Satchel’s, a Gainesville Experience
If you’re in Gainesville, then you’re going to want to go to Satchel’s. And if you’re going to Satchel’s for the first time, then you’re going to want to stay a while.
Satchel’s is a little magic. You’ll want to plan on eating dinner early or waiting for a table.
The nice thing about waiting for a table at Satchel’s is that you can spend your wait exploring the Alice in Wonderland-like mosaics, sculptures, gardens, the Lightnin Salvage (a bar next door with live music and a toy shop), and an airplane - that you can climb into.
I’ve eaten a lot of pizza, but there’s something about Satchel’s that’s a little mystic. There’s something about their dough, their spices, their cheese… I feel like I’m eating pizza right out of a children’s book, too good to be real.
There’s a big giveaway that a restaurant is probably going to be good, and it’s a simple menu. You know they know they’re doing something right, when their menu only has a few things on it.
At Satchel’s, it’s pizza, their seven homemade sodas (Daisy Jones and the Six, am I right?), and the homemade cookies and cake teased on a viewfinder-turned-dessert menu. They also have their own Satchel’s salad that has apples in it; it works.
You can sample all seven of the sodas - and I think it’s worth it. For someone who doesn’t even drink soda, I felt like the glutinous ghost of Christmas present in front of all that real sugar. Homemade soda is different, and I’m just as shocked to report that their Ginnie Ginger Ale is my favorite.
I would drive across the state right now just to pick up a large Ginnie’s for the drive back.
It’s scary good.
