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Published: Tuesday, Dec. 09, 2008 / Updated: Wednesday, Jan. 06, 2010 11:11 AM

Dining out: Taste adventure in cheeseburger pizza

Planning to go to Christmas Town USA to see the lights in McAdenville, N.C.? Don't miss this place.

I like pizza best when it's simply pizza -- dough, sauce, cheese, meats and sometimes veggies. I don't typically like those crazy concoctions of Hawaiian with pineapples, quesadilla, chicken Alfredo, and so on. However, since being introduced to Market Street's cheeseburger pizza, I'm hooked and not turning back.

When we opened our hot, large pizza ($16.29), it smelled like, well, a cheeseburger, not really pizza. Topped with ground beef, pickles and a swirl of mustard, I wasn't quick to bite into the idea that this creation was a good one. There's not much sauce. But after a taste, I tell ya', I crave it and like to stop in or take an order to go any time I'm up in the Cramerton, N.C., area. It's like having two favorite meals in one.

Who'd have thought to put dill pickles and mustard on pizza? They did, and I like.

The restaurant, located in the Food Lion shopping plaza in Cramerton, is a typical Northern-style neighborhood pizzeria. There's the entrance lobby and counter for pick up and ordering, with a long, narrow dining area to the left lined with booths and tables.

Along with the friendliest service this side of the Carolinas, the food is always good and is served warm as the crew and owner, who is often there checking in to make sure diners are enjoying their meals.

Market Street also has a wonderful all-you-can-eat buffet. Buffet options go beyond several kinds of pizza to include pasta dishes, salads and seasonal soups. The lunch buffet costs $4.99 for adults and $3.29 for children 10 and younger, while the dinner buffet costs $5.69 for adults and $3.29 for children.

The menu runs the gamut of typical pizzeria options, including calzone, stromboli, lasagna, ravioli or manicotti for $6.99, subs, 6-inch for $5.29 or 12-inch whole for $7.29, served toasted or cold on white or wheat hoagie. There's salads at $4.19 for garden to $6.29 for baked chicken or chef.

There are sides, too, of course, like the cheesie bread I like for $4.99, bread sticks with sauce for $3.29, tater wedges for $1.59, wings, poppers and cheese sticks.

The kids menu for children 10 and younger includes pasta with meat sauce, chicken nuggets and taters or the buffet, for $3.29.

There's also 10-inch dessert pizza of apple or cherry for $6.99, or for $2.59, cheesecake, M&M brownie, Oreo cookies-n-cream or Reeses peanut butter.

But one of the unique menu items is "The Biggest Pizza In Town" that serves 8 to 10 people. The hand-tossed, 28-inch Market Street Monster has three pounds of cheese and more than 175 slices of pepperoni. Cost: $30.99 cheese only, $32.99 one topping, $39.99 all toppings and extra toppings and cheese additional costs. I grew up in a town know for the sheet pizza. Any party or big gathering includes a sheet pizza. It's a great way to serve a lot of people at an economical price.

As for Market Street's other pizzas, prices run $4.29 for an 8-inch mini Classic such as deluxe, meaty, veggie, Hawaii 5.0, cheeseburger and spinach Alfredo to $18.49 for a 16-inch XL specials that includes meatball, cheese steak, chicken and super deluxe.

So, if you're going to see the lights in McAdenville, a drive-through tour of the 52-year-old Christmas lights tradition featuring 500,000 green, red and white lights on the houses and businesses of all the town's residents, stop in and bite into fresh pizza ideas at Market Street, near where drivers either start or end the lights tour. The 53rd annual event runs nightly from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 5:30 to 11 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through Dec. 26.

"Gaston County's best kept secret" is out.

Catherine Muccigrosso, Lake Wylie Pilot editor

MARKET STREET PIZZA & SUBS

Location: 2021 Market St., Cramerton, N.C.

Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Lunch buffet served 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays; dinner buffet served 5 to 8 p.m.

Phone: 704-823-0010

Ambiance: Neighborhood pizzeria and deli