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Get your next slice at Roman Inn

Gettysburg restaurant offers big slices, tasty subs

Posted: 02/15/2010 04:36:11 PM EST

Christina Ice, left, and Linda Wise, both of Orrtanna, and Margaret Reed, right, of Gettysburg, eat lunch at Roman Inn on Chambersburg Street in Gettysburg Friday afternoon. (Evening Sun - Doug Bauman)

It's hard to go wrong with a slice of pizza. But Roman Inn Pizza and Sub Shoppe in Gettysburg really does it right.

Owner Mike Frank used to own a restaurant by the same name in New Jersey, and brought that same taste and feel to Gettysburg three years ago.

For Roman Inn, it's about fresh, homemade pizza and subs - done the right way.

Everything at Roman Inn is homemade from the dough, to the cheese shredded daily from a block of mozzarella, to the secret sauce.

Don't bother asking what's in the sauce - it's the secret recipe from Roman Inn's original owner Dominick Caruso who opened the New Jersey restaurant in 1965. And it's stayed a secret since then.

Roman Inn is easy to miss, tucked away on Chambersburg Street just past the intersection with Washington Street. But it's worth a second drive by.

The restaurant's décor is intimate, with dark red and wood walls, and a splash of gold as you walk in. The New Jersey original was take-out and delivery only, but once Frank saw the need for seating in Gettysburg, he added a few tables. He plans on building booths this Spring, and increasing the seating to fit 24 people.

The menu is expansive, with pizzas - a large being 16 inches, two inches larger than most chain restaurants - and subs galore.

I opted for two slices of pepperoni, for $1.95 each plus 35 cents for the topping, and a pepperoni popper I heard was delicious, for another 75 cents.

My only mistake was going for two slices instead of one, because the slices were huge. And the pepperoni popper was the best part. Tucked inside its doughy exterior was pepperoni, and what tasted like pepper jack cheese and a jalapeno pepper.

My dining partner opted for a sausage and pepper six-inch sub. Six inches, she said, was more than a whole meal. And definitely delicious, with a plenty of sausage, peppers and melted cheese.

And while it was a pain to find street parking last week due to the snow storm that struck the area, Roman Inn is worth another visit, especially if I don't go into a food coma this time by trying to eat two slices of pizza.

Oh, and if snow hits again this winter, call Roman Inn, because Frank and his staff were delivering during the Feb. 6 storm, when no one else was. If only I lived in Gettysburg, because nothing tops off a snow day like a good slice of pizza.

Reach Katharine Harmon at kharmon@eveningsun.com.