Written By: Shawn Krajewski
When going to Salem, you will find numerous restaurants serving a plethora of foods, the majority of them pizza. But most restaurants in Salem also have something else to them, whether that be unique food or style. The two restaurants I'll be mentioning below fit that bill to a T. They are right next to each other and owned by the same person. These restaurants are the Flying Saucer and Gulu Gulu Cafe. Both of these places have some of the most unique environments out of all the restaurants in Salem (other than Bit-Bar).
Gulu Gulu Cafe
Gulu Gulu Cafe is the perfect place for brunch, as it mainly offers breakfast foods while also serving lunch and dinner options. Gulu Gulu Cafe looks like your standard issue cafe—one where you would see an introverted beanie and scarf-wearing writer sipping coffee with some form of exotic modification as they write their next headline to their blog. That is, of course, if you ignore the nerdy memorabilia on the walls and the stage in the back right that often has a band playing later in the day. Overall, this café has a very cozy and warm setting that is perfect for enjoying small pastries whether in the morning or after class.
Now, what can you expect to eat at this cafe? At Gulu Gulu Cafe, I have enjoyed several different versions of breakfast foods. So, I'm less unfamiliar with the later-in-the-day menu. That being said, their breakfast food is very good and high quality. They serve omelets, muffins, toasted bagels, coffee, yogurt, fruit, granola, and other drinks (like vanilla steamers). However, my favorite of their dishes is their waffles. Their waffles are perfectly crafted and have an ideal texture that is both fluffy and crispy. In fact, they are crispy enough to withhold the whipped cream and fruit you will most likely add.
In general, the food at Gulu Gulu Cafe is well made and delicious, and did I mention fast? While I'm not an impatient person, the food at this cafe is served incredibly fast. The last time I ate there, the food was served even before our drinks, and they were swamped (not saying the drinks took long, it was just that fast; also keep in mind that the food coming out before the drinks was probably a one-time thing, so don't be disappointed if you can't replicate this situation). All in all, yummy food, fast delivery, and warm coffee add up to an amazing brunch location.
Flying Saucer
If you take everything that makes Gulu Gulu Cafe a unique place and crank it up by ten, you get Flying Saucer. The Flying Saucer is incredibly cool, as each wall is lined with unique pop culture items. They have framed pictures of Star Wars art; statues of Star Trek characters; a giant picture of all of the characters in the Simpsons and Futurama above the door; small models of several popular spaceships from media; and framed pictures of each of the doctors from Doctor Who (I wish I could get pictures, but the place is swamped with tourists).
But it doesn't stop there! One of the best parts of the Flying Saucer is that they have an official comic series of their mascot printed on the to-go pizza boxes. Plus, they have TVs around the bar that usually display anime episodes, old cartoons, or video game livestreams. (Last time I went, the TVs featured someone playing Dark Souls, which was super cool.)
Now onto the food. All of their specials are named after an element of nerd-like media. They have Fire Flower Wings (spicy cauliflower wings); Space Balls (garlic knots with tomato sauce); Mars Attacks (a pizza with a meatball on it); Slurm (blueberry lime soda); and so many others. Typically, my family and I order a Mars Attacks pizza, with Space Balls as an appetizer.
Overall, Flying Saucer is one of the top three pizza places in Salem, and it is number one in terms of atmosphere. If you are ever in Salem, Massachusetts, you must visit the Flying Saucer, especially if you are a fan of old video games and even older space media.
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