Category Archives: Hollywood Fl

Joe’s Old School Pizza Hollywood, FL

Joe's Old School Pizza Hollywood, FL

You ever drive by what appears to be a vacant gas station one day, and a few months later you drive by it again, and it is an Italian Ice place, and then you drive by it again except this time it is a delicious pizzeria? Well it happens to me all the time too! A while back I read about Joe’s on a friends food review site named Jeff Eats. I was kind of surprised that he beat me to this pizza joint. I had never noticed it since the last time I had been down around this area, just north of Young Circle was about a year prior to his article, so I actually forgot about this pizza place. That was until Nicole Danna asked me to discuss the Best Pizza in Broward County for the New Times. We had Joe’s Old School Pizza on our list of must try places, and even ended up ranking it 3rd best pizza in Broward County.

Joes Pizza Hollywood

Before I get to the pizza, let’s take in a little history on how Joe’s Old School Pizza ended up in this eclectic location in Hollywood. Joe Caristo is the name of the owner, and also the Joe in Joe’s Old School Pizza. Joe grew up in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn, which is known for a tremendous amount of quality pizza places. He opened this pizzeria over two years ago, Actually 2 years and 4 months as of the date of this review. For those of you who live in Coral Gables (1232 S. Dixie Highway) and Cooper City (2711 Hiatus Road) you might recognize Joe’s, as this is one of the three locations. This review will only focus on the Hollywood location but we will be visiting the other locales shortly to do separate reviews.

joe's pizza slice hollywood

When my slices arrived at the table, they looked extremely tasty. They had a perfect amount of cheese and upon lifting up the slice, I was amazed to see how crisp it was. Look at the photo, it barely tilted down. Many other reviews of Joe’s said the pizza was soggy, but this was obviously not the case during my two visits there. My first bite revealed a sweet tasting sauce, and I later become aware that the cheese comes from Grande. The crust on both of my visits was consistent and was nice and crispy with a fantastic taste.

Joe's Pizza Drive Thru

Joe’s isn’t like your average pizza place. You walk into the garage bay and order from a counter on the left. Then you wait and your slices appear at a window to your right. Definitely an experience I haven’t had down in South Florida. Another interesting thing Joe’s Old School pizza has at their Hollywood location is a drive-through window.

Joes Old School Pizza

I must say, Joe’s Old School Pizza in Hollywood, FL serves some of the best pizza slices in South Florida. If you are in the area, you won’t be disappointed. Even if you are out of the area, it is a different way to spend a breezy afternoon. Search for days with good weather since Joe’s does get hot during the summer, and the outside seating and inside the garage might get to you.

Joe’s Old School Pizza in Hollywood, FL gets 7 out of 8 slices.

Here are some other photos:

 

Joe's Pizza Hollywood best pizza hollywood, fl Joe's Old School Pizza, FL Joe's Old School Pizza Hollywood, FL Joe's Old School Pizza Hollywood

Oasis by the Sea Pizza Hollywood Boardwalk

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While enjoying a visit from my parents for the first time in many years, we ended up on the Hollywood Boardwalk in Hollywood, FL. For those that aren’t familiar with where Hollywood is, it is just south of Fort Lauderdale. This area is inundated with French Canadian male snowbirds who love to wear tight bathing suits and show off their bellies. If you think I am being mean, just go down there yourself and you will immediately find I am being kind in that description.

After walking up and down for a while on a beautiful day, I got hungry and of course asked if they wanted some pizza. Never the type of parents to disappoint, they happily agreed and we started looking for the right pizza place on the Hollywood Boardwalk. As we passed by one place in particular called Oasis by the Sea, we were hard pressed by a rather large lady who told us it is the best pizza on the boardwalk and one of the only places that doesn’t freeze their dough. I asked if she would guarantee me it was the best and she said it easily was the best. Never one to not accept a pizza challenge, we headed into Oasis by the Sea.

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Florio’s Pizza Hollywood, Fl

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My oh my has the Hollywood Boardwalk in Florida changed, and for the best. Well, I guess if you ask some it isn’t for the best, but one thing is certain during the winter here in Hollywood… If you have a French Canadian accent, and drive poorly, you will fit right in.

It seems Hollywood has become Southern Quebec. It used to be saturated with tourists looking to escape the cold Canadian weather, but I actually found it hard to find someone speaking English on the boardwalk. My son and I were walking on towards the North when we got hungry. Although we passed by several pizza places along the way, we chose Florio’s Pizza since it was directly in front of us when he asked to eat.

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Conca D’oro Pizza Hollywood, FL

There are many high quality pizzerias around the Hollywood area of South Florida. Many of which have already been highlighted here. Obviously, as in each city/town in Florida, there are some crappy places as well. Conca D’Oro Pizza is not one of those place. Passing by Conca D’oro Pizza in Downtown Hollywood the other day reminded me that I hadn’t been there to eat pizza there for quite some time. Actually, I think the last time I went there was close to seven years ago, and had a positively mediocre chicken cacciatore and have never been back….The same people that tell me the food is on a par with Mama Mia (not good) also tell me that they have great Sicilian pies.

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Tuscany Italian Wine Bar & Restaurant Pizza Seminole Hard Rock Hotel

Was at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino the other day for a conference and stopped by the Italian Restaurant on the deader side of the outdoor shops to try Tuscany Italian Restaurant. I was pleased to see they had some pizza on the menu, so I ordered up a plain individual pie to see how it tasted. The place was pretty dead during the off hour that I went, so I wasn’t sure if it was because it was awful, or just a time that many people choose not to eat while visiting.

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Piola Pizza Hallandale Beach – Best Pizza Hallandale Beach

Having experienced the splendor of Piola Pizza in South Beach, it was only logical that as I passed the one in Hallandale Beach with Andy the other day, we should stop and see if this Hallandale location was as good as their other one. Piola has another location in Italy, but the odds of me passing by that one randomly are pretty slim.

Upon entering this Piola Pizza place, I was quickly reminded of their other location, the decor seemed the same, and the staff seemed as uninterested :-). Eventually we were seated, even though the place wasn’t very crowded. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that the air conditioning didn’t seem to work properly, and if it was working as good as it could, I feel awful and can understand why the staff was so slow to move.

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Little Venice Pizza Hollywood, Fl

It was the most memorable pizza crust I’ve had in recent times. Do you know that feeling you get when you eat a piping hot slice of cheese pizza and your teeth sink gently through the runny, gooey cheese but are then halted by the delight of a fluffy yet crunchy, buttery crust that lies beneath? That’s what a pizza experience is like at Little Venice on the Hollywood Beach Broadwalk.

If you’re a frequenter of Hollywood Beach, then you know it is no challenge to find a place along the broadwalk that serves pizza. You can get it anywhere, which makes it more challenging to weed out the crappy places. If you’re on the south end, you’ve gotta make it to this place.

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Sirrico’s Pizza Hollywood Hard Rock Casino

Now this is not going to be a typical review, so let me explain. We have all had food in different circumstances such as being really hungry or having a craving for something special. So this is review of wanting and having a couple slices after a long night out.  I have had the most amazing tacos in the wee hours of the morning, yet when I tried them during the day they were not the same. I have had pizza that was amazing no matter what time I ate it.  The verdict was out when we came upon Sirricos in the food court of the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel.

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Joe Jamz Pizza Hollywood Florida

joe_jamz.jpgAfter hearing good things about Joe Jamz Pizza in Hollywood from my sister and one of my editors at work, my dad, other sister and I decided to order in and try it out. I should have known from Pizza Expert that this was probably a mistake on our part, seeing as how the pizza definitely changes from sitting in the box for half an hour in the delivery car before it arrived to our door.  It’s safe to say that I don’t think this pie would have tasted much better fresh in the restaurant either.

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