Lunch Counter	Restaurant Guide

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Pizza Roma

Rob Young

This year's winner for Most Surprising Dish goes to Pizza Roma, a quickie Italian joint in North Charleston, and its 7-ounce Kobe beef burger.

Kobe beef is no shocker. But when it turns up in a retro-style '50s diner, and erstwhile home to the Graffiti Grill ... well, consider us thunderstruck.

Pizza Roma opened in September, serving New York-style pizza, spaghetti dinners, subs, strombolis and calzones. The rectangular dining area offers big, square, wooden tables, and quaint decoration, a series of faux, painted windows portraying old Italy. The actual windows show traffic on Dorchester Road.

The pizza is tight, the golden crust flaky and light. We enjoyed a 10-inch white pie, made with ricotta and mozzarella cheeses, garlic and oregano. The pies usually come in large (14 inches) and extra-large (16 inches) portions, costing between $13.99-$19.99. Specialties include the Super Philly with mushrooms, green peppers, onions and steak; the Hurricane with pepperoni, jalapenos, mushrooms and extra cheese; and Three Little Pigs with sausage, bacon and ham.

Choose from a list of spaghetti dinners, meatballs or sausage ($10.99), or served with chicken or eggplant parmesan ($12.99), or mussels ($12.99).

We also sampled a fine hot meatball sub (8-inch, $6.99, 12-inch, $8.99), the mozzarella melted over beefy morsels.

As for the Kobe burger ($7.95), 50 cents more with cheese, we specified ours medium rare. It came back medium, a mild, flat burger on soft bun. We'd stick with the pies, but Pizza Roma earns points for trying.

Address: 5031 Dorchester Road

Phone: 760-1734

Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Mon-Thurs., 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Fri.-Sat.

Ladies and gentlemen, envelope please.

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