Scheme Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in Salina

When I started doing military training in Salina periodically about 8 years ago I was introduced to Scheme Restaurant & Bar. Truly one of the best pizzas I have ever had. I’ve made it a point to go back every time I’m in town. They are a little pricey and it takes a little longer to get your pizza than most other places, but it was always worth it. I have never been disappointed … until now. Extremely bummed about last night’s experience. 30 minutes no pizza, 45 minutes no pizza, 1 hour no pizza. Finally asked what was going on. Your server should have told you when you ordered that it could be an hour. Unfortunately, that was message was not given to us. We would have gone somewhere else if we would have been informed of the time frame. We were on our way to watch State volleyball and did not have an unlimited amount of time. No hard feelings. I was then told it would be at least another 20 minutes and we could come back and pick it up later after if we wanted to leave to catch the game. You would think maybe a little discount would be offered. Nope. But I could come back and pick up a pizza that had been on the warmer for an hour or two at full price. I’ve raved about this pizza to my family, and it was my daughter’s first trip there. The feeling that I left with … We know we are good, we are busy, we many loyal customers that come here more often than your 2 or 3 trips a year, so if you aren’t happy about or service we will be okay without your business. Well, you got it. I...

The Scheme is not just a food place, it's a destination. First thing you need to know is that they do not take credit or debit cards. And they seem rather proud of that fact. So, bring some cash. When we found out they just took cash, we moseyed down to the local ATM and were cheered by the locals on returning. Now that we have that out of the way let's begin. When you walk in you will find the decor somewhat western with North West territory signage, large paintings, and mounted animal heads. We appreciated the yellow roses that were table pieces on most of the tables. It gave a friendly and welcoming feeling. You have to ask for the story behind them. Most of the paintings have something hidden in them and the owner has displayed letters from his great grandparents. They knew president Lincoln, Buffalo Bill, and the Virginian. You will not regret asking for details. Now, The Scheme claims to have the best pizza in the Universe. So, we had to put that to the test. The server brought us honey to put on the crust after we ate the rest of the piece of pizza. The leftover crust was referred to as the "dessert piece." We thought it was like school pizza with a lot of awesome cheese on it. Not quite the best we've had, but tasty nonetheless. The food was good and the drinks were mixed well, but the experience of the place was the highlight of our...

You people that give Scheme 1 star are out of your minds. I've been going to Scheme since 1980... so, now you know I'm old... but Salina has very few things that truly stand out and make it unique to the world. Scheme is pizza that you just can't find many other places. I know. I've traveled pretty extensively since leaving Salina. And we all knew about the long wait times for the pizza. It takes that long to make them the right way. If you want a pizza that's big and 1.5 inches deep, you're going to have to let it cook. And the utensils... seriously? Who cares? You're there to eat pizza. Pick it up and put it in your mouth.

Yes, Scheme can be slow if you order a huge pizza, and it's dark, with funky cool 70's and 80's music, but that's the way it's supposed to be. The pizza is better than anything I've had in New York, and with a couple exceptions, better than anything in Chicago. You won't find better pizza than this west of Chicago until you hit L.A., and that includes Texas.

An unbelievable gem in the center of nowhere. And some of the locals don't even realize what...