County Line Pizza & Pub fulfills a dream

Greg White is a long-time local who opened the County Line Pizza and Pub and dedicated it to the memory of his mother.

His cooks bust their tails to get lunchtime fare out in 15 minutes to accommodate members of the military with tight schedules.

He offers dining discounts to the military and civil service employees, emergency personnel, the elderly and educators (and he includes members of the news media as educators.)

Can’t ask much more from a fella, right?

Oh, yeah. There’s this other thing.

His Chicago-style deep dish pizzas, and everything else on his menu, are made from scratch, which makes them different from a lot of other pasta restaurants in the region.

And they’re sooooooo darn good.

The food

White lists his “house specialty” as lasagna and spaghetti, but my lovely co-diner and myself were all about the pizza.

He said he took his Chicago deep dish recipe from Uno’s, a Windy City restaurant with a reputation good enough to be known on the Emerald Coast.

I sampled a very good Caribbean pineapple pizza made with Black Forest ham, pineapple chunks, bacon, mozzarella and Caribbean spices.

The young lass across the way tried the County Line Veggie with mushrooms, fresh basil, black olives, red bell peppers, tomatoes and onions.

But then the proprietor turned us on to the Boggy Boy pizza, a concoction of five meats, chunked tomatoes and two kinds of cheese.

That sucker weighed … weighed mind you … about 15 pounds. And it was one of those food items that tastes so good you can’t put it down, even way after you’ve had your fill. Even the crust was delicious.

White said his goal is to not duplicate what other pizza restaurants in the area do. Instead of green peppers, for instance, he goes with red.

“I want to do everything unique,” he said.

One thing White doesn’t do is put salt in his pizza, which enhances the flavor of his crust by subtraction.

Word to the wise: Don’t leave without trying the homemade cannoli. Just don’t.

The atmosphere

The restaurant pulls off very well the look of an old-style Italian pizzeria. Seating is comfortable, the walls and common areas are decorated with eye-catching sports and military memorabilia and there’s a large TV on the wall over a small bar.

The bar looked like a nice place to watch a ball game, and White has beer starting at $2 a draft, a Monday through Friday two for one beer happy hour and a $16.50 pizza and beer bucket special.

The service

In a word, says White, his service is “consistent.”

“You get the same service every day,” he said. “We’re always smiling.”

I left County Line Pizza & Pub feeling like I’d been spoiled rotten. The entire staff was cordial and accommodating.

A final taste

White said he and his French-born mother, Reine, shared a dream of opening a restaurant.

“She didn’t live to see it realized,” he said.

Reine White died 18 months ago at the age of 78. Her son, an “on and off” resident of Northwest Florida since 1974, opened his restaurant in April.

His menu offers a short tribute to his “best friend” Reine White.

Quick Bites

County Line Pizza & Pub

Location

3176 U.S. Highway 98

Wynnehaven Beach

Telephone

(850) 200-4262

E-mail address

greg@pizzapub.gccoxmail.com

Website

www.countylinepizzaandpub.com

Hours

11 a.m. until 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday

11 a.m. until 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday

Reservations

Not necessary

Handicap accessibility

Good

Children’s menu

Yes, $5

Price range

Pizza

$7 to $18

House specials (spaghetti and lasagna)

$8.50

Panini, salads, sandwiches

$4.50 to $7.75

Payment

Credit cards accepted