Torre’s Pizzeria is a place with a reputation. On the K.C. Indie Pizza block it’s definitely known as one of the cool kids. They have three locations throughout the metropolitan area. I have eaten at the Westport locale and, much more often, at the Lenexa restaurant (though the former has a much cooler atmosphere).

While home from college one summer, I was working a temporary job that found me spending my days in one of Lenexa’s famous office/industrial parks. Located North of College Blvd. and west of Lackman, this area was filled with drab, inefficiently short cubicle-filled buildings.

Needless to say, I needed to escape these bland appointments during my lunch break. Usually I used a book (Phillip K. Dick and Thomas Pynchon that summer) and a soda to transcend my surroundings. But sometimes I had to launch a complete escape. At first, I tried hitting fast-food restaurants. Sure my hunger was filled, but I hadn’t really escaped the world of office drones. One day, while driving to work, I noticed the marquee for Torre’s in a typical strip mall. I knew there was one of these places in Westport, but had never tasted their wares. That afternoon, with nothing to lose and everything to gain, I escaped to Torre’s at around 1 p.m. The interior was not much more than a large room with a counter and a salad bar (a few video games and an ATM round out the decorations). The clientele ran the gamut of office drones, blue collar workers and some kids from the nearby Johnson County Community College.

Unlike some Indie places, Torre’s offers a lunch buffet. Unlike most pizza buffets, Torre’s features good food. Pizza, garlic bread, spaghetti, cinnamon bread and a salad bar comprise the lunch buffet. Though Torre’s buffet is stocked with several different varieties of pizza, they seem to stay away from the experiments other places try (barbecued shrimp comes to mind). Pepperoni, sausage, hamburger, black olives, onions, mushrooms are the basic toppings this place employs.

Torre’s crust is crispy, while not being too thin. I suppose it could be compared to a “pan crust.” The sauce is spicy and somewhat thick. There is always a plentiful amount of cheese on top.

The salad bar actually provides a wide enough variety of food. There are plenty of freshly cut items -- black olives, green olives, onions, mushrooms, shredded cheese, etc. Most pizza buffets include a few oddball items -- like French fries -- but Torre’s doesn’t really get into that territory. The only non-pizza item is usually spaghetti, served from a crock pot. For dessert, there is some cinnamon toast, but I’m usually too satiated to even consider it.

Momentary relief from an office first attracted me to Torre’s, but its excellent food has kept me coming back.

(Torre's of Lenexa is located near the northeast corner of the intersection of College Boulevard and Pflumm Road. Other Torre's locations are in Westport and South Kansas City.)

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