My Last Bite, the Rockford Register Star’s dining column, publishes at noon Thursdays at rrstar.com.

Name: Giuseppi's Pizza & Italian Restaurant

Address: 950 Halsted Road, Rockford

Opened: More than 40 years ago

Owners: Margaret and Carlo Lattuca have owned the restaurant since 1982. Their son, Frank, helps manage.

Hours: 4 to 11 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday; closed Mondays

Phone/website: 815-877-3029; pizzarockfordil.com

We ate: What's better when working a night shift than some hearty Italian food? I ordered carryout from Giuseppi's for myself and a few of my co-workers Tuesday to help get us through the second-shift slump. It's not a very far drive from the News Tower, so the pickup was quick and easy.

For myself I chose an order of manicotti ($8.70), cylindrical noodles stuffed with ricotta cheese buried under a thick blanket of melted mozzarella and red sauce. I also got a side chef salad ($6.85) with bleu cheese dressing and cup of minestrone soup ($3). The manicotti was really good, though it was basically lasagna in a different shape. The salad — iceberg lettuce topped with pepperoni, mozzarella cheese, green and black olives and mushrooms — was big enough to share with everyone. I especially loved the minestrone, a thinner tomato broth packed with vegetables, shell pasta and red beans. In the future, I'll get two orders and call it a meal.

Reporter Chris Green ordered the crispy chicken sandwich ($6.85), a big piece of breaded chicken topped with lettuce and tomato on a foot-long hoagie roll. He said it was really good and the chicken wasn't dry. Unfortunately Giuseppi's isn't open for lunch, otherwise I'd consider this a good lunch option for myself in the future.

Photographer Scott Yates got the linguini with clams ($9.80). He, too, really liked the dish, though he admitted he was starving when the food arrived, which contributed to his positive review. I noticed that the clam pieces were rather small, and he said he could barely taste them, but that the pasta, angel hair-thin spaghetti in a tangy red sauce, was delicious anyways.

Our three entrees each came with hot and crunchy garlic bread, to which I added mozzarella cheese for a slight upcharge.

Reporter Adam Poulisse was interested in getting a meat lovers pizza, so I ordered a family size ($24.60), the equivalent of an extra large, in case anyone else on the night staff was interested in having a slice. Adam said the pizza, which is topped with pepperoni, bacon, Canadian bacon, ground beef and sausage, was "very meaty" (my friend Adam, master of the obvious). He said he really liked it and came back for seconds.

Personally, I loved that the meats were cut up into small pieces so that I wasn't getting one bite of sausage, one bite of pepperoni, etc. Each bite had a few of each kind of meat mixed in.

The best reaction came from Metro Editor Kevin Haas.

"It was definitely loaded," he said. "It's a heavy piece of pizza, and it has a little bit of spice to it in a good way — a little bit of kick. I wouldn't recommend it to vegetarians. You didn't notice the cheese, sauce or bread as much. It's almost like the pizza became a little edible plate for a mountain of meat."

Now that's food criticism, folks.

“Ahh” factor: In my opinion, Giuseppi's prices are super cheap. Everything fed a total of eight people (with leftovers to spare), and my total was only $58. Any place where I can spend around $7 a person is worth returning.

“Hmm” moment: To quote the Register Star's last review of Giuseppi's, the restaurant is a "well-hidden gem," meaning it's not easy to find even with GPS directions. Though its address is on Halsted Road, its signage isn't great, so look for the Walgreens on North Main Street as a landmark. Giuseppi's is right behind it.

Next time, I’ll: Dine in. The restaurant has a cute, cozy seating area that'd be perfect for a romantic date night with the hubs.

Sarah Wolf: 815-987-1283; swolf@rrstar.com; @sarahcrieswolf