A rainy election night may not be the best time to visit a restaurant, especially when that election is a close presidential race.

But Slice, a sliver of dining on St. Charles Avenue near Voodoo Barbecue and the St. Charles Tavern, was able and willing to serve. This Italian restaurant has settled in as another restaurant staple among a crowded field on St. Charles.

Slice advertises itself as a pizza restaurant, so don’t go in expecting linen napkins and swooning waiters. What you will get is a polite, casual staff and good food.

Slice, as you may guess, serves pizza by the slice or by the pie. They offer a classic Neapolitan with red sauce or white pizza, which has cheese and garlic sauce.

Both are served on traditional hand-tossed thin crust, nice and crispy, which is one of my favorite aspects of the pizza at Slice.

And oh, they also serve Sicilian Squares, which are deep-dish pan pizzas.

When I walked in, I was told that I could sit anywhere. I opted for the small tables near the front by the door, but there are both booths that run down one wall and a smoking section in the back of the restaurant around the bar – it’s a small, long, narrow building.

I ordered a slice of the Neapolitan for $1.95 and added mushrooms and spinach for $1 extra.

I also asked for a Mesclun salad ($5.95), which is a heaping plate of mixed greens topped with goat cheese, walnuts and a few slices of roasted tomatoes, covered with your choice of dressing.

Try the gorgonzola – it’s great, and was also nice with my glass of light white wine, the Tommassi Pinot Grigio ($6).

The pizza was served on a piece of wax paper laid on a tin plate. It was hot and fresh, though the spinach could have been a little more wilted.

Maybe it’s just that pizza needed a little more sauce, or I might be too accustomed to the greasy pizza you find at Papa John’s. Nonetheless, it was still tasty.

With its young, hip staff and Van Morrison on the stereo, Slice could be what you might expect to find near campus: casual, inexpensive and uncomplicated food.

It’s worth a ride on the streetcar, and it sure beats Domino’s.

Earl Descant can be reached at [email protected].