Say, Have You Tried The Uncle Roman at Steffey's Pizza?

Not to retread followed paths again, but I have to come back to my favorite pizza in Arkansas. More beloved to me than ZaZa's Forager, Damgoode's Artie or even Rod's Lil Heifer, comes the Uncle Roman at Steffey's Pizza, a double-crusted stuffed pie baked in a 12” cast iron skillet. And though I've written about it before, by gum I'm going to write about it again, because it's been nearly four years, and because you should know the history of the place.

Yes, I already shared that history in my second book, Classic Eateries of the Ozarks and Arkansas River Valley. In case you missed it there, here 'tis again.

Back in the 1950s, Glen Steffey was stationed at Fort Chaffee, where he was assigned the position of baker. Between Fort Smith and Delmont, PA he developed his very own crust and sauce recipes, and he opened the first Steffey’s with his wife Ruth there in 1963. After a few years she decided to be a stay-at-home mom and he decided to pursue a career as a truck driver, so they shut the place down. But Glen really enjoyed making pizza, and within a few years they were making and selling pizza out of their basement a couple of nights a week.

The trucking business started slowing down in the area in 1980, and Glen went to Stiegler, OK to work. He went one day over to Lavaca to visit his friend Don Ray, and something about the area convinced him he was meant to be there. So he moved the whole family down – and in 1981 opened Steffey’s Pizza. Glen eventually taught his daughter LeAnn the recipes he’d developed, and today she operates the place with her husband Shayne and daughter Briar.

Steffey’s Pizza started out in a location west of the current store before being moved downtown where it thrived for a couple of decades. The new store opened in 2008. It’s clean and homey with four big pizza ovens exposed in the kitchen that’s right in front of you when you walk in the door. There’s a game room with a pool table, an old fashion Horwitzer jukebox (that plays for free) and arcade to the left, and a dining room featuring tables lit with lights ensconced in cheese graters to the right.

There are many pizzas available at Steffey’s with all sorts of toppings. There are sandwiches, big sub sandwiches baked in the ovens. There are nachos and breadsticks and salads. But all these pale compared to that one specially featured pie in the middle of the menu.

The Uncle Roman hasn't always been on the menu — it was something that was put out on the buffet early in the week on Monday through Wednesday that caught on. Because it takes an extra 15 minutes to cook, the folks who run the restaurant were afraid it wouldn't catch on. But people are understanding when they see that direction on the menu to expect a longer cook time. There’s just one size for the Uncle Roman, and you choose the toppings. It’s cooked in a cast iron skillet between two parmesan-dusted crusts, sauce and cheese gluing the whole mess together.

Since my first visit there four years ago, we've dropped in -- Grav more often than I, since his family's in the Fort Smith area and it's close by. Has it changed? Well, today Steffey's sells some really cool tie dye shirts advertising the place, but it's still pretty much the same -- an arcade room to

the left when you walk in, a giant dining room to the right.

This time around, we decided to change up our Uncle Roman order, going for a filling of beef, mushrooms and green olives. It was a hit. It was such a hit that neither of us could eat more than a slice and a half. But that works -- because a visit to Steffey's always means breakfast is taken care of for the next morning. Sometimes lunch, too.

One thing I don't think I mentioned before is that ranch dressing accompanies the Uncle Roman. This is a little unusual, but with that cornmeal-

dusted crust, it totally works.

Lavaca may not be on your direct line to get from anywhere to anywhere else, but it is a great place to visit and this is a pizza you really have to try. The recipe may be in the book, but the real experience is in downtown Lavaca, and you owe yourself a trip.

Steffey's Pizza
627 West Main
Lavaca, AR 72941
(479) 674-2300
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The transported goodness of Steffey's Pizza.

Arkansas is blessed with a lot of good pizzas... some with a cracker crust (U.S. Pizza Company, Iriana's), some with a biscuit crust (Rod's Pizza Cellar), some Napolitan style (Za Za) and some with their own spin on Chicago (Damgoode Pies).  But I have recently followed some good recommendations to a little place in Lavaca, AR that serves up an incredibly good pizza... which could be the best in Arkansas.

The place:  Steffey's Pizza.  The pie: the Uncle Roman, a double-crusted stuffed pie baked in a 12” cast iron skillet.

Steffey’s Pizza was born in Pennsylvania in 1963, where it enjoyed some success.  But for whatever reason, business started falling off or whatever, the Steffey’s decided to pick up and move to Arkansas in 1981 and try business there.  They didn’t move to any of our major cities but to a little community outside Barling that saw little to no traffic.

It started out in a location west of the current store before being moved downtown where it thrived for a couple of decades.  The new store has been open for about three years now.  It’s clean and homey with four big pizza ovens exposed in the kitchen that’s right in front of you when you walk in the door.  There’s a game room with a pool table, old fashion Horwitzer jukebox (that plays for free) and arcade to the left, and a dining room featuring tables lit with lights ensconced in cheese graters to the right.

The store’s now run by the Steffey’s daughter Lee Ann, and while I was in there I noticed her daughter come in with a friend for a knosh.  The waitresses are all friendly and companionable and full of answers to crazy questions.  And up on one wall there’s the original Steffey’s price marquee with the original prices. 

There are so many pizzas available at Steffey’s with all sorts of toppings.  There are sandwiches, big sub sandwiches baked in the ovens.  There are nachos and breadsticks and salads.  But all these paled compared to that one specially featured

pie in the middle of the menu.


There’s just one size for the Uncle Roman, and you choose the toppings ($18.95 for one or two, $20.95 for three or four, $22.95 for more or a specialty) .  This pie was ordered up with ground beef, mushrooms, a provolone-Cheddar mix and roasted red bell peppers.  The sauce inside was light.  The cheeses glued top and bottom crust together, and both crusts were brushed on the outside with butter and Parmesan cheese and maybe a little cornmeal. 

The surface of the top crust was crunchy and hearty, not soggy or tacky in any way.  It almost crackled under the fork (this is without a doubt a fork-full pizza), the nicely cooked mushrooms and peppers giving way under the fork without hinderance.  The beef is well spiced, too. 

Egads, I have a new favorite pie… this deep-dish monster is over an inch thick, and the more I ate the more I liked it.  I even tried it with both the offered condiments; the parmesan cheese was good as expected, but the ranch dressing offered was a completely separate and strange experience I could totally get behind, creating an almost sandwich-like flavor.

I bet if you wanted ranch dressing instead of red sauce you could get it.  Different offerings on the menu include barbecue sauce, mustard and olive oil as options.

Steffey’s Pizza really differs from Arkansas pizzas in one very specific way.  The crust is not a cracker crust.  It’s not a biscuit crust, either… it’s almost a flatbread, yeasty but barely so with such a nice flavor, like the outer crust of a French bread loaf.  I look forward to going back and trying a traditional pie at some point.

There wasn’t even a hope of that on this visit.  I managed to eat a quarter of it and was pushing it at that -- I wanted nothing more than a nap after that.  Which is a shame, because Steffey’s offers chocolate covered cannoli for $1.69 each ($3 for 2) and they looked perfect -- sweet but small, about all someone could likely manage after being overcome by the Uncle Roman.

You’ll find Steffey’s on the west side of Lavaca on the main drag, across from the sno-cone place and east of the Y intersection of Highways 96 and 255 at 627 West Main.   They’re open 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, until 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and it’s closed on Sunday.  (479) 674-2300.

P.S.  It was even better the next day.

OMG pizza at Steffey's Pizza in Lavaca.

• GRAV WELDON
• THICK: Steffey's Uncle Roman is packed with toppings inside a double crust

I’ve rambled on about great pizza in Arkansas, from Za Za to Rod’s Pizza Cellar to Damgoode Pies to U.S. Pizza Company to Iriana’s to OW Pizza to… well, you get the gist. But I think I’ve made an error. I’ve left out one of the best pizzas I’ve ever had.

I suppose I can be forgiven this, since I just this weekend tried the particular pie in question. Still, the fact I’d never even heard of Steffey’s Pizza in Lavaca is pretty incredible, considering how dang good the place is.

• GRAV WELDON

The pie in question is the Uncle Roman, a double-crusted stuffed pie baked in a 12” cast iron skillet. It may not have been around as long as the restaurant has, but it’s made its mark with me.

Steffey’s Pizza was born in Pennsylvania in 1963, where it enjoyed some success. But for whatever reason, business started falling off or whatever, the Steffey’s decided to pick up and move to Arkansas in 1981 and try business there. They didn’t move to any of our major cities but to a little

• GRAV WELDON

community outside Barling that saw little to no traffic.

• GRAV WELDON

It started out in a location west of the current store before being moved downtown where it thrived for a couple of decades. The new store has been open for about three years now. It’s clean and homey with four big pizza ovens exposed in the kitchen that’s right in front of you when you walk in the door. There’s a game room with a pool table, old fashion Horwitzer jukebox (that plays for free) and arcade to the left, and a dining room featuring tables lit with lights ensconced in cheese graters to the right.

The store’s now run by the Steffey’s daughter Lee Ann, and while I was in there I noticed her daughter come in with a friend for a knosh. The waitresses are all friendly and companionable and full of answers to crazy questions. And up on one wall there’s the original Steffey’s price marquee with the original prices.

There are so many pizzas available at Steffey’s with all sorts of toppings. There are sandwiches, big sub sandwiches baked in the ovens. There are nachos and breadsticks and salads. But all these pale compared to that one specially featured pie in the middle of the menu.

The Uncle Roman hasn't always been on the menu — it was something that was put out on the buffet early in the week on Monday through Wednesday that caught on.

• GRAV WELDON

Because it takes an extra 15 minutes to cook, the folks who run the restaurant were afraid it wouldn't catch on. But people are understanding when they see that direction on the menu to expect a longer cook time.

• GRAV WELDON

• GRAV WELDON

There’s just one size for the Uncle Roman, and you choose the toppings ($18.95 for one or two, $20.95 for three or

• GRAV WELDON

four, $22.95 for more or a specialty) . This pie was ordered up with ground beef, mushrooms, a provolone-Cheddar mix and roasted red bell peppers. The sauce inside was light. The cheeses glued top and bottom crust together, and both crusts were brushed on the outside with butter and Parmesan cheese and maybe a little cornmeal.
The surface of the top crust was crunchy and hearty, not soggy or tacky in any way. It almost crackled under the fork (this is without a doubt a fork-full pizza), the nicely cooked mushrooms and peppers giving way under the fork without hinderance. The beef is well spiced, too.

• GRAV WELDON

Egads, I have a new favorite pie… this deep-dish monster is over an inch thick, and the more I ate the more I liked it. I even tried it with both the offered condiments; the parmesan cheese was good as expected, but the ranch dressing offered was a completely separate and strange experience I could totally get behind, creating an almost sandwich-like flavor.

I bet if you wanted ranch dressing instead of red sauce you could get it. Different offerings on the menu include barbecue sauce, mustard and olive oil as options.

• GRAV WELDON

Steffey’s Pizza really differs from Arkansas pizzas in one very specific way. The crust is not a cracker crust. It’s not a biscuit crust, either… it’s almost a flatbread, yeasty but barely so with such a nice flavor, like the outer crust of a French bread loaf. I look forward to going back and trying a traditional pie at some point.

There wasn’t even a hope of that on this visit. I managed to eat a quarter of it and was pushing it at that — I wanted nothing more than a nap after that. Which is a shame, because Steffey’s offers chocolate covered cannoli for $1.69 each ($3 for 2) and they looked perfect — sweet but small, about all someone could likely manage after being overcome by the Uncle Roman.

You’ll find Steffey’s on the west side of Lavaca on the main drag, across from the sno-cone place and east of the Y intersection of Highways 96 and 255 at 627 West Main. They’re open 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, until 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and it’s closed on Sunday. (479) 674-2300.

P.S. It was even better the next day.