Buddy's Pizza — Restaurant in Meridian Charter Township

Large portion sizes and good food are my takeaways from my first experience at this new Buddy's location. This is definitely a win considering the fact that I grew up eating Buddy's weekly a few summers in a row back when I lived in the Metro Detroit area. It was not something I looked forward to and in fact made me dread what I now know as Detroit style pizza.

No, this experience was much better. We started with the fried veggies appetizer, which was tasty but mostly consisted of zucchini and cauliflower with not enough mushrooms. There might have been a bit of a war over what mushrooms we could find, if I'm being honest. Then our orders were delivered. My mother received a huge bowl for the chicken tenders salad. She had no complaints. My niece and nephew each had their own order of wings, which they devoured without a word. My kids had a basic pepperoni pizza, which they liked. I didn't care much for the marinara sauce on it, personally. My wife, sister, and I split a margherita pizza, which I found quite good. 8 slices is more than enough for 3 people, especially with an appetizer.

But I think overall everything is overpriced. The pizza is good, but it's not good enough to pay that much more than you would at a chain (or at Georgio's just down Grand River). I guess you could say you're paying for atmosphere, as I appreciated the outdoor seating -- which seems to include heaters! But that's not enough for me. I didn't dislike this place, but I'll be honest in admitting this will be a place we'll only ever visit a few times a...

This was part of what my wife and I call Tour de Pizza. We are trying places that have highly regarded pizza. This was our first time at Buddy’s. It was highly anticipated by both of us. Buddy’s reputation preceded it and we were not disappointed. We were greeted cheerfully at the door. We were there at around 4:00 pm on a Saturday and had zero wait time. We had just done a bit of shopping in the area and decided to have an early dinner since neither of us had lunch. The restaurant interior is very airy and spacious with lots of windows. Our server Chelsea was delightful and diligent about keeping our drinks refilled.

We started with the meatball appetizer it was four very large meatballs. If you are a meatball sandwich fan these meatballs are used in a meatball sandwich according to Chelsea. That would be an incredible option. There were also four pieces of bread with the meatballs. The only negative thing I have to say is that the portion size was so large for the two of us.

We each ordered a 4 piece pizza. Now, I’m not get into the argument about who makes the best pizza or what is the best style. I don’t think there is an answer. I believe it’s best to find well made pizza and enjoy the moment. I really enjoyed Buddy’s pizza. It was one of the best pizza’s I ever had. That comes at a price. It wasn’t cheap. But, you got your money’s worth. If you are looking for premium pizza and great service I...

Dined in for lunch for my wife's first Mother's Day.

We placed our order and our server asked if we wanted the salad and kid's mac and cheese out first and we said yes.

My spaghetti and the M&C came out at the same time but no salad, and my wife's 8pc. pizza had to be remade because it had cheese on it (we ordered it without cheese).

10 minutes later, my daughter and I are done eating and a 4pc pizza came out - the kitchen forgot we ordered the 8pc. The dough was mushy and uncut. We informed our server we did not want it and didn't want to be charged for it.

The manager came over and explained that the pizza was undercooked because there was no cheese - apparently cheese locks in the heat and ensures the crust is cooked properly. Seems odd that Buddy's, a pizza speciality restuarant, is one of 2 restuarants we have been to since we eliminated dairy from our diets 14 years ago who were unable to cook a pizza with no cheese on it, but I digress.

To their credit, we eventually were served a 4pc properly cooked pizza that was cut and a 4pc. Buddy's bread at no cost before we left - and the spraghetti was good. My daughter didn't care for the M&C. After reminding our server about the salad we took that home, too.

Finally, on our way out we overheard a customer in the parking lot who ordered take out complaining because they had to wait for their pizza to be remade as well. Apparently, theirs...