When da people show up at Da Vinci’s for da pizza or da hoagies, they are stuffed to da gills.

A trip to Da Vinci’s, located behind the Kum & Go in Campustown, is a great dining experience, as we learned in this week’s adventure. We ate what was advertised as “East Coast Style Pizza and Hoagies” with a soft, chewy crust and a full stock of Pepsi products.

We were in seventh heaven.

But before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s start at the very beginning. Last week we were looking for a review that was fast, cost-effective, tasty and within walking distance of the dorms.

After discounting Papa John’s as a viable review, we decided to take the three-block trek out to Da Vinci’s. We ordered a pizza hoagie and an individual-sized pizza with cheesebread.

We found that Da Vinci’s, though a “college town” restaurant, somehow manages to maintain a homey feel.

Throughout our meal, parents dined with their children, making us feel like we were back in the Quad Cities. (If you haven’t been home since Christmas Break, you’ll understand that slight euphoria that ensues when you hear a flustered mother beg her son or daughter to just sit down while Mommy or Daddy brings the soda.)

Da Vinci’s is divided into smoking and non-smoking sections without the purple haze that accompanies some non-smoking sections. It seems that smokers are now realizing just how much non-smokers appreciate their right to breathe in peace.

With the soda machine located right out in the dining room, patrons can enjoy a slight caffeine buzz while waiting for their orders to arrive.

And yes, Da Vinci’s carries the full array of products from the Pepsi camp as well as Dr Pepper (note the absent period after Dr) and 7-Up for the un-cola in all of us.

As the order arrived in a very timely manner, we enjoyed the cheesebread. Served on the same soft, chewy bread as the hoagies; the only complaint was that a small cup of sauce for dipping cost an extra 50 cents. A slight rip-off in our opinion but nothing that would cause us to turn our backs on Da Vinci’s.

The hoagie was quite good and tasted much like pizza, only less messy.

The only problem with the hoagie was that the emphasis seemed to be on the sauce, as opposed to the cheese and pepperoni. A small point, but one necessarily made in the world of restaurant reviewing.

The individual-size pizza measured 7 inches, and combined with the cheesebread, is just filling enough to allow for four or five refills on the soda. (You might notice the continued use of the word soda. It means pop, and since Da Vinci’s is an “East Coast Style” restaurant, we use the East Coast vernacular.)

With pepperoni and (prepare for a shocker) cream cheese, the pizza provided a long-awaited orgy for the taste buds.

Before you say, “Yuck! Cream cheese on pizza?,” let us say one thing: Don’t knock it ’til you try it.

The cream cheese is subtle but enhances the flavor of both the pepperoni and the mozzarella. Just take our word for it and get it. Unless you’re allergic to cheese — then don’t get it.

Da Vinci’s is good eatin’, and while we offer no promises that you will always be satisfied, we feel confident that you will enjoy a trip to Da Vinci’s, cream cheese or not.

For those of you who have never eaten at Da Vinci’s, what’s da matter with you, huh? Fuhgetaboutit and just go and enjoy da East Coast-style pizza and hoagies. And drink a soda for us!

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Peter Gudlewski is a sophomore in English from Davenport. Tom Hanks is a sophomore in computer science from Coal Valley, Ill. Pete and Tom are both wanna-be gangsters straight out of the 1920’s, who enjoy playing polo at the country club.