Two Boots-Closed

Two Boots
1818 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles
213-413-2668

The second stop of our Pizza Crawl was Two Boots. The first stop was Pizza Buona.  Two Boots is a New York chain, that has NY style pizza with Cajun toppings. Yes, kind of a weird combination but one that works well.

I got a slice of the The Dude, a Cajun bacon cheeseburger pizza, $3.75. Tasso, ground beef, cheddar and mazzarella cheese. I didn't know what tasso was until I had this slice of pizza. Tasso is a cajun ham that has a ton of flavor. I really liked this pizza. All the flavors worked great together. A good thin crust that held up all the toppings. Wonderful combination of flavors.

I then got a slice of pepperoni, $3.75. Again a nice, firm thin crust that held the toppings. A nice spicy pepperoni and lots of gooey cheese.

The slices were huge, which is always a good thing.

Service was great. They did well serving 30 people from the Pizza Crawl. They were baking fresh pies and putting them out in the case as quickly as possible. They also answered questions, I'm sure many of the same question, in a very nice friendly manner.

I would go back to Two Boots anytime. It was wonderful!!

Pizza Buona-Moved

Pizza Buona
2100 W. Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles
213-413-0800

Update May 30, 2019- Check out my review of the new Pizza Buona- which moved a couple blocks south of their old Sunset location!

I went on a Pizza Crawl in Echo Park. We went to two places that I have never been to, Pizza Buona and Two Boots.

Pizza Buona was the first stop of the pizza crawl. A family owned store that has been around Echo Park forever, they are a no frills pizza place.

We ordred a medium pepperoni pizza,$11,70. When I first saw the pizza, I thought it was burnt. But in fact this pizza was baked just right. This was a heavy pizza, lots of toppings on thin crust. I bet the used more cheese on this pizza than four pizzas from Dominos. The cheese was nice and gooey and melted just right. Lots of pepperoni that was mild in flavor and worked well.

Service for about 30 people was great. Nice and friendly service.

I would go back to Pizza Buona anytime. Don't let the outside appearance fool you, this is a good quality pizza place with good prices.

Taix

Taix
1911 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles
213-484-1265

I'll be honest, I am not a fan of the French, who I think are arrogant assholes. Then when those wussies didn't support Operation Iraqi Freedom, I said screw them. Screw the frenchys. I haven't really been to any French restaurant. But when I heard that Taix has been in LA since 1927 and offers a $18 filet mignon on Mondays, I decided why not? Plus I knew I was going to enjoy the company of other foodies, including some hotties.

So I got the filet mignon, $17.95, which comes with a baked potato and some broccoli and carrots. For $4 more you can get a veggie salad and a great blue cheese salad.

The veggie soup was awesome and I don't order soup that often. The soup was full of veggies, including zucchini, which I do not like, and some red beans. The soup was spicy, rich and hearty. A good example of homemade veggie soup.

The blue cheese salad was very interesting. A quartered head of iceberg lettuce drown in blue cheese. Oh was this good. Very fresh lettuce, blue cheese dressing which was very thick and rich, lots of flavor.

Then the main course, the filet mignon. I was worried about the quality and quanity of the filet but after one bite, all my worries were eaten away. The filet was soooo tender, sooo flavorful, it just melted in my mouth. I could have used a plastic knife to cut the filet. The bearnaise was very good, it added to the flavor of the filet. But I think next time I go, I will ask for the bearnaise on the side. I also thought the filet was a very good size, I would say about 6 to 8 oz. The steaks is a steal at $17.95.

Service was awesome. Bernard was our server and he has been at Taix forever. He knows how to provide great service.

I would go back to Taix anytime. Every Monday is their filet mignon special. They have a daily special, also for $17.95, I think the next time I go, I will try the roast pork loin.

Taix is a long time LA restaurant that everybody must try. A nice restaurant without being full of arrogant assholes.

Masa of Echo Park

Masa of Echo Park
1800 W Sunset Blvd
LA
213-989-1558

Chicago style pizza!! Of course you need to go to Chicago to find the best, I prefer Connie's but there are others like Lou Malnati's. But out here in LA, whenever I hear those words, I think of Tony's Pizza in Placentia. But Masa comes pretty damn close to Tony's Little Italy. Actually, Masa comes very close to Lou Malnati's.

Pictured is the large "Lots of Meat" pizza, Fontanini sweet Italian sausage and pepperoni, $19.95. As most people know Chicago style pizza takes about an hour to bake. Best best, order before getting there and your pizza will be ready.

The sausage was very good. But instead of the crumbled sausage it was sausage patties, just like some places in Chicago. There was a ton of sausage and pepperoni and cheese. The sauce was good but I didn't think there was enough of it. The pizza was on the dry side. But overall a very good Chicago style pizza. As good as Tony's Little Italy? No. But pretty damn close.

Service was below average. The server had a lot of attitude at times. She was slow to refill drinks and instead of asking us to do something, she ordered us to pass the plates down. I mean isn't that the server's job? If she wants some help, be nice and polite about it.

I would go back to Masa but I want a different server. This is a great place to go before a Dodger game. The pizza is very good and worth the trip. Parking can be tough in the area.

Pioneer Chicken-Echo Park-Closed

Pioneer Chicken
1321 Echo Park Ave.
Los Angeles
213-481-1580

The second stop on my Pioneer Chicken run. The Echo Park location isn't too far from the first Pioneer Chicken, that I went to on Sunset Blvd.

I found the breast piece to be warm, not hot but still very juicy and flavorful. The crunch wasn't there for some reason. The breast piece was $2.

I would go to this location again. Much better than the Sunset location.