of wedding soup, to set the record straight, the name is a misnomer. The original name of this Italian restaurant staple soup is minestra maritata, which roughly translated to ‘married soup’ as in a union of vegetables and meat. The Iacono’s interpretation does not hold back on chunks of meatball; the broth’s infused with formerly leafy greens, so the name fits whichever version you choose.

    Nostalgia in a bowl

    The salad bar is well laid out, includes a large selection of vegetables, many appear to be hand cut, as well as a pasta salad, cottage cheese, homemade ranch dressing (best in Central Ohio), homemade Italian Dressing and other choices, including some packets of Marzetti dressings. The bonus item here, living in the world between soup and salad, is wrapped two-packs of Captain’s Wafers, the ubiquitous ‘fancy’ cracker of my youth. Some say the salad bar was invented in Columbus, most agree that its proliferation was very much due to efforts of many Columbus-based chains in the 1980s. On this I am certain: the salad bar is an anachronistic symbol of the late 20th century which means I’m thrilled to find any still in existence. The pile of salad you can assemble here is much less expensive than the by-the-pound creation you make at Whole Foods, it just lacks tofu. For me, nothing excites me more than the sight of a large container of garbanzo beans. I load up on these at any salad bar, mainly out of nostalgia. This was the first exotic legume I can recall from my youth and for many years I believed that these magic legumes could only be found in paltry proportions in Four Bean Salad. The ability to have as many as I want still makes me giddy.

    Take a spin through the soup & salad bar

    Let’s get down to the meat of the matter here, this is a pizza buffet, so it is time for me to stop the foreplay and talk pizza. Iacono’s makes a good pizza. The family has decades of experience in the business – in case you did not know. Tommy Iacono of Tommy’s Pizza is one of the founding fathers of Columbus Style pizza. One of his sons founded Iacono’s Pizza in 1978. In my experience, many places that offer pizza buffets (not many left today) dumb down their buffet pizzas to cut costs – maybe a bit less cheese or a few less pepperoni for the lunch crowd. This is not the case for the Iacono’s buffet, what you eat is the same as what you would pick up. They generally have several varieties to try throughout lunch service: whole pies (pepperoni or cheese only), many have split toppings, and I can’t speak for Shawnee Hills but in the glory days of Kenny Road, they would bring out an occasional speciality or dessert pizza. The quality is consistently there no matter what toppings appear. The dough is made onsite at Shawnee Hills. The cheese and toppings are high-quality. The pizza has never disappointed me. I also find that Iacono’s is less greasy than most other pizzas in town and has a lighter, more airy crust.

    Buffet: Round One

    I’d say it is daring to offer a buffet in today’s economy. When every pepperoni and ounce of cheese is precious, the risk of having some uneaten product at the end of buffet service is terrifying. More terrifying is the thought that someone could pretty easily eat (retail) more than $13.99 worth of food in a sitting (that someone could be me, more times than not). So my hat is off to you Iacono’s for fighting the good fight, offering me the pizza buffet of my dreams and staying in the buffet game. As a karmic bonus, after paying my tab, and talking way too long reminiscing with the server about the Kenny Road buffet of days gone by, she told me that Shawn was in the back prepping in the kitchen. I am still in good hands at the Shawnee Hills Iacono’s.

    Still have room? Opt for a pitstop at Dell’s Homemade Ice Cream

    There are only two things that could make this buffet better for me: reopen the buffet at Kenny Road (I know that is probably not remotely viable) and add a self-service Coke Freestyle machine (also probably not viable). Also, of note, I was so giddy that I did indeed get a beer, I selected a Nocterra Trail Break Lager (cheers to you, Doc!).

    But wait, there is more. On the slight possibility that you might have additional girth for consumption, I suggest walking a few feet north through the parking lot to visit Dell’s Homemade Ice Cream and Coffee. I was impressed by the ice cream and the service. Both of these destinations pair well with a trip to the Columbus Zoo, The Ohio Wildlife Center or any activity in the O’Shaughnessy Reservoir. Keep calm and buffet on, that is how we win in this economy!

    A postscript to my buffet musings, I will add one passing thought. Left on my bucket list of things to do: a podcast called How We Fix Things, where each week I interview a guest who tells us how to fix something that needs repair, like the economy, voting laws, etc.; a YouTube Channel called Recycle Right where I teach people the proper way to recycle things, and an in-person seminar on Buffet Etiquette 101. How many times do you go to a buffet and someone is standing in the middle, blocking access to everything because they are approaching without a plan? Unacceptable! Just like people that block the middle aisle in the grocery store, for the good of all mankind, you pick left or right, have a plan for want to want, get it, then move on to the next item. I am available to teach this to groups of five or more, drop me a line and I’ll make your line move quicker.

    To learn more about Iacono’s, visit iaconospizza.com.

    Add a scoop of ice cream to top everything off at Dell’s.

    All photos by Jim Ellison

    Up close and personal: this slice as consumed during the creation of this article
    A peek under the pie at Iacono’s

    Iacono’s updated Shawnee Hill digs
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    Jim Ellison
    Jim Ellison
    Jim Ellison has been eating his whole life and has gotten pretty good at it. Along the way, he started writing about his adventures for his blog, CMH Gourmand (in 2006), magazines, websites and even content for the early days of CU. In the realm of pizza, most recently he wrote the book, 'Columbus Pizza: A Slice of History' however long-time Columbus Underground fans will recall him as the instigator of Pizza Grand Prix I - VI. Writer, eater, enabler and champion for mom & pop pizzerias, he covers pizza places, pizza culture and occasionally other culinary rabbit holes as our carb-craving correspondent. You will find him on Instagram at @CbusPizzaHistory. 
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