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.

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.

Rib Ranch Barbeque

Rib Ranch Barbeque
4923 Topanga Canyon Blvd
Woodland Hills
818-884-7776

Rib Ranch Barbeque, location Woodland Hills. Suburbia. The San Fernando Valley. Just from that, readers of The New Diner can tell how I feel about Rib Ranch Barbeque.

I got the Easter baby back pork ribs, $11.45. I saw the large grills they use and it is a grill. The charcoal is placed right under the meat, direct heat, just like people do with their Weber during the summer. So these ribs were not smoked, no smoke flavor. They were also very dry, as if they had been sitting in warmers for too long. The baby backs were pretty lean and the meat was OK. The BBQ sauce is basically spiced up ketchup. I was not impressed.

Service is pretty good. We sat outside and the servers were nice and always came around to refill drinks.

I would not go back to Rib Ranch again. I was not impressed at all with the ribs and I would not go back to Rib Ranch again.

Grandpa Fred's BBQ-Closed

Grandpa Fred's Bar-b-que
21040 Victory Blvd.
Woodland Hills, 91367
818-593-4269

When I heard about Grandpa Fred's BBQ I wanted to try it. First of all the owner grew up on a pig farm and grew so fond of pigs, he couldn't bare the thought of slaughtering them. So there is no pork at all at Grandpa Fred's. At first I was a bit upset because I love pork ribs. But he promised me his beef ribs would make me forget about pork ribs. A big task but I was willing to give it a chance.

I ordered the Angus beef ribs for $13.00. I actually paid $12 and I'll tell you about that later. You're suppose to get four ribs with this order but I got seven ribs. The ribs come with two sides and I got a very dry, mac and cheese. The ribs as you can see are huge, but that's normal because a cow is bigger than a pig. But these ribs were very meaty, just a ton of meat on them all. But the outter part was charred and dry. You needed to drown them in BBQ sauce to make it easier to chew. But once inside the beef was very tender with tons of hickory smoked flavor. The BBQ sauce they use is a tomato based sauce and is very mild, there is no kick to it.

The first time I went to Grandpa Fred's was about three years ago. I met the owner and he was great. Very friendly and helpful. He even gave me a rib to try while I was waiting for my order. I was so impressed with the service and ribs, I wanted to come by here more often, even though it a long drive. Well I finally get back to Grandpa Fred's and the service was bad. I went to the counter to order. Nobody was there, so I waited and waited. There was a man, dressed in suit and tie, talking to somebody who I couldn't see. After waiting for about ten minutes, I finally got that man's attention. The kid he was talking to got up and came to take my order. He only charged me $12 for the ribs that are listed on the menu at $13. I figured that was fine since I had to wait for at least five minutes before he took my order. Then after ten minutes of waiting for my order somebody comes out and said they ran out of corn, so I asked for double mac and cheese. Then after another ten minutes of waiting, I finally get my order!!! What the hell took so long. I mean they weren't busy, about four other people in the dining area. The kid who took my order was nice and everything but he seemed to be interested in talking to that guy than providing customer service. One of the servers actually sat down and watched a DVD after dropping off food at one table. Just sat there and kicked back like she was at the movies. Now they got a great HD projection TV that takes up the entire wall. But come on you're not a movie theatre, you're a restaurant. Take care of the customers.

While it's impossible for me to forget about BBQ pork ribs, these beef ribs are very good. Though they need to work on the burnt/charred on the outside. I would go back to Grandpa Fred's but I would either call in the order or hope that the kid who helped me wasn't there. The food is good but the service does vary depending on who is there.

Update June 14, 2009



I went back to Grandpa Fred's and ordered combination plate with filet mignon and ribs, $19. Overall I would rate them a solid B. But the ribs weren't as good as I had before. The ribs had a lot of gristle and some parts were almost burnt and very chewy. I also noticed that I got only three ribs when somebody else at my table got four.

The filet was like the ribs, some parts were great other parts burnt. The good parts were very tender and flavorful. But the burnt parts just weren't doing it for me. While the ratio was about 80-20, good parts to bad parts, it is not a good way to make an impression.

I was a disappointment in my return trip to Grandpa Fred's. It is still good, but the food shouldn't be so inconsistent.

My Brother's Bar B Q-Closed

My Brother's Bar B-Q 21150 Ventura Blvd Woodland Hills CA 818-348-2020 They only serve baby back ribs at Mr. Brothers. Stepping into My Brothers is like stepping back in time when Love's Restaurant was around. Mr Brothers has the same decor as the 1970 and 80's Love Restaurant chain. We got their in time for the early bird special and I got the baby back ribs. The baby back ribs are OK though they are not smoked at all but for $12.95 they are a good deal. The ribs were a little too well done for my tastes. Some ribs were almost burnt. The BBQ sauce was just too sweet. I got fries and the garlic mashed potato. Fries were done just right. The mashed potatoes were OK. Service was very good. I wouldn't go back to My Brothers. Update January 19, 2011 I know I said I would never go back to My Brother's Bar B Q, again and that is still true; I wouldn't go back for the BBQ ribs. But, I read that My Brother's serves broasted chicken and I wanted to try it. I believe My Brother's is the only place in the San Fernando Valley, that serves broasted chicken. I got the half broasted chicken, $8.25, a la carte. The chicken is suppose to be cooked to order, but I wasn't that impressed. It wasn't as juicy as other broasted chicken that I have tired. I did like the crispy skin, but this was an average example of broasted chicken. Service, for to go orders, was terrible. When I walked in, a young girl was sitting down, talking with her friends. She didn't bother to get up and greet me or the couple who came in right after. She just sat down and asked if she could help me. The couple, who came in after me, was dining in, and she told them, to pick any seat. Again, never bothering to get out of her seat. Terrible first impression. I asked to make sure they had broasted chicken and she said yes. I then asked how is that sold, by the piece, as a meal, etc? She finally got up, got a menu and told me "How about I give you the menu and you can see for yourself." Nice, friendly service. While waiting for the broasted chicken, a man came in to pick up an order of broasted chicken. I asked him how the broasted chicken was. He said very good but the service, sucks. I agree. Broasted chicken takes 15-20 minutes to cook. I was waiting about 10 minutes when my order came. The terrible host said they had made extra chicken. I felt the box and it was hot and when I opened up the chicken it did seem as though the chicken had been cooked within the past few minutes. I would not go to Mr Brother's again. The terrible service and the average broasted chicken.