THE FREE LANCE-STAR

tHERE ARE TIMES when Dan- ny's Pizza and Subs might be one of your best choices for dining in Central Park.

Times like when a quick jaunt to pick up the makings of a fifth-grade science project spirals out of control. Times when the goal was to dart into Lowe's for duct tape and batteries, but you inadvertently go on a shopping spree for do-it-yourself projects.

One thing leads to another and suddenly it is way past noon, and the hungry--read "crabby"--kids want to go to one of the popular chain restaurants where the wait is two hours.

And your money's all spent, anyway.

Now is the time to think of Danny's, a small, locally owned pizza-and-sub joint in Central Park with two other locations in Spotsylvania County.

Danny's is pretty fast, pretty cheap and pretty good. The pizzas, subs and burgers aren't special enough to make Danny's a destination in itself, but they are on par with those served at most other eateries of their ilk.

And the service is friendly.

My family and I stopped in recently for pizza. The sausage pizza ($8.60, small; $13.10, large) had a freshly made crust with plenty of cheese and tomato sauce. It was packed with crumbled sausage. Danny's Greek pizza ($11.55-$17.55) was a white pizza with a sprinkling of feta cheese, onions, sliced tomatoes, black olives and garlic.

Both were a step above frozen but not comparable to some more inspired pies I've tried.

The calzone ($7) was a big pocket (easily enough to satisfy two) made from the same pizza dough and filled with mozzarella, ricotta cheese and ham. The chef will add other ingredients, like spinach, for a small charge.

Calzones come with tomato sauce for dipping, the same thick American-style sauce that goes on the pizzas.

That tomato sauce also is featured in some of the pasta dishes at Danny's, like the chicken parmesan ($7.55).