Alex Castelnuovo has been making pizza since the eighth grade.

Pizza making is in his very Italian genes.

Castelnuovo worked at Jerry & Sal's Pizza, owned by his uncles, before he and his father took over what is now Alex's Pizza & Italian Restaurant.

Castelnuovo has owned restaurant for 21 years, he bought it with his father, Thomas, who passed away two years ago.

The menu includes standard pizzeria fare - pizza, strombolis, subs, pasta, sandwiches, wraps and salads.

Castelnuovo makes all the dough for the pizza himself.

"It's all in my hands," he said with a laugh. "And that's scary."

I chose to get the classic, cheese pizza ($1.75 a slice), and my dining partner ordered the stromboli (a pricier $8.90).

The stromboli was huge, with plenty left over for dinner, crammed with sausage, ham and mozzarella.

The pizza was nice and greasy, a good slice.

A certain editor here favors the Sicilian thick square pizza, though, over the regular slices, because they're doughy and thick, but best when they're fresh out of the oven.

It was the atmosphere that mattered for some customers. Castelnuovo had turned on "Seinfeld."

"I needed a laugh," he said. "It's important to laugh in this life."

And he did, letting out guffaws at the punch lines.

While his favorite thing on the menu is the steak subs ($5.65 and up), the pizza is a close second, followed by everything else on the menu.

"How do you think I got like this," he asked, rubbing his stomach.

Ticket to Lunch is a weekly column featuring local restaurants' meals available during the lunch hour. Reach Kate Wilcox at kwilcox@eveningsun.com.

If you go

LOCATION: Alex's Pizza and Italian Restaurant, 1 Center Square, Hanover

HOURS: 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturday, closed Sunday

OWNER'S PICK: Steak Sub

PARKING: street

ACCEPTS: Visa, MasterCard and Discover

TAKE-OUT: Yes

DELIVERY: Free to a limited area, minimum order $8

DETAILS: Call 632-1655