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.

Gus's Barbeque

Gus's Barbeque
808 Fair Oaks Ave
South Pasadena
626-799-3251

Why do I even bother? As readers of The New Diner know, I love BBQ ribs. I already know the best place for BBQ ribs in LA, Phillips BBQ. So why do I bother trying all other BBQ restaurants?

Gus's BBQ in South Pasadena has been around forever. But they recently changed owners and I've heard good things about them. The new owners of Gus's also own Tops, a burger place in Pasadena. I may review Tops.

I got the half rack of St. Louis spare ribs, $20.51, with doubel creamed corn. I saw them working on the ribs and they took a half rack of ribs and put it on the grill. Once I saw that I wasn't expecting much. The menu does the meats are slow smoked for over 10 hours with hickory and applewood. Well there was no smoke flavor and no smoke ring on the ribs. It was clear the ribs were cooked in an oven and just terrible. The ribs lacked flavor and were pretty tough. There is no way they were in any smoker for 10 hours.

Service was great. I was greeted as I walked in. The young lady who helped me answered all my questions and was very friendly. Though, after I ordered, they did ask if I was from next door? I said no and asked why? I guess next door they have a cigar bar and people order food from there.

I would not go back to Gus's BBQ again. The ribs are terrible and not smoked. They are just as bad as Barn Burner.

Fairoaks Pharmacy

Fair Oaks Pharmacy
1526 Mission St
South Pasadena
626-799-1414

Fair Oaks Pharmacy has been a South Pasadena landmark since 1915. The soda fountain takes you back in time. The soda fountain is known for old fashioned ice cream and floats. They also serve a regular menu.

I ordered the Roadside half and half. Half garden salad and half a turkey sandwich. The salad was filled with all different types of lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers. The salad was fresh but nothing outstanding.

The turkey sandwich was also very fresh, with smoked turkey, lettuce and tomatoes on white bread. The salad and sandwich combo was $7.95.

The sundae pictured is mint chocolate chip topped with hot fudge, whipped cream, nuts and cherry.

Service was very slow. I realize it was a very hot day and a group of 25 people came in just before I got there. But there were at least six kids working behind the counter and nobody taking orders at the tables. When they first came to take my order, the kid walked right past me to another table. Then came back and asked if I had been helped. Why not ask me first before going to another table? Then when I placed my order, I realized that you have your choice of bread for the turkey sandwich. Now I'm not that picky. I like all kinds of bread but prefer wheat bread. They should have given me the option.

I think Fair Oaks Pharmacy is a place everybody should go to at least once. But the food is nothing special and the service is very poor.