DELMAR — Pushing open the door to leave Delmar Pizza, bellies full and arms loaded with carryout boxes, I couldn't stop thinking about happy days.

A long time ago, right around the time of another economic downturn (1929, to be precise), the song "Happy Days are Here Again" first caught the ears and imaginations of listeners. But as bright and cheery as the crowd in the eatery had been (even in an era of financial woe), that wasn't the Happy Days on which my mind lingered.

Delmar isn't Milwaukee, and the time is the '00s and not the '50s, but the impression that Delmar Pizza could have been part of the set of "Happy Days" was one I couldn't shake.

Maybe it was the place's proximity to Delmar High School, and the school mascot that fairly leapt off the wall in the carryout section.

Maybe it was the large and sometimes loud groups of teens and families who filled nearly every table in both dining rooms.

Or maybe it was other things: the arcade games, the unflagging friendliness of the staff, the hot and hearty food that came at bargain prices.

Whatever it was, I couldn't help but feel that in a time when local restaurants struggle to be profitable in competition against giant chain eateries, Delmar Pizza had found the same winning formula that made Arnold's such a hit with the "Happy Days" teens.

There is something very appealing to being part of a dining scene in which everyone seems to be enjoying both each other's company and the food. All that was missing was the jukebox.

Delmar Pizza has an extensive menu, so if it's your first visit allow plenty of time to consider all the choices. Beyond pizza, there are subs, sandwiches, pasta, wraps, salads, seafood, burgers and fried chicken.

Pizza traditionalists might shudder, but Delmar Pizza has some innovative combinations including the Steak Pizza ($13.95 large). It's a pizza that smells and tastes like a Philadelphia cheesesteak, with fried onions and peppers, steak, and plenty of cheese. A simpler cheese pizza ($5.95 small) is also good, the crust nicely chewy and the sauce flavorful under all the melted cheese.

During the winter months, it's common to crave hot and hearty dishes, and Delmar Pizza has those, too. Our Famous Lasagna ($9.75) is rich and meaty and hot, studded with chunks of onion and green pepper in the sauce. Rigatoni Ala Amatriciana ($9.95) comes smothered in cheese and sauce with sausage and rigatoni; the sauce is a paler pink than we expected but delicious. Both of these dishes, served with garlic bread and a side salad of mostly iceberg lettuce, are filling enough to last for at least two meals.

You can get away with spending only a little for dinner if you go with something like a cheeseburger ($3.25), though we'd recommend something a little more exciting like a meatball sub ($4.25 small), with large meatballs doused in sauce in a crispy sub roll.

We have saved room for dessert, and you will want to as well. Baking is done on premises, and the choices are many and tempting, from Napoleons to cheesecake to double chocolate cake. The Brownie a la Mode ($4.25) is enough for two, though the warm brownie is cakey rather than fudgy and is therefore not as filling. A giant triangle of Baklava ($2.75) is sweet and nutty and utterly satisfying.

We visited Delmar Pizza on a Saturday, but two days later I was still smelling the aroma of Steak Pizza in my memory and thinking that Delmar Pizza felt so right, it couldn't be wrong. Like "Happy Days," indeed.