Small Business Highlight- Mellow Mushroom

 Just picture this, you're out with a few friends drinking and doing other things and then it hits you, The dreaded Munchies Madness. That overwhelming feeling you get from good old cotton mouth, that leaves you wanting to eat and drink the night away. So you gather your crew and wonder where you could go for a bite to eat without breaking your bank.

The solution? Mellow Mushrooom

From time to time I had the opportunity to sit and enjoy some far out drinks and pizza pie all while having the minor case of the munchies. This happened a few months ago all during Small Business Saturday in Carytown, VA, where all the "mom and pop" shops get to be in the spotlight for the whole day. So in the spirit of supporting small business', I was willing to give Mellow Mushroom a shot.

The first thing that caught my eye was the aesthetic of the restaurant itself. Imagine if Pizza Planet from Toy Story and ColdPlay's Adventure of a Lifetime came together for a tripped out collab and got Mellow Mushroom out of it. Everything from the wall art, to the style of the menu was very "mellow," including the music and ambiance. All were appealing to the eye just like the food and beverage choices.

The food and drinks options were bountiful for both stomach and wallet. The one food item that did catch my interest were the pizza pies. The prices are very convienient as they are based on the size of the pie ; Small being from $12-13, medium ranging $14-16, and large $16-18. Now don't get me wrong, with prices in the double digits for pizza I really did think about the quality of the pizza being enough for me to spend that much, so I didn't want to go for a speciality pizza like the Thai Dye Pie. So me liking the classics I decided to go for a Kosmic Karma, which consisted of a twist on the margharetia pizza.

While waiting for the pizza to arrive, I decided to look into the beverage options. The drinks did have their own twist as well minus the classics like a Mai Tai or Mojito. I glanced over the options thus letting my indecisiveness kick in until the nice waitress came back. I then asked for suggestion for both cocktails as well as drafts (for my male companion). The waitress then reccommended two cocktails; The Blitzen which was a cranberry based beverage and the Sunset in Paradise which was a take on a Pina Colada stirred, not blended. For drafts and IPA's, there wasn't much new suggestions like most place but who go for a classic Miller or Stella Artois? With that my male companion decided to branch out to having a cocktail himself called Mule It Over which was a ginger beer based cocktail. Although I did enjoy my Sunset in Paradise, My boyfriend did wish there was a more alcoholic presence in the Mule It Over due to the ginger beer being a little overpowering.

But alas, the time came within our sips of our libations. The Kosmic Karma arrived to our table and boy was it a PIE! This pizza was indeed big enough for two people and it wasn't lacking in the taste department either. The pairings of the mozzerella and feta cheese was compliementing and not to cheese heavy while the vegetation factor was balance as well. The pesto sauce was a really nice touch to add a little kick into this margherita pizza classic and the best part of it all....No grease!!!! That's right we all have had our fair share of a slice of grease but Mellow Mushroom was definitely taking notes with balancing their ingredients to avoid the grease buildup.

Overall, I heavinly enjoyed my time, food, and beverages at the Mellow Mushroom and with the assitance from the kind waitstaff this small business is defintely Nubian Queen Approved in my opinon. So if you are in the Carytown area and would like to find a nice place to grab a pizza pie or just enjoy some drinks go on and take a far out trip to Mellow Mushrooom!