Divine Dining at the Ole Piper

Wow! My favorite restaurant, the Ole Piper Inn was reviewed by a Pioneer Press food critic. The Piper is unique - it's split into two separate rooms, a family dining room and a bar room. I always sit on the bar side, where the floor is full of pull tabs and popcorn, and the walls are covered with seventies-style paneling. Just settling down into one of the heavy wood booths lining the paneled walls instills me with a deep sense of contentment. The atmosphere of the Piper is akin to being in a friend's basement, but the Piper can wash away work stresses, comments from cranky relatives and the fear of failure. It's pretty hard to be worried about anything when you have a belly full of pizza and Leinie's, and you're listening to classic rock.
Although I don't purposely seek out classic rock, I find it strangely comforting. I suppose it just reminds me of the KQ morning show, and it seems like the right soundtrack for the Piper. The Piper staff is not afraid to play music from artists that are largely washed-up, like Great White and Foreigner. It's a part of the atmosphere, along with the hum of the giant shiny smoke eater suspended from the ceiling and the delicate aroma of oil-popped popcorn.
I took offense at the accusation in the newspaper review that the Piper's pizza sauce is not flavorful. Obviously, the food critic didn't understand that the Piper serves two sauces, mild and spicy. She probably just didn't ask for the spicy sauce. I've been eating at the Piper for eight years, and I haven't found any food in the world I like better than their pizza.
Sometimes I have this pleasant dream about the Piper, where I walk in and sit down in a booth with my former neighbors, Dave and Jean.* We ask the waitress for the large order of garlic cheese bread and two pizzas, one veggie, one meaty. I always wake up before the pizza arrives, the aroma of the Piper filling my nostrils. Usually, there is no where I'd rather be. The Piper is the best.

*(Dave and Jean really rock - they sold me the old van for $350! They are the best neighbors that anyone can ask for and I hope that their new neighbors up in Princeton appreciate that.)