Against the grain

Milo’s Pizza & Subs has been slinging its signature grub since 1994, decades after nearby San Diego State University set up shop on its current site. You’d think that with that kind of head start, the student folk would long ago have settled on a more traditional pizza eatery, someplace that’s grown into the school’s culture the way taverns tend to do. Some older universities would probably just as soon offer a major in beer, for that matter. Think of the revenue from all those off-campus lab spaces, open until 2 a.m. to boot.

But Milo’s must have known what it was doing at the time it chose that locale, because today’s menu fields just about all the tastes any self-respecting college crowd can throw. All told, you can have your pizzas, subs, salads and wings a whopping 68 different ways, which include eight different pizza combos on pies anywhere from 12 to 20 inches in diameter. The 20-inch pesto pizza ($16.99) is absolutely delicious and will almost feed three, all of whom will come away with wholesale addictions to basil, garlic and ricotta cheese. The calzones and stromboli sandwiches ($8.99) are loopy with your choice of two toppings. There’s even a $3.49 special that features two slices of New York-style pizza—everybody’s favorite—and a soda. As if that weren’t enough (and it apparently isn’t), Milo’s delivers to a limited area.

You can call 619-462-MILO to see if you qualify for that service. If not, you’ll have to find a way to 6686 El Cajon Blvd. between 11 a.m. and 10 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sundays. Either way, don’t expect any beer. Milo’s doesn’t serve alcohol, apparently opting out of a recent state program that would have supplied funding for capital improvements to SDSU’s study halls.