Now open: There's pepperoni on the buffet, and it's $4.99

It happened about every two minutes: Someone behind the counter at CiCi's Pizza shouted out another key piece of information to the dining room, usually along the lines of, "Uno dos tres, taco pizza is on the buffet." A minor stampede would follow.

Including me. Now this is an all-you-can-eat spread: Nine varieties of hot-out-of-the-oven pizza, garlic bread, soup, three salads, pasta and few desserts, all for the unreal price of $4.99. "Can it be any good?" asked my friend, but we both looked at one another and laughed. Seriously, at that price, does it matter?

Turns out, Cici's, a Texas-based chain making its first foray into Minnesota, isn't just about value. Sure, I've had better pizza, but I've also endured a whole lot worse (that Domino's pie I ordered out of 15-below desperation a few weeks back, for example). There are standards -- sausage, pepperoni, cheese, veggie -- but also a few amusing curiosities, including macaroni-and-cheese, Buffalo chicken, the aforementioned taco. The crust is thin and sturdy, and while I wouldn't characterize the toppings as liberally applied, they were abundant enough to get their flavor point across. The crisp Caesar was the best choice among the salads, the chicken soup was a salt landmine and the rotini with red or white sauce was school-lunch bland. But hello, you were expecting La Belle Vie for $4.99?

The staff is super-friendly, and the bare-bones atmosphere (the place is lit like a prison yard) is kid-durable to the max; on the evening I visited, the dining room was swarming with young families. Just as I was considering loosening my belt a notch, a pronouncement caught my attention: "Brownies on the buffet." I was so there.