7248 Main StreetMy Saturday work day on Mackinac Island was long. I got to the Grand Hotel about 8:30 AM and left a little before 8:30 PM…and I still wasn’t done but I decided to work in my hotel room back at the Lake View Hotel because I could get a bottle of Pepsi from the vending machine there for $2 compared to buying a CAN of Coke for $4 from the Grand.
I was still on a pretty tight deadline but I was hungry. I didn’t eat all day because, again, everything is expensive at the Grand and even though it’s company money, I still feel bad spending that much on lunch.
I decided just to see if there was a pizza place I could pick something up from and eat while I was finishing up my work for the day. I quickly found what appears to be the only pizzeria on the Island and put in my order.
Island Slice Pizzeria is on the north end of downtown across from The Pink Pony. The restaurant is a classic counter service pizzeria tucked in between a fudge shop and a cafe in one of Mackinac Islands classic vintage buildings.
I had called in my order so I headed straight to the order counter to pick it up. The fact it took over five minutes just to take my order on the phone should have been a sign. The cashier was really struggling to keep up. The restaurant was busy but it wasn’t slammed. There were four people in front of me when I walked in and it took about 15 minutes to make my way to the front of the line. Some of that was on the cashier and some of that was on the people in line who couldn’t figure out how to order pizza.
My pizza was ready by the time I got to the front of the line and my transaction was completed in less than three minutes. There is only one size pizza so I got a thin crust Meat Lovers which is topped with salami, pepperoni, ham, Italian sausage, and bacon. The cost was a little over $25 which I put on my card.
There is a pretty big space to sit and eat. It’s a simple space with a black and red checkerboard floor and vintage pictures of the Island on the walls. The pizzeria also offers a pretty good slice deal that gets you a slice of pizza, a breadstick and a drink so it’s an option to stop in for a quick lunch as you go about your day on Mackinac.
I walked back to my hotel and grabbed another Pepsi from the vending machine by the pool on my way up to the room. I always have low expectations when I eat anything on Mackinac Island due to the fact it’s a tourist location and good food isn’t always the priority. Island Slice smashed those low expectations. The pizza was delicious.
I went with the thin crust because..well, I like thin crust pizza. The crust is super thin and cut in to squares. It could have been a little crispier but I ended up folding it over and eating it like a square New York style slice.
The toppings on the pizza were plentiful and all the meats had that slightly crispy but not burnt crunch to them. The plethora of meats all complimented each other and made the pizza a little bit salty. You couldn’t get through a bite without a big mouthful of crispy, tasty meat and that combined with the sweet red sauce made for a delicious combination.
I really didn’t know what to expect from Island Slice Pizzeria. All I wanted was a pizza and at that point, I would have settled for almost anything. There are a lot of bars that do fancier pizzas but sometimes, it’s the classic pizzeria pizza that I just really crave. This was one of those times and I couldn’t have been happier with what I found just a few blocks from my hotel.