Slice of Helen

Most of Helen shuts its kitchens around nine or ten, so a pizza place that keeps its doors open past midnight gets a lot of traffic from people coming back from music or a long day on the river. Slice of Helen sits on South Main Street, and its crust is made from scratch, which reviewers bring up again and again.

It's a casual, no-reservations kind of place, and it's family-friendly during the day. The dining room and the adjoining bar are separate sides, so pick the room that fits your group.

These are the hours on current public listings. The kitchen may stop before the doors close, so call 706-878-7468 if you're counting on a late meal.

Pizza is the headline, but the menu is wider than the name suggests. Calzones come stuffed: the Meat Calzone is loaded with Italian sausage, pepperoni, ham, meatballs and bacon, and the Pesto Calzone swaps in ricotta, spinach and roasted garlic. Reviewers who rave about the pizza single out the pesto pie and the red sauce, and they warn that a made-from-scratch crust takes time, so expect a wait of around half an hour at busy times.

If someone in your group wants something else, there are fettuccine and chicken Alfredo, jumbo wings, hog crackers, crab dip, a wedge salad, and burgers such as the Big BBQ Burger (caramelized onions, bacon and sweet BBQ sauce) and the Tripple B's (blackened seasoning, blue cheese, bacon and onions). The kids' menu has cheeseburgers, grilled cheese and spaghetti with fries and a drink.

Menu items and prices change; ask your server for today's list.

Reviewers regularly mention cigarette smoke and loud music or karaoke coming from the bar area beside the dining room. If that's a dealbreaker, ask to sit on the dining room side, or order to go.

Slice of Helen's listed hours run later than almost anything else in town. The table sets them next to the other late options so you can plan a night out.

See the late-night dining guide for more, and the Helen Chamber for Festhalle details.

Slice of Helen is at 8252 S Main St, on the south side of downtown. There are no parking meters or garages in Helen: the city runs free lots east of Main Street, and private pay lots post their rate at the entrance. The parking guide shows where to leave the car. If you plan to walk to the Festhalle afterward, leave the car where it will stay put for the night.

For something to do before pizza, the Alpine Village walking tour covers the downtown blocks, and the live music dining guide lists where to hear a band.