RESTAURANT REVIEW: Pie Five swift with swell eats

This BBQ Chicken Pizza at Pie Five features grilled chicken, mozzarella, cheddar, red onions and a sprinkle of cilantro with a barbecue-sauce base.
This BBQ Chicken Pizza at Pie Five features grilled chicken, mozzarella, cheddar, red onions and a sprinkle of cilantro with a barbecue-sauce base.

Now the shopping season starts popping.

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Bacon Cheesey Breadstix (front), served with three sauces, are listed on the menu as a “Not Pie” option at Pie Five, where fast, customizable pizzas, such as the Chicken Carbonara (right) and the Five Star, are the main attraction.

And busy browsers near the Outlets of Little Rock (which is open today from 6 p.m. to midnight) have a new place to take a break and get a quick bite. Emphasis on quick.

Pie Five Pizza Co.

Address: 10800 Bass Pro Parkway, Little Rock

Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. daily

Cuisine: Fast-casual pizza, salad, breadsticks, dessert

Credit cards: AE, D, MC, V

Alcoholic beverages: No

Carryout: Yes

Wheelchair accessible: Yes

(501) 455-7435

piefivepizza.com

Pie Five, which also has a location in Benton, has its motto as its name: Pizza in five minutes. (But, unlike nearby stores, it is closed today. And besides, you're too full of pecan pie for a pizza pie anyway.)

Across the street from the outlets along the same stretch as Dave & Buster's and Cavender's Western Outfitters, Pie Five is a cheery, serviceable, seat-yourself spot with a patio outside and wooden booths and regular and counter-style tables inside. It's not unlike, say, Chipotle, or any other modern fast-casual spot where one orders and picks up food at a counter, as well as fetches drinks, plasticware, straws and napkins.

There are crust style options for its individual 9-inch pizzas ($7.59): crispy thin, a chewier traditional Italian, a thicker classic pan or gluten-free (add $2). Pie Five cautions it is "not a gluten-free establishment ... so cross-contamination may occur."

Kids pizzas are $3.99. A plain cheese pizza is $5.99, but what fun would that be when Pie Five (which has a cleverly named loyalty program: the Circle of Crust) offers five fafillion combinations?

Diners have a choice of six sauces, five cheeses (including vegan, add $2), eight meats, 17 vegetables and seven "fresh finishes," such as fresh herbs and "magic dust," a blend of cheeses and Italian seasoning.

Diners can customize pies, piling on whatever toppings they wish (go wild and order that gluten-free pizza with buffalo ranch sauce, ricotta cheese, meatballs, corn, pineapple and sun-dried tomato puree you always wanted). Or choose one of the chain's 10 signature pizzas.

Both visits, we started with a specialty pizza as a template and added and subtracted ingredients to our appetite's content.

Before deciding on pizza, however, one might want to pick a "bundle": Pizza, dessert and drink ($9.99); or pizza, side salad and drink ($10.99); pizza, "breadstix" (which come with choice of three sauces) and drink ($11.99).

One of us bundled with breadstix (normally $3.99-$5.49) and the other bundled with dessert (normally $1.99 slice; $9.99 whole), so we'd have a chance to try both. Fountain drinks ($1.99, $2.59) come from one of those fun Coca-Cola Freestyle touchscreen machines. By the time you've scrolled through all the creative carbonated selections (Raspberry Diet Coke?!) and then still settle for your same old boring Diet Dr Pepper, the food will be ready.

We elected the Bacon Cheesy Breadstix, because ... "bacon cheesy!" Next time we'd order either the bread (which was on the shiny, greasy side, but that's "bacon cheesy" for you) or the pizza, but not both, because they're essentially the same thing and they came out at the same time. No appetizer is necessary at a place where the entree only takes five minutes.

My date started with a pan Five Star, featuring marinara, Italian sausage, pepperoni, beef and black olives. He opted for mozzarella instead of cheddar, left off the green olives, red onions, and red and green peppers, and added jalapenos and banana peppers. He easily polished off the pleasing pie, no complaints.

I did wish the Chicken Carbonara had come with more Alfredo sauce (Pie Five tends to be a bit skimpy with the sauce), but that's only my fault for not asking. Still, they piled on the mozzarella (my addition), parmesan, mushrooms, bacon and crushed pepper. (Yes, basically I ordered yet another "bacon cheesy.") Half of mine got boxed to go with the remaining breadstix.

The shared slice of pecan-studded Turtle Brownie was rich, chocolatey and nutty and worth feeling like we might pop. Other options are Ultimate Brownie and Chocolate Chip.

While we saw few customers during our initial weekday dinner visit, the place was hopping during a weekday lunch.

This time, my date again elected the pan crust and went for the carnivore's delight known as the High Five: marinara, cheddar (and mozzarella on request) and a meaty medley of pepperoni, Italian sausage, bacon, Canadian bacon and beef.

I too tried the pan crust (which admittedly didn't seem much different from the traditional Italian) for my BBQ Chicken pizza, which sounded very California Pizza Kitchen-esque: a barbecue sauce base with cheddar (and mozzarella on request), grilled chicken, red onions and cilantro ... wait? Where was the cilantro? It wasn't sprinkled on the pizza, requiring a trip back to the counter.

And I really needed that bit of green, as I just now realized we never tried any of the entree salads ($7.59, Classic Italian, Spinach, Greek or Chicken Caesar) or side salads ($2.99, Classic Italian, Garden and Caesar).

The salads also are customizable, further making the case that eating at Pie Five is easy as pie.

Weekend on 11/24/2016

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