Photo Credit: Lauren Miller
“You go to lunch where?” I asked my friend after she said her coworkers and she sometimes go to Pizza Shuttle when they’re working on the East Side. It had never occurred to me that Pizza Shuttle was someplace you could actually go to. It was the place that delivered boxes of pizza to office meetings and college keggers you happened to attend. But I’m here to tell you that Pizza Shuttle does have an actual location, and there are very good reasons to go there.
Everyone has preconceived notions about restaurants. Sometimes it’s because of its location, its prices, or what’s on the menu. But being open-minded when dining out is important for being a responsible consumer. That’s why I decided I should go to Pizza Shuttle, too. It is, after all, a decades-old, locally owned business that everyone knows about, but no one seems to take very seriously.
My friend’s reasons for lunching there were simple but important when you’re on a scheduled work lunch: It’s cheap, fast and has free, easy parking. (I loathe parking on the East Side, so that last one really excited me.) After checking out the website, I headed there for happy hour; yes , there is a happy hour because they serve beer and other malt beverages. Who knew? There was a steady stream of people dining there that afternoon in an atmosphere that wavers between bar, family restaurant and arcade, with rainbow lights and tables, which can be easily pushed together for larger groups. A couple solo diners were having a beer and watching sports on one of large TVs, middle-aged couples were sharing pizza, and kids were playing pinball. There were no college students in sight.
Besides the copious dine-in-only specials like half-price appetizers during happy hour, eating at Pizza Shuttle has another advantage: Your food doesn’t steam in takeout containers before you eat it. That’s especially important for fried items, like breaded perch ($12.10), onion rings ($6.30) and broasted chicken, which comes in dinners with sides ($11.55-$19) or chicken only ($9-$13). It’s juicy and seasoned well with crunchy batter that clings to the chicken skin. Try it Nashville hot style, which utilizes a Spice House herb and spice blend. Chicken wings ($9.99-$24) are large and also broasted, so choose one of the many dry rubs, or get your sauce on the side to preserve their crispiness as long as possible.
Photo Credit: Lauren Miller
Beyond chicken, the menu is large. There’s about every kind of French fry and topping combination you can imagine, like waffle works ($6.30-$8.40) with nacho toppings on waffle fries. Hand-wrapped wonton sticks ($9.45) come in plain mozzarella, corned beef, Philly cheesesteak and pizza variations. The wrap is a little thick and doughy, but very filling. Sandwiches run the gamut from a juicy Chicago-style Italian beef ($8.40) to a chicken caesar wrap ($9.20) with asiago and tomatoes. Gyros ($8 for the sandwich; $9.75 for a plate) are not an uncommon item for late-night delivery restaurants, but chicken shawarma ($9-$10) with Lebanese spices is more unusual.
In Milwaukee where cracker-thin pizza rules, finding a pizzeria with hand-tossed crust can be a challenge. It’s the default style at Pizza Man, and the chewy, bubble-ridden crust benefits from being eaten as soon as it’s out of the oven. There’s no skimping on toppings, either, which is great when it comes to the heavily fenneled Italian sausage, but less so when there’s enough sauce to make the middle of the pie soggy. Choose one of the many specialty pizza combinations ($10-$21.80), like spicy sunshine chicken with cream cheese, hot garlic sauce, pineapple and onions, or make your own ($6.70+).
Unsurprising for a restaurant with a lot of munchies-loving customers, doughy pizza-adjacent items like calzones ($7.35+) and pizza puffs ($3) are popular. Soft garlic breadsticks ($3.70) swim in a pool of decadent garlic butter; go ahead and dip your pizza crust into it, because there’s certainly no one here to judge you!
People choose where and what to eat for a lot of reasons, and all of those reasons are valid. Pizza Shuttle fills a niche in Milwaukee, and just because it’s popular with college students doesn’t mean the restaurant should be written off by the rest of us. If you’re looking for a fun experience that will satisfy a range of people, reconsider this local landmark.
