As promised, I made my first voyage to Cici's Pizza Buffet over the long weekend, and I'm back with the scoop. Expectations were high, and I'm happy to report that they were mostly met, if not exceeded. Despite arriving around 1:30, it was extremely crowded, which was probably due to the holiday as well as the newness of the place (this location opened a week ago). The advertisements proved true: all you can eat pizza, pasta, salad, and breadsticks for $5.95 (soft drinks are extra), which is a pretty good value.

The Cici's salad bar had all the essentials (and a relatively good selection of dressings) but wasn't especially noteworthy. There was one kind of pasta available (cavatappi) and two kinds of sauce (red and white), all of which were rather bland. The breadsticks were solid winners though...cheesy and crispy around the edges. But don't let these "accessory foods" distract from the centrepiece of the buffet: the pizza.

The variety of pizzas on the buffet was good, and the energetic staff seemed to do a good job of keeping a mix of traditional and more exotic pizzas available at all times. I sampled three kinds: spicy buffalo chicken, pepperoni, and white pizza with spinach. Slices are small enough to allow for the sampling of many kinds. Though not very authentically Italian, all were enjoyable, and they were of a higher quality than anticipated. The only downside was the crust, which was hard and not as delicious as Pizza Hut's perfect crispiness. Apple crumb pizza and cinnamon rolls for dessert were both tasty.

The interior ambience was cafeteria-style (hard booths and chairs) yet still cheerful, with two wide-screen TVs and a game room featuring the likes of Dance Dance Revolution, Buck Hunter Pro, air hockey, a claw machine, and more. I'll definitely go back to Cici's in the future, though probably for dinner ($5.95 dinners are much harder to find than $5.95 lunches!), and definitely after the novelty wears off and the crowds are a more manageable size. For now, battling against little kids for a spot in the buffet line can get just a bit too competitive.