Laurie's Pizza and Liquor is pretty much what you'd expect from a pizzeria/liquor store hybrid. The white-walled, florescent-lit 'liquoria,' as we've dubbed it, is wall-to-wall refrigerators filled with booze and other beverages, as well as shelves of mixed nuts, chips and other snacks for that Super Bowl party you've been planning since last year's dismal failure. Though the refrigerators, at a generous estimate, look like they were made at the turn of the century or earlier (particularly the back-wall beer container, which resembles a tired old couch on the side of the road that's sunken in the middle like an upside-down frown), the selection more than makes up for it. Beer, wine, the harder stuff behind the counter—whatever your poison, they've got it in droves, but not on the cheap (a six pack of beer, for example, is $9 on average). When asked where they found their liter-size Diet Rites, which are incredibly rare and elusive (as every Diet Rite aficionado knows), the guy behind the counter said, in broken English, "We open at four in the morning, so that's why it's more expensive." Which was confusing on more than one level, as they're not even open at 4 a.m..

Order a sandwich, pick up a pizza or grab some garlic bread to go at the far-right restaurant side of the establishment. Pizza costs from $10-$24, with both thin crust and pan varieties. There are also various sandwiches ($3.95-$8.45) and pastas ($6.45-$8.45). And if, for some reason, you hate all of this but still want to eat what Laurie's has to offer, try one of ten dinners, such as the fried chicken, the fried perch or the catfish. (Delivery is available for everything at a minimum of $7 with a $2.50 delivery charge on top.)

Truth be told, Laurie's Pizza won't win any pretty awards. It's rundown and, on the outside, decorated like a peep-show with its flashing, bulb-ridden sign, but if you need alcohol, soft drinks, snacks and pizza and you don't know where you'll find the time to get them all, come to Laurie's and kill four birds with one stone. Then, as you leave, your arms too-full of food and drink(s), take note of the sign that reads, "Please don't give money to the people waiting outside."

Oh, so that's who those crazy people were—alcoholics.

Centerstage Reviewer: Benjamin Andrew Moore