Mar's Pizzeria in Clayton, New York

In Clayton, New York, there lies a pizzeria called Mar's Pizzeria. The owner is my cousin Marla Hays. My Aunt Arletha (Marla's mother), my father, my step-mother, my niece Leslie, and my one year old daughter decided to go to the pizzeria for dinner.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I walked in but I saw several tables spaced out with tablecloths on them and a bar in the middle of the room that was set up in a horseshoe shape. We sat a long rectangular table and were greeted by Marla. We were given menus and then asked what we wanted to drink. Once we had our drinks and gave our order for what kind of pizzas we wanted, we waited anxiously for that pizza might taste like.

I have had all kinds of pizzas from store bought frozen pizza to Pizza Hut's famous concoctions, even to homemade pizza and still can't say that any were and honest favorite. However, Pizza Hut's pizza was the closest, the stuffed crust being my favorite.

While we waited for the pizzas to come out of the oven, being Marla's family, we were guinea pigs. Marla had just made a pot of chili and she wanted to know how it tasted. My father wasn't a favorite of chili and neither was my step-mother but they both tasted it and were surprised. I usually don't like chili because it is always too spicy hot, but not Marla's chili. Her chili was full of flavor but not spicy hot. It wasn't so overloaded with flavor that you couldn't taste the individual ingredients. I could taste the flavor of the tomato, the creamy flavor of the beans, and spices used to bring all the flavors together. I let my one year old daughter have a taste and she wasn't sure at first, but after that first spoonful she went back for more. This greatly surprised me.

Finally, the time had come, the hot pizzas were headed our way and they were placed on metal tiers and we dug in. I grabbed a slice of pizza with cheese, pepperoni and mushrooms. I expected the pizza to taste like Pizza Hut's pizza that had a lot of flavor but the flavors just seemed to meld together. That was not what I tasted. I was surprised when I could taste each individual ingredient: the crust, the tomato sauce, the cheese, the pepperoni, and mushrooms. Each was a delectable taste in my mouth. Everything tasted fresh and it was a wonderful experience.

I also had a slice of white pizza which my Aunt Arletha ordered which had garlic sauce spread over the crust, then cheese, and pineapples. Oh was that ever the most sensational white pizza I had ever had. I have had white pizza before but all that was was a regular pizza without any sauce at all and I didn't think it was that great. I couldn't even finish a slice.

While eating, I learned that Marla also makes homemade bread and sells it. She makes white bread and cheese bread. She also makes homemade soups and sells it by the bowl. She sells salads and pizza by the slice.

You can create your own 12" or 16" pizza. Her specialty pizzas are: Chicken Bacon Ranch, Buffalo Chicken, Chicken Spinach Alfredo, Hawaiian, Deluxe, Fresh Vegetable, and Meatball. You can also order several kinds of chicken wings from mild, medium, hot, BBQ, honey mustard, butter garlic, Italian, sweet and sour, or plain.

For each day of the week there is a special pasta dish. On Monday there is Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo; on Tuesday it is Goulash; Wednesday there is Macaroni and Cheese; Thursday Chicken Florentine; Friday, Tuna Noodle Casserole; Saturday, Baked Ziti; and Sunday, Beef Stroganoff. Each dish of pasta is served with two slices of homemade bread.

But hold on, Mar's Pizzeria doesn't just do lunch and dinner. Mar's Pizzeria also offers breakfast items such as eggs, toast, homefries, pancakes, French toast, choice of meat, omelets, corned beef hash, muffins, breakfast pizza, sausage, bagel, English muffin, and several drinks like coffee, tea, white or chocolate milk, and juice. Breakfast is served Wednesdays through Sunday, 6AM to 11AM.

If you need to contact the pizzeria here is the information:
Mar's Pizzeria
625 Mary Street
Clayton, New York 13624

PH: (315) 686-3300
Fax: (315) 686-3323

Or you can visit the Facebook page here.
The pizzeria is open Monday through Tuesday 10AM - 9PM and Wednesday through Sunday 6AM - 10PM. The dress is casual and they accept all major credit cards. They offer take out and delivery service as well as walk-ins.