Pizzanati: Mac's Pizza Pub

Somewhere along the way I heard mention of French Fry Pie, and I was 110% ready to give Mac's Pizza Pub a try.  This restaurant is near the University of Cincinnati campus, so the dingy student bar vibe wasn't very surprising. There are three other locations around, so I'm not sure how they stack up. Mac's Clifton had plugs and USB ports at every booth, which was a really nice touch.

They have a pretty expansive menu with apps, salads, sandwiches, and many specialty pizzas - even a couple of vegan options!  On our first visit here, we ordered a side of onion rings [$2.49] and a medium French Fry Pie [$15.29 for Medium Specialty Pizza]. I was hungry, and I thought they would bring the rings out first, but they ended up bringing the entire order out like 20 minutes to a half hour later.  At that point, I would have rather not received them at all.  They were a bit too greasy, but it was a sizable side for the price point.

The French Fry Pie, however, was soooo tasty. Definitely a bit on the heavy and rich side, but so worth it. It features their housemade Mt. Carmel beer cheese sauce topped with crispy waffle fries, red onions, tomatoes, mozzarella, provolone, and cheddar cheese, and it's finished with a sour cream drizzle. For our first order, we nixed the red onions, but we've since tried them on the pizza, and they don't overwhelm the flavor.  

After that solid experience, I left with a mental note that we needed to try them again - but this time try a more basic pizza. So, after a Sunday of kayaking, we picked up a couple of small pizzas from Mac's for lunch/dinner. We repeated the delicious French Fry Pie and also got a cheese and mushroom [Create your own 8" Cheese = $6.99 + Toppings = $0.75]. This pizza was very good - a good amount of cheese, fresh mushrooms, and a crisp crust complemented nicely with a light tomato sauce.

The only disappointing part of this second order was the side of beer cheese we had ordered.  It tastes too much like nacho cheese...which works well on the French Fry Pie, but is disappointing if you're looking to dip your pizza crust into some tasty beer cheese.  That's not something we would order again.

Verdict: LOVE. Possibly my new favorite place? Francisco rates a 9/10.  I don't love them for a dine-in experience, but I can't wait to get take-out from Mac's again!