Woodstock's Pizza

Woodstock's Pizza
928 Embarcadero Del Norte
Isla Vista
805-968-6969

About ten years ago I went to Cal St. Goleta, aka, UC Santa Barbara, for a basketball game. People told me I had to try Woodstock's Pizza and they said it was walking distance from the Thunderdump. Well, I go and try to find Woodstock's Pizza, but the nerds that fill up Cal St. Goleta didn't have a clue where Woodstock's was. I gave up trying to find it. But, today with the help of modern technology, I finally find Woodstock's Pizza!!!

What greets me at the front door of Woodstock's? A sign welcoming all Cal St. Goleta fans. Look a Cal St. Goleta's "Hamburglar" logo!! Anyways, there weren't too many people inside Woodstock's. I guess the nerds from Cal St. Goleta were still in class.

You may wonder I call UC Santa Barbara, Cal St. Goleta. If you go to a game between Cal St. Goleta and a Cal State school, the nerds at Cal St. Goleta will chant "State School," as a way to make themselves feel better because the were too stupid to get into Cal and Cal-LA. In other words the nerds at Cal St. Goleta have an inferiority complex. I've never heard that "state school" chant at Cal or Cal-LA, only Cal St. Goleta and Cal St. Bren-AKA UC Irvine. Oh, stupid Nauchos, Cal St. Goleta is a state school, since they receive state funds. Also, Cal St. Goleta, was actually located in Goleta, before the city of Santa Barbara annexed the campus.

I got a personal cheese pizza with wheat crust, $5.82. I've had wheat crust on a pizza at Michaelangelo's Pizza, and I loved it. The firmer texture of the wheat crust, is what sets it apart from the regular flour crust.

The amount of cheese for this personal sized pizza was amazing, I bet there was more cheese on this pizza than other places medium pizzas!! The cheese was melted nicely, gooey and chewy.

The sauce was a bit too tangy for my tastes, they could tone it down a bit, but it was very fresh.

Now, the price listed for a cheese personal pizza is $6.49. But, for some reason I got a discount, maybe for a wheat crust? Either, way a great deal for a very good quality pizza.

Service is very good. The guy who took my order was nice, friendly, and helpful.

If I ever go back to Cal St. Goleta, I would happily go back to Woodstock's Pizza. If I do, I just hope I don't run into the Naucho Loco's, the nerd, sorry I mean, the student booster group for Cal St. Goleta; State School, State School, State School!!

Pizzeria Mozza

Pizzeria Mozza
641 N Highland Ave
Los Angeles
323-297-0101

Pizzeria Mozza is owned by celebrity chef, Mario Batali and has been a hit for LA diners since it opened in 2007. My understanding is that Nancy Silverton is in charge of the menu and it's her recipes. Whatever the situation is, I've wanted to try Mozza and finally got a chance. I made reservations about a month in advance, and I'm glad I did. When I arrived Mozza was packed, I mean just packed full of snotty, full of themselves, asshole pretentious people!! I thought I was on the Westside!!

While waiting for my friends to arrive, a couple walked out of Mozza, and said "I can't believe the earliest time for a table is 10:15pm." It was about 5pm, when this happened!! So make a reservation!!

Pizzeria Mozza is a fairly small restaurant that is divided into two areas, a larger, much louder room and the smaller, much quieter "wine cellar" It's not really a cellar, it's just room where some wine is stored. But, it's much quieter and a great setting for a good dinner with friends.

I got the "meat lovers" pizza, bacon, salame, fennel sausage, guanciale, tomato, and mozzarella, $19. The pizzas are 10in, personal sized pizza. I didn't know what guanciale was, so I asked the server and he told us, it is an Italian bacon made from the cheeks of the pig. Later, googled guanciale and it's an unsmoked bacon.

Anyways, the first thing I noticed was the size of the sausage, huge, full of bold fennel flavor. They use quality ingredients for this sausage. There was a couple slices of the regular bacon, which was fine, but nothing memorable or outstanding. The guanciale was pretty good, but I prefer smoked bacon. The salame was shaped like pepperoni and had a nice kick to it. The mozzarella was nicely melted and flavorful. The tomato sauce also had a nice kick to it.

But, what ruined the pizza for me was the crust. This may have been among the worst crust I've ever had! A cracker thin crust, that didn't hold up the toppings well towards the center and crunched on the outer edges. That's not my kind of crust.

Overall, the pizza was worth the high price tag, because of the great quality of the meats, not because of the crust.

Service was good, when we saw the server. The hostess was nice and welcoming. She greeted me and every other customer I saw, with a smile and hello. The server was nice and friendly, he patiently answered our questions, but he wasn't really around that much. He came take our order, give us our bill, and then take our money. That's it. I realize the "wine cellar" was packed but there were only about 8-10 tables. It was so busy that we saw the bus boy more than our server.

Afterwards, I went to Mozza To Go, where you can order, pizzas and salads to go, to pick up a menu. The interesting thing I found, is that the meat lovers pizza from Pizzeria Mozza is different than the meat lovers from Mozza To Go, instead of guanciale, they have pancetta. Why they wouldn't use the same toppings for both places, I don't know.

Frankly, I didn't have that high of expectations for Pizzeria Mozza. I don't get the hype about celebrity chefs. So what the owner maybe on TV, doesn't mean his cooking is worth a damn. I could care less that Mario Batali owned Pizzeria Mozza. But, many people buy into the hype. Though I was very impressed with the quality toppings, the crust was horrible. I wouldn't go back to Pizzeria Mozza, unless other friends wanted to go.

Paoli's Pizzeria

Paoli's Pizzeria
21020 Ventura Blvd
Woodland Hills
818-883-4136

Yes, I am a fan of deep dish Chicago pizza, and I will travel far and wide to find good examples of deep dish Chicago pizza in LA. But, I think the problem is people don't have a proper understanding of what deep dish Chicago pizza is. Many people think a pizza cooked in a pan or has a thicker crust, is deep dish Chicago pizza. Newsflash people; it is NOT. Deep dish Chicago pizza is about layers of chunky sauce, cheese and toppings.

I was told that Paoli's is a deep dish Chicago pizza. When I walked in, another person was picking up his order and opened the pizza box and I knew right then, Paili's is NOT a deep dish Chicago pizza, just a thick crust or pan pizza. Another thing I would soon find out, Paoli's has the been sausage pizza in LA.

I got a large sausage, $15.25. This may look like deep dish pizza but really it is a thick or pan crust. The crust is a bit doughy, not buttery, with no cornmeal on the bottom. But the toppings!! Just awesome. The chunky tomatoes sauce were mild, not tangy or overly sweet, just perfect. And the homemade sausage, wow, just WOW. Whoever supplies Paoli's their meat for their sausage is awesome. The sausage has a nice mild flavor, nothing overpowering but perfectly seasoned.

This was well worth the price.

Large sausage, pesto, white sauce, $20. They have a special name for this pizza, under the Specialty Pizzas, but I forget the name. But, this pizza was interesting. Instead of red sauce, this was an Alfredo sauce, which was ok, nothing great. But the pesto was a perfect mixture of basil, garlic, and olive oil. It wasn't overpowering and worked well with the pizza.

Service was a bit slow and inattentive. After we got seated, it took them awhile to come back and get our drink orders. Then it took forever to get our drinks. Then it took forever for our order to be taken. The place wasn't busy by any means, not sure why it took so long.

If you're expecting deep dish Chicago pizza from Paoli's, you will be disappointed, their pizza is not deep dish Chicago pizza. But, if you like pizza, you will love their sausage pizza. I feel it is the best sausage pizza in LA.

Zelo Gourmet Crust Pizza

Zelo Gourmet Crust Pizza
328 E Foothill Blvd
Arcadia
626-358-8298

I first heard of Zelo while looking for deep dish Chicago style pizza. But, then I soon learned that Zelo isn't deep dish Chicago pizza, but more like a thick/pan pizza. So I was a bit cool to the idea of trying Zelo. I mean, if I want a thick/pan pizza, I'll just go for a deep dish Chicago pizza at Tony's Little Italy or Masa of Echo Park. But, finally I went with a group of friends and boy, what a treat.

Zelo is known for the cornmeal crust. The cornmeal adds a sweetness to the crust and makes a very solid crust. Zelo is a fairly small restaurant on a very busy street. But, they are very popular and do a lot of take out business.

I read that stupid review site, yelp, and this is a reason why I hate yelpers; they are stupid idiots!!! A stupid idiot named Charlene C. included this in her review of Zelo:

"CONS:
=======
1) Noisy while sitting outside on the patio (a lot of cars whizzing by)
2) Sprinklers went off at the building next door around noon & my friend and I got wet
3) Street Parking Only (We parked across the street, but scary to cross due to lots of cars going over the speed limit at this time of day, no stop light, only a faded cross walk)"

Ok, really, is she that STUPID? I'll reply to each of her "cons."

1) Foothill is a major east/west street in the area. If it was so noisy, why are you so stupid to sit outside?

2) Again, HELLO STUPID. Why did you sit outside? It's not Zelo's fault if you sat outside and the sprinklers from another store came on.

3) HELLO STUPID!! Why didn't you park on the same side of the street as Zelo? Or why didn't cross at the light at 5th Ave and Foothill? There is a light and crosswalk there!!!

Yelp is such a stupid review site. I can't stand stupid yelpers, and stupid yelpers describes about 99.9% of yelpers.

Corn pizza, $3.75. fresh corn, balsamic marinated roasted red onions, mozzarella
smoked mozzarella, topped with fresh chives!

WOW, just wow. As I mentioned before the cornmeal crust is just awesome, adding a sweetness to the pizza. This corn pizza is awesome. The corn is very fresh and cooked perfectly. But, the best part of this is the balsamic marinated roasted red onions, they look like bacon, but they just add a wonderful, bold sweet flavor to the pizza. The most interesting thing; there is no sauce on this pizza!! Just the goodness of the cornmeal crust and toppings!! I would order this again, anytime!

You can order pizza by the slice, $3.75, or the same three slices, half a pizza-$11 or the same six slices, whole pizza-$21.

Half sausage and half pepperoni,$21.

Sausage-homemade sausage, tomato sauce marinated green peppers . sauteed onions . mozzarella

The sausage is the more traditional type pizza. This did have sauce, a light sauce that was seasoned just right. The sausage was very fresh and tasty, they use a good quality sausage. The pizza has a very strong fennel flavor, since they use fennel seed oil to cook the pizza.

Pepperoni-pepperoni, mozzarela, fontina, mushrooms, and fresh tomatoes. A pepperoni pizza with no sauce, but fresh tomatoes? Yep, that's the pepperoni served at Zelo and I have to say it was very good. The toppings were fresh and the pepperoni was flavorful. I think I didn't miss the sauce because the crust was charred inn places and it just brought out more sweetness.

Service, we sat outside, and while a bit noisy, we understood, it was going to be!! Unlike some stupid yelper!!

I would go back to Zelo, just for the corn pizza, but all three pizzas I had were great!! I can't wait to go back!!

Lamonica's New York Pizza

Lamonica's New York Pizza
1066 Gayley Ave
Los Angeles
310-208-8671

In all the reviews I have done, I was surprised to learn that I had never done a review of a restaurant in Westwood. I think the reason is, because I hate UCLA, and especially hate being around UCLA fans and students. So, I haven't done a review for a restaurant in Westwood.

I happened to find Lamonica's by accident. I was looking up another pizza place and Lamonica's showed up. I read further and saw their dough in made in Brooklyn, NY. So, I wanted to see if it's really the water that makes New York pizza, so good.

Every day after 9pm and all day Sunday, Lamonica's offers their large 17in. pizza for $9 and $1.50 for each additional topping. So, I figured why not give them a try.

Since Lamonica's is in Westwood, it caters to the UCLA student population. The restaurant really needs to be cleaned, because the entire time I was there, nobody cleaned off the tables. The tables needed to be cleaned about two weeks ago.

Anyways, I got the large pepperoni, Sunday Special, $11.42. The pizza arrived quickly, and the first thing I noticed was the lack of pepperoni. Maybe if I paid full price, there would be more toppings, but it averaged about two pieces of pepperoni per slice, which isn't a good ratio.

Anyways, I took a bit and the first thing I noticed the crispiness of the crust. It was must more dense and firm, than any other New York pizza place that I have tried in LA. It was very chewy and held up to the toppings and cheese very well. I liked the crust very much.

What I didn't like was the sauce, cheese and pepperoni. The sauce was just too bland and blah. The cheese was sprinkled, not piled on there and the pepperoni was just regular store bought pepperoni. Not impressed.

Service is OK. They have a large number of people working behind the counter, but they are so disorganized. You don't know who is the cashier, order taker, or the cook. They all blend in and nobody says "Hi, can I help you." It's like one person puts the pizza in a box or tray, another person cuts the pizza, another person gives the pizza to the customers, and still another person takes the order. Very inefficient and disorganized.

While waiting for a couple friends to arrive, I saw them screw up this lady's order, they didn't make the second pizza she ordered, and I could hear her saying "This is the second time in two weeks, this has happened." Come on now. While they got my order correct, it took too long to take my order and there was only one other person in line ahead of me. They need to have less workers and more training for the workers.

I wouldn't go back to Lamonica's New York Pizza again. While I did enjoy the crust, nothing else about the pizza is outstanding.

Nicky D's Wood-Fired Pizza-Closed

Nicky D's Wood-Fired Pizza
2764 Rowena Ave
Los Angeles
323-664-3333

Silverlake has some damn good pizza places, including Tomato Pie and Garage Pizza. I heard some great things about Nicky D's Wood-Fired Pizza and decided to give them a try.

Nicky D's is basically a house that has been converted into a restaurant. There is a very small parking lot and then you climb a few stairs to get to the restaurant. You actually walk into the dining area at the top of the stairs. The place to order is in the middle of the building. The kitchen is the back part of the building and the wood fire oven is right there!

I ordered a medium, half cheese and half sausage, $14.63. The first thing I noticed about the pizza was the thin crust, maybe not exactly like New York thin crust, but good. When I took a bite, the texture was perfect, a bite chewy but firm. I really liked the crust. The cheese was piled on and good gooey cheese. The sausage was large slices of good quality meat, without many fillers. This was a very good pizza and I loved the crust.

Service was very good. I was greeted once I walked into the ordering area. That doesn't happen too often, which is a sad commentary about the restaurant business. The guy who took my order was helpful, answering my questions about how big the medium pizza were and asking if I wanted a beer while waiting for pizza. While I didn't get a beer, I liked his low pressure, subtle sales pitch. I sat down at a table, while waiting for the pizza. A young girl came up and asked "You didn't get anything to drink." and then handed me an individual sized pizza. I told her I didn't order this. She asked what did I order and got my pizza. She was also very nice and helpful. Nicky D's can teach many other restaurants about good customer service.

I would go back to Nicky D's anytime. Is it better than Tomato Pie or Garage Pizza? Put it this way, I wouldn't complain if I was forced to go to any of three. You people in Silverlake are lucky, you got some very good pizza places in your area.

Prizzi's-Closed

Prizzi's
3821 Riverside Dr
Burbank
818-641-5900

There are certain things about a Chicago style deep dish pizza that I love. The chucky tomato sauce, the layers of cheese and toppings, and a nice flakey, usually with cornmeal, crust. There are places in LA like Masa of Echo Park and Hollywood Pies that serves up a very good example of Chicago deep dish pizza.

Then there are places like Numero Uno Pizza, that think a deep dish pizza means doughly crust baked in a pan. That describes Prizzi's. I heard some good things about Prizzi's but never tried their location on Franklin in LA. Then they closed that location. Then, I heard they moved to Burbank, so I decided to give them a try.

Deep dish sausage pizza-$19. This reminded me of pizza places like Numero Uno Pizza, where they bake a pizza in a deep dish pan and call it Chicago deep dish pizza, but in reality it's nothing close to deep dish Chicago pizza. This was just a large amount of doughy crust, a little sauce then the ground up sausage, and then cheese. It was better than Numero Uno Pizza, but it wasn't a true deep dish Chicago pizza. I wasn't impressed with the sausage, because it was like ground sausage, not in the chunky pieces or the flat layer of sausage you see. The texture and taste was just wrong.

Deep dish meat lovers pizza-sausage, pepperoni, and ground beef, $25. The first thing I noticed about this pizza was the sausage. It was so thin. If you had true Chicago deep dish pizza before, you know the sausage has chunky pieces of tomato. It isn't a thin smooth layer.

This was a little better than the sausage, but the crust wasn't that good, a bit doughly. The cheese and toppings were OK, but nothing really stood out. Nor did this come close to Chicago deep dish pizza.

Since I have had deep dish pizza before, I know they take awhile to bake. The servers should tell people about the wait. Our server did not and that could be a problem for people who don't know about Chicago deep dish pizza.

I paid the server and told her it's all your's. A few minutes later the server came and asked, "Do I need change?" Now, WTF is that, I already told you "it's all your's" and even if you didn't understand, you come back with change and not empty handed.

Otherwise, service was pretty good.

To call Prizzi's a true Chicago deep dish pizza place, would be a mistake. I saw some of their other items, salads, sandwiches, pasta etc and they did look pretty good. I may go to try the other items, but I won't go back for the pizza.

Hollywood Pies-Moved

www.hollywoodpies.com
323-337-3212

Nov. 2014 review of Hollywood Pies' new location on Pico.

In the LA area there are only two places to get a good Chicago style deep dish pizza; Tony's Little Italy and Masa of Echo Park. Now, Hollywood Pies, has emerged as a third place to get a good Chicago style deep dish pizza.

Hollywood Pies is an interesting business concept. They do not have a store front, they only use the kitchen of a restaurant that has closed. Also, it's a delivery and pick up only location. Well, it's not really "pick up," they have curb side service, so you call them when you arrive and they will come out with your pizza. They do accept credit cards.

So, I drive out to the given GPS address of 417 Westmont Dr, in West Hollywood, which is just north, on La Cienega, of the Beverly Center. And, I see a closed down restaurant. I park and when I get outside, I can smell the wonderful smell of pizza!! So, I know I'm close. I walk closer to the restaurant and I see a young woman walking away from a car, and inside the car I can see pizza boxes. So, I ask the young lady is this Hollywood Pies. She says Yes. We talk for a couple minutes about the location and business model etc. She goes back inside and a couple minutes later, comes out with my order!!!



I ordered a galf Classic Chicago-Whole milk mozzarella, mild Italian sausage and fresh house-made ricotta and Half Fairbanks-Whole milk mozzarella, mild Italian sausage, onions and baby bella mushrooms $22.

Chicago pizza take 45 minutes to cook. Any place that says they are a deep dish Chicago pizza place, and their pizza takes 20 minutes to cook, get the hell away from there. That place either, isn't a real Chicago deep dish pizza place or their pizza are prebaked/frozen, and that's not what you want.

I placed my order and they said the wait time was 90 minutes, because they were at their max. I wasn't too happy about the wait; not so much with Hollywood pies, but with myself for not placing my order sooner.

Anyways, they called me when my pizza was ready and I quickly drove over. Hollywood Pies' website gives 415 WESTMOUNT DR. WEST HOLLYWOOD CA 90048, as a GPS direction. Just go to the intersection of La Cienega and Westmount, go west and you will run into the building that is pictured. There is a small parking area that says No Parking but if you stay in your car, you don't have to worry about the meter maids.

Anyways, I was handed my pizza, my arm dropped about six inches, because the pizza was so heavy. Always a good sign when it comes to Chicago pizza. I found a crate to take a picture of the pizza, then drove about 45 minutes to finally dig into the pizza. The pizza holds up amazingly well after 45 minutes.

The crust is dense, but light, flakey, and buttery. It holds up very well to all the sauce and toppings.

The sauce is on the tangy side, but is very good. I get an oregano flavor from the sauce.

The whole milk mozzarella, is very good quality.




Fairbanks-Whole milk mozzarella, mild Italian sausage, onions and baby bella mushrooms. This was awesome. The sausage was crumbed up pieces of mild Italian sausage, with good flavor and seasoning. The onions were very sweet and cut into long silvers, which allowed them to remain crispy even after baking.




Classic Chicago-Whole milk mozzarella, mild Italian sausage and fresh house-made ricotta.

All the flavors really worked well together for this pizza. The ricotta added a rich creamy flavor and texture.

I think my favorite is the Fairbanks, but would gladly order the Classic Chicago, again.

Service was very good. The young girl was professional on the phone and when she gave me the pizza, was nice and helpful. I would order at least an hour in advance, and give yourself time to find Hollywood Pies.

I would go back to Hollywood Pies anytime.

Barone's Famous Italian Restaurant

Barone's Famous Italian Restaurant
13726 Oxnard St
Van Nuys
818-782-6004

Barone's is a long time San Fernando Valley institution. I read they used to have three locations throughout the Valley, but now this is their only location, which they moved into about six years ago. Does anybody know what this restaurant was, before Barone's moved in? I'm guessing it was a steakhouse by the red vinyl booths.

Barone's is a casual sit down restaurant with other Italian dishes on the menu. But, they are known for their rectangular pizza. The pizza isn't Sicilian, since it has a thinner crust than Sicilian pizza.



I ordered a large with pepperoni, $15.99. This could have been a very good pizza. The crust was thin, not New York style thin, but more of a thin cracker crust. There was plenty of mozzarella cheese. The sauce was very mild, well balanced, I hate it when the sauce overpowers a pizza. But, the top layer of the pizza was overcooked. The top of the pepperoni was almost burnt, but the bottom was nice and you could tell this is a good quality pepperoni. But, since the top was overcooked, it just ruined the pizza for me.

Service was good. The lady who was our server was nice and attentive. I didn't lack for anything, she came to our table often to see if we needed anything.

I noticed that Barone's offers live entertainment on Friday and Saturdays, and they raise the prices of the drinks AND they have a $12.50 minimum per person!! I guess, if you want pizza on those nights, you get the pizza to go.

Again, Barone's just missed being a great pizza. I can't believe a pizza place that has been in business for so long, would overcook their pizza. I may give Barone's another try but I'm in no rush.

Nonna Pizzeria-Closed

Nonna Pizzeria
818 Fair Oaks Ave
South Pasadena
626-403-4100

A few doors south of Gus's Barbeque, and across Fair Oaks Ave, from
Fairoaks Pharmacy, is Nonna Pizzeria. I read they serve up some good New York style pizza and decided to give them a try.

I had their special, any two slices and a 16oz soda, $6.04. Normally, I don't like getting slices, but I was going to Mamma's Brick Oven Pizza, after and there was no need to get a whole pie.



I decided to get a regular pepperoni and sausage slice. The pie had been on the counter for at least 45 minutes, the amount of time I waited for other friends to come. Even though the pizza had been sitting around for awhile, I thought the toppings were very good on this slice. The cheese was a good quality cheese that had melted nicely. The pepperoni had a good flavor and the sausage was nicely seasoned.

But, what I didn't like was the crust, this was a weak crust with no flavor or texture.



I noticed they put a Sicilian pizza up, while I was waiting, so I know it wasn't sitting around for hours on end. Sicilian slice with pepperoni. I loved this slice. The crust was great, nice and brown on the bottom with some nice crispy part. The toppings were great, same quality cheese and pepperoni. The Sicilian is the way to go at Nonna Pizzeria.

Service was good. The people are nice, friendly and they take and get your order out quickly.

I would go back for the Sicilian pizza again, I would have to think long and hard, if I wanted a regular pie.

Mamma's Brick Oven Pizza-Moved

Mamma's Brick Oven Pizza 710 Fair Oaks Ave South Pasadena 626-799-1344 After going to Nonna Pizzeria, I walked a couple blocks north on Fair Oaks Ave. to Mamma's Brick Oven Pizza. I did the samething as I did at Nonna, ordered slices. Pepperoni slice, $2.75. I loved the crust. This crust was firm, had good texture, was soft, yet chewy. The pepperoni was ok, nothing great. But the cheese was also top notch, good quality cheese. I wanted something different and saw the buffalo chicken slice- $3.25; buffalo sauce, mozzarella, southwest seasoned chicken breast, and ranch sauce, on the counter and decided to try it. The first thing I noticed was this pizza is spicy, whatever buffalo wing sauce they use, needs to be on wings. The buffalo sauce had a lot of vinegar and a lot of spice but overwhelmed the taste of the pizza. There wasn't that much chicken breast but they tasted ok. They did put some ranch dressing on top, to try and balance things out, but it didn't work. Service was good. People are nice, friendly and get your orders out quickly. The regular pizza slices are better here at Mamma's, mostly because the crust is so much better, than at Nonna. I would come back to Mamma's and try a freshly baked pie.

Redballs Rock & Roll Pizza-Closed

Redballs Rock & Roll Pizza
6551 Topanga Canyon Blvd
Woodland Hills
818-348-1524

I guess Redballs Rock & Roll Pizza is what you get, when an owner combines his two loves; pizza and rock and roll. A small place with a stage in the back, that has a lot of performances every week. I heard good things about their New York style pizza, so I decided to give them a try.

With the high gas prices, I decided to take the train to Red Balls. I caught the Orange Line, which is a bus line from North Hollywood to Warner Center, which is about a two block to Red Balls. But, Red Balls wasn't much help, when I called for directions.



I got the Brooklyn pizza; sliced meatballs, pepperoni and Italian sausage, $19.99. All pies are 18in pizzas. I noticed when they made this pizza the cheese are slices of cheese, not shredded. It doesn't make a difference, I've just never seen that. The pizza was pretty good, but the crust was below average. It was thin, but it was almost too thin, it didn't hold up to the toppings.

The sliced meat balls were a bit bland, not much flavor. But, the Italians sausage was pretty good, with good flavor though it lacked fennel seeds. The pepperoni was run of the mill stuff. Overall a very average pizza.

Service was friendly but unprofessional and slow. I came in with a coupon and the first thing the lady said was "Those coupons are only good for dining in." Well no shit sherlock!!. What a rude way to greet customer. But, the lady was nice, and took my order. But, then another lady took over and she just didn't have a clue. She said it was her first day, but she was sooooo slow punching in my order and taking my money. I could have ran a damn marathon and still had time for a swim, before she got finished with the order. She was nice but they need to train their employees better.

When my pizza came, the guy who I believe is the owner, said he would get me some plates and napkins. Well, I could have finished that swim, by the time he got me a plate. He was all over the place, trying to get orders out and set up the stage for that night's performance. He was nice but very unorganized and not professional at all.

I would not waste my time going back to Redballs again. The pizza was average, at best and the service was too disorganized and unprofessional. I can't imagine going here when they have a band playing, it would just be way too loud.

Pallazzo's Pizzeria-Closed

Pallazzo's Pizzeria 3228 Yorba Linda Blvd. Fullerton 714-528-7499 As readers of The New Diner know, I love broasted chicken. I couldn't believe a New York style pizza place served broasted chicken, so when I heard about Pallazzo's Pizzeria, I went right down for some pizza and broasted chicken. Medium half pepperoni and half cheese, $11.99. My idea of New York style pizza is very thin crust, with the dough so think you can almost see through it. Lots of gooey good quality cheese and a sauce that is full of flavor but not that tangy. The pizza at Pallazzo's Pizzeria, is much thicker than what I expect for a New York style pizza. The crust was pretty good for regular pizza but not New York. There was a ton of cheese, which I like, but it wasn't gooey and I don't think it's the best quality cheese. The cheese was more like the kind you get from a chain pizza place. The pepperoni was also like a chain pizza place. Nothing special or great about it. Two piece broasted chicken, $3.99. The surprising thing about the broasted chicken, you can get either white or dark meat for the same price. The breast piece came out about five minutes after I ordered. It wasn't cooked fresh to order, but it had been cooked within 15 minutes of me ordering. It was hot, not pipping, out of the fryer hot, but hot. The skin wasn't as crispy or light as other broasted chicken I've had. The meat wasn't as juicy, really it was rubbery and bland. Service was OK. The guy who took my order, who I believe is the owner, was pretty nice when I ordered. But there was a couple having pizza and he asked them about five times how everything was, but he only asked me how everything was, once, when I had basically finished eating. He had to pass by me, to get to the couple. At least he asked but why did that other couple get better service? I would not go back to Pallazzo's Pizzeria, again, either for the pizza-which isn't really NY style pizza, or the broasted chicken.

Pepe's NY Pizza

Pepe's NY Pizza
11946 Ventura Blvd
Studio City
818-358-2233

This maybe the first pizza place The New Diner has reviewed in the Valley. I read up about Pepe's NY Pizza and people had good things to say about it.

Whenever I go to NY-style pizza places, I want to order fresh baked pizzas. I don't want a pizza that has been sitting around forever. The only time I order slices, is when I see a freshly made pizza being put into the display case or know that a place has good turnover and the pizza was recently, say last 15 minutes, made.



Sicilian pizza with pepperoni, $23.99. Cut into squares, this was OK. Most Sicilian pizza I've had, the crust was very soft and chewy. The crust was a bit heavier and dense and crisp. The sauce was very good, mild flavor that didn't overwhelm the pizza. The pepperoni was kind of bland, there was nothing special about. I did think they could have put more pieces of pepperoni on the pizza.

This was a pricey pizza, $21 for just plain cheese and $2 per topping. I don't think it was worth the price.



Vegetarian pizza, $20.99, for a 20 in. pizza. The price for a 20 in. cheese pizza is, $16.99 and $2 for extra toppings, so this was a good deal. This pizza had tomatoes, onions, black olives, bell peppers, and mushrooms. The crust was thin, but thicker than most New York style pizza places. But, this crust was soggy, maybe from all the veggies on the pizza? But, I've had veggie pizzas where the crust was firm and held up to the veggies.

Service was very good. The guy was nice and helpful.

Overall I wasn't too impressed the Pepe's NY Pizza. I wouldn't make a special trip back, and if I'm the area, I would prefer to try another pizza place, than go back to Pepe's.

Fratello's Pizza & Pasta

Fratello's Pizza & Pasta
1667 N. Mountain Ave.
Upland
909-981-0200

David Allen is one of my sources for new restaurants. He will review restaurants in the western Inland Empire area. I have found many good restaurants through him. So, when I read his review about Fratello's Pizza & Pasta, it quickly got on my list of restaurants to try. While it took me awhile to go there, I finally made it, on a rainy day.

Fratello's Pizza & Pasta is located in a very dark strip mall, off Mountain Ave. I saw they had a special through Yelp, a large pizza for the price of a small, $9.99. So I called and placed an order. The guy gave me great directions and what to look for, and I was able to find the restaurant.



Large, 16in, pizza with half sausage and half pepperoni, $9.99 with Yelp special, that was posted on Dec. 17, 2010.

This is a medium crust pizza. The crust was well baked, chewy, good texture and held up well to the toppings.

The toppings were pretty good. I loved the amount of cheese on the pizza. Good quality cheese that was well melted. The pepperoni was better than the sausage. The pepperoni, which averaged about 3-5 pieces per slice, had a nice spice and flavor. The sausage was a bit bland, lacked fennel seeds and any flavor.

Service was good. The lady who took my order greeted me and was nice and friendly. But, the Yelp special does not mention anything about printing out a copy of the special. When I called to place my order, the guy wanted me to print out the Yelp page. Now, it wasn't really an issue, I have a printer. But, they should put that on the Yelp page. If I had not called in my order, and I just mentioned the Yelp ad, there may have been issues.

Overall, I like the pizza at Fratello's, I liked the pepperoni better than the sausage. But, overall this is a very good pizza place.

Rose City Pizza

Rose City Pizza
3588 Rosemead Blvd
Rosemead
626-280-8885

I was very surprised when I heard about Rose City Pizza in Rosemead. But, I figured I would try it and see how it measures up.

Rose City is a NY style pizza place. Now, most places will say they are NY style but they really have no idea what NY style pizza, really is. Rose City does a very good job of NY style pizza.



While they did sell slices, I wanted to get a fresh made pie. So, I got a medium, one topping- half sausage and half cheese, which is currently on special for $9.99. The special runs Mon-Thrs- from 3pm-9pm.

I was surprised at how good this pizza was. First, they carefully weighed all the ingredients-lots of cheese, good amount of sausage, which is mild in flavor, and a good sauce. The crust was a bit thicker than most NY style pizza, but very solid and just a bit crispy, which I like.

Service started off bad but was good, overall. When I walked in, I wasn't greeted. Why is it so hard for restaurants, who are in customer service, to greet people? But they were friendly and helpful. I made a mistake in ordering; I asked for half pepperoni, instead of half sausage. I made the change before I even paid. But, the guy misunderstood what I asked for and he put half pepperoni and sausage and half pepperoni. I saw the pizza right before it was going in the oven and asked, I wanted half cheese and half sausage. He was nice and got rid of the pepperoni. He was very nice about it.

I really enjoyed Rose City pizza. The crust, the cheese and the toppings all work very well together. This is a hidden gem!!

P.H.A.T. Pizza-Closed

P.H.A.T. Pizza
18340 Yorba Linda Blvd
Ste 104
Yorba Linda
714-985-1515

When I found out that a Chicago style stuffed/deep dish pizza place had opened up within five miles of Tony's Little Italy, I had to try it. Tony's is my favorite Chicago style deep dish pizza in Orange County.

P.H.A.T. Pizza is so new, they haven't had the time to put up a new sign. There is still the signage from the old pizza restaurant, they replaced.




I got a medium stuffed, with sausage and half pepperoni, $20.93. When I read that other food review site, I can't believe some reviewers are that stupid. Chicago stuffed/deep dish pizza takes 30 minutes or more to bake. The fact they complain about this, shows how stupid some people can be.

Anyways, the pizza arrives and the first thing I noticed, was the watery, runny pizza. This shows to me, they use frozen items and/or they do not allow the sauce to reduce down. The sauce is a sweet, light tasting sauce. There is a lot of fennel seed in this pizza and not just from the sausage.

The amount of pepperoni and sausage, wasn't good at all. Most bites were cheese, sauce and crust.

The crust wasn't that good either. First, no cornmeal was used. Then, it was almost like a cracker crust, which you can see in the picture below. A Chicago stuffed pizza should be firm, solid, not cracker thin.



Service was good. The guy who took my order, who I think is the owner, was nice and friendly.

P.H.A.T Pizza is a Chicago stuffed/deep dish pizza place, but they do not do a good job of it. With Tony's so close, there is no need to come back.