Category Archives: Pizza

Portland

Rovente Pizza SE Portland

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Another great post from IZ at Portland Pizza. First off, I’m starving. Famished. In need of a slice. J and E agreed that pizza was a good idea and I saddled up to my first review. As I waited around for them to return from Hawthorne, I thought of Rovente’s Pizza with anticipation. Would it be overly buttery like Rudy’s? Soggy like Hammy’s delivery? A slice of that Ninja Turtles pie I’ve been waiting 17 years to taste? Truly though, these questions don’t really matter when an extra-large cheese costs 7.99 for pickup. It’s a deal. It’s a steal. Sale of the freaking century.

To be completely honest, I desperately wanted to maintain my skepticism of Rovente’s Pizza. All the hype, the arguments, and, most importantly, the low low price made me think that I’d get some cardboard dough, cheap and overly salted sauce, and a thin, insubstantial layer of a plastic-like cheese. I’ll be the first to admit, I was wrong. This SE pizzeria actually brought forth a tasty pie. The crust was pleasantly doughy, a bit par-baked, but not offensive; cheese was generous and added more than just texture; and the sauce was surprising, tasting like tomatoes, not paste, though canned it must be. Hot out of the box, I couldn’t get enough (again, four slices in approximately three minutes) – the bottom of the crust crisp, the cheese ever so slightly browned. I was hungry and now I am not, which is, in the most essential of views, an important quality for pizza.

However, I must now give my 20-minutes later check-in. Gurgling in my stomach, probably more to do with my rapid eating than the quality of the slice, I’m not sure I’m such a glowing fan of this pizza as I was before. It seems secretly greasy. Indeed(!), what seemed a dry, reasonably oiled pie at first has now left only its trace – residue on my fingers and lips, plus a bit of indigestion. Very similar to what I’ve always thought of as “salt-butter” around my mouth when dealing with Rudy’s, Rovente’s leaves me in much the same discomfort, but to an admittedly lesser degree. I guess the thing you have to watch out for when dealing with both of these pizzas is the high salt content. I’m no kid with an iron stomach anymore and sodium really gets me. But that hasn’t stopped me from continuing to visit Milwaukee Teriyaki and it won’t make me pass up Rovente’s again.  I will give Rovente’s Pizza 5 out of 8 slices.

I’m satisfied; the lesson learned being more about my eating habits in general than of this pizza. It was good and enough is enough.

Boca Raton

Pizza Time Boca Raton

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For an ex-New Yorker, South Florida has long been home of the Worst Pizza.  But indisputably, Pizza Time of Coral Springs, FL has stood out tall as being unlike the competition.  There pizza isn’t  good, it is GREAT. They brought a second location to Parkland, FL.  I am not sure if they were connected by the same owners, or family, or if it was just a similar name, but the Pizza Time in Parkland is also very good.  So it was with delight that Mrs. Pizza informed me, that in my very own hometown of Boca Raton Florida, at the location of a former Sal’s Pizza near The Fresh Market, she saw the following sign: Coming Soon, Pizza Time of Coral Springs.

Immediately after they opened the staff here at worst pizza dot com rushed for an early review.  This Pizza Time was a lot smaller than the other two, and did in fact look like the ubiquitous Sal’s Pizzas that seem to be on every corner.  But the comparison ends there!  There was a nice crowd of people, and a great selection of pizza’s to choose from.  In deference to my guest, Pizza Expert, we ordered a nice fresh hot Sicilian pie.  While we waited, we both asked ourselves the same question and finally had to discuss the issue.  What was that noise?  The Pizza Man was yelling; at everyone and no one in particular, making it a not so pleasant environment to be around.  It was hysterical, and actually a bit disturbing that he would treat his staff this way.  The place wasn’t that busy and he was just barking out orders at his staff.  I had to ask the waitress for the scoop.  Apparently, Bob, the owner, was the owner of the Coral Springs location (I am not sure about Parkland).  There he gathered the reputation as being a Pizza Knotzie.  He retired but was driving himself crazy. So when this joint became available he bought it.

OK.  Whatever.  He may be loud, but he makes good pizza.  When our pizza came, we couldn’t get enough of it.  I never ate as much Sicilian in one sitting.  It was very, very good.  However, the finish was a little cakey.  A Great Sicilian, although thick, is light as air.  Not spongy.  Still, the Sicilian gets 6 out of 8 slices.  I am looking forward to going back to the Pizza Time of Boca Raton for more, and to try the regular pizza (and the rest of the menu).

Portland

Dove Vivi Pizza Portland Oregon

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Thanks to IZ from Portland Pizza for another great post.  Across the street from the garish colors and outdoor tables of Pambiché, the strip mall housing Dove Vivi Pizza is a calm, unassuming location.  Located at 2727 NE Glisan St in Portland (503) 239-4444. A big, black heart on a sign-pole stands in the parking lot. A few people drink beer outside. I couldn’t really tell if the design was supposed to be upscale, hip, or neighborhood-y, but the pans of deep-dish convinced an entrance.

The first thing you see when you walk through Dove Vivi’s glass doors is refrigerated display case full of half ‘zas. These must be the source of the individual slices ($3.75) and are, as their website stresses, not pre-cooked. A nice hostess informed us of a short wait and we were seated in approximately five minutes. Not too bad.

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Portland

Nostrana Pizza Portland

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This post comes from our friend IZ at PortlandPizza.  Sometimes, when I’m eating, I just don’t feel the need to be in a fancified warehouse. It’s not that I get vertigo looking up at those high, beamed ceilings, nor do I think about all the bugs and critters that may be inhabiting such lofty wood; these things don’t bother me. Perhaps its just that the emptiness of the space above my head seems to demand filling. Maybe one must look up with soaring ideas of how wonderful the food may be, eyes rolling to the tops of their sockets, tracing the beams, if one is so lucky, to put words to the sublime occurrence dancing across one’s taste-buds.

Well, most-likely not.  Sitting in a corner booth this weekend at Nostrana which is located at 1401 SE Morrison, (503) 234-2427, the space above my head felt decidedly vacant. This was to be my second trip to the well-known eatery in a few years and, I feel bad to say, I could never understand how it was ranked Restaurant of the Year in 2006. Don’t worry, I’ve had other things besides the pizza to make sure that my feelings were not in error and, across the board, I’ve felt let down. Their menu seems so interesting, ingredients so fresh; even on the plate the food looks amazing. Once it enters the mouth, on the other hand, not much lives up to Nostrana’s impressive pedigree. I don’t mean to say the food is bad, which it is not per se, its just lacking, as if each dish needed one thing, one spice, one technique to bring all the flavors together, but that something just wasn’t there.

As this is a Pizza Review, I’ll leave the other foodstuffs to the side and focus my efforts on a “traditionally” “uncut” Margherita pie. House mozzarella, tomato, basil, with added arugula, and proscuitto. Fancy. I’m sorry that the picture I have doesn’t do justice to the wonderful look of this pie, but you’ll have to believe me that my mouth was watering.

With the commencement of the cutting, however, things started to go downhill. In the middle, there seemed to be a pool of the most liquified elements of the sauce and melted cheese, which caused unnecessary difficulty in cutting a slice. Upon reaching the crust with the knife, I had a ball of dough and toppings, which I had to fold over into a sort of calzone in order even to attempt a bite. The sauce was good, very simple; the crust, inconsistent; the cheese, a bit over cooked; the arugula, a bit greasy; the prosciutto, very nice. On their own, each component had flavor, texture, and was most certainly fresh, but together, I found them bland. It was as if all the flavors canceled each other out. Very unfortunate.
Overall, Nostrana greeted me with high expectations and, when all was said and done, I left unsatisfied and with a hole in my wallet.  I will give Nostrana 2 out of 8 slices.

(Other notes: Service was aloof. They have Caldera IPA in a can.)

Boca Raton, Pizza

Perrinis Pizza Boca Raton

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Mrs. Pizza took Pizza Boy to a birthday party Saturday.  The hosts ordered from Perrini’s Pizzeria & Ristorante on 441 in Boca Greens, Boca Raton, FL  (561)488-4371.  Mrs. Pizza did not care for it.    She thought it was doughy and lacked taste.

As I have discussed in previous posts, often pizza arrives at a birthday party cold, and sometimes appears that the pizzeria didn’t put as much care into the pizza as they normally do.  This is what I think happened today.  In their rush to get the pizza out the door, this wonderful little restaurant did not cook the pizza’s through.  This lack of caring is a problem many restaurants face, and may be exacerbated by Perrini’s birthday party special (5 or more pies for $8.99 each).

Since I happened to be in that very same shopping center with Pizza Jr. (my daughter), we decided that we have some pizza for lunch.  Perrini’s is often regarded by some of the locals out in western Boca Raton as the best around.  I didn’t particularly notice it before, and haven’t been there in a while, so I was excited to see if the locals had any merit to their opinions.   The restaurant was very busy, so we sat at a small plastic table outside.  We ordered from the waitress who was very pleasant even though they were crushed.  Our pizza was very good, hot and fresh from the oven.  So Perrini’s gets 5 out of 8 slices (a good score from me).  You would do well to eat here if you are in the area.  Just make sure to eat it fresh.

New York City, Pizza

Gotham Pizza New York City NYC

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This post comes to us from Jessica at FoodMayhem.  So last night, we were at Marc’s going away party (we will miss you Marc), and we met his friend, Eric,who has eaten at 326 by-the-slice pizza places. Wow! So, we agreed that the New York City Slice has gone down in the last ten years and it’s hard to find a really good one these days. I usually end up eating the fancy (and more expensive) thin crusts like Numero 28 or Fornino, but sometimes you want a New York City style slice. For me, it’s a nostalgic reminder of my high school years.

Eric recommended we try Gotham Pizza 1443 York Ave, New York 10021 Btwn 76th & 77th St Phone: 212-288-8085. It’s kind of in between the New York City slice and a thin crust, the cheese and sauce being more traditional New Yorker, while the crust is a bit thinner. To be picky (as always), it’s heavy on the oregano for me, but otherwise tastes good, and the oregano doesn’t bother me too much. Our favorite part is the crust, made crunchy by the panko-like crumbs on the bottom side. Another upside it that it’s not greasy, but it’s also not as filling. The large pie, half sausage (Lon’s way of eating it), half plain (my way of eating it), is 8 slices, but they are small and thin, so it could easily be eaten by two people. The price of $17.50 was reasonable and since Kasi (Lon’s sister) lives a few blocks away, we’ll probably eat there again.  I give Gotham Pizza in New York City 5 out of 8 slices.


Boca Raton

Mario The Baker Opens Pizza Joint in Boca Raton

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After hearing that Mario The Baker opened up in Boca Raton, my son and I immediately headed over there.  Mario opened his latest pizza place in the former spot that Cousin Wowie’s used to be in, and before that it was some other pizza place.  For some reason, restaurants do not seem to last very long in this spot, even with the K-Mart anchor.

Mario The Baker seems to be smarter then the previous tenants, and only chose to take half of the previous location.  The other half has some type of Ice Cream place moving in.  When my son and I arrived, during regular business hours, we were quite surprised with how few people were eating there.  Besides us, there were only 2 other tables full.  If you listened to the yenta sitting at the table in front of us and closed your eyes, you would have imagined the place was packed.

The place smelled delicious and had a nice clean feeling to it.  The staff was great & attentive, and it was nice to see that the family who owned this Mario The Baker location were all present, including their cute little baby.  We ordered a plain pie and some Garlic Knots or Garlic Rolls.  I forget what they call them down here, since they change from place to place.  When the pizza arrived we were pleased with the presentation.  My son took the first slice and bit into it and seemed happy enough, so I proceeded to bite into my own.  The taste was nice.  The cheese was of a definite quality, but the sauce lacked a bit of taste.  The crust was a bit soggy, and not as crisp as it should be, based upon the thinness of it.  Don’t get me wrong, the crust had a decent taste to it, but I would rather them crisp it up a bit more, which could be accomplished by lowering the oven just a tad.

It is hard not to want to see a place like this suceed.  The owners family were so plesant and came over to talk with us to make sure everything was ok.  As we left a huge basketball party arrived and the place filled up quickly.  I will give Mario The Baker in Boca Raton 5 out of 8 slices, and will be trying it again soon to see if they correct the crust.

Pizza

Is It The New York Water That Makes The Pizza So Good

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Most people will say that New York has the best pizza. Well in all fairness, New York is known to have the best thin crust and Chicago is known for the best deep dish.  But ask anyone from New York, and that will assure you the best overall comes from New York.

Places all over the Boroughs like Brooklyn house some of the best pizzerias in the world, let alone New York City. Most are family owned business that have good old ethics. They both use coal fired brick ovens which they swear is the secret to their smoky crusts. Many of the places even serve Upside Down Sicilian aka Red Sicilian.

Some Italian American families have been living in New York City and the surrounding boroughs since their grandparents or great grandparents came over to the United States from Italy. Some of these families took a risk and opened their own pizzerias. Some succeeded and some failed. Most of them however brought their traditions out of the house and put them into their restaurants. These are the people who know that making a good pizza is a skill that requires practice, and patience. They practice making each pie as if they were painting the next masterpiece and they take pride on their work. Instead of churning out a hundred mediocre pies a day, these people make sure each pie is tended to individually. Some of these old world owners actually get upset if you do not finish the pie you ordered and will not even allow you to take it to go.

So is a being an owner originally from Italy the reason New York City has the best pizza… There are some really good pizzerias that are not owned by Italians and they still have some great pizza. In recent years we have seen many Greek run establishment put out some great pizza in Long Island. So what else is it that could make the pizza in New York the best anywhere.  Many people will say it is the hard water that does it. Any good pizza maker knows that they should use only the best flour that is high gluten when it comes to making their pizza. They mix it with tap water and some swear that the tap water is what makes the pizza so tasteful. In fact, there have been some cases where a pizzeria owner will move out of New York City to other regions and think that they have found a great opportunity to open a pizzeria and boast that it is New York style pizza. Once they start making the  pies, they realize something is off. Most of the time they draw the conclusion that they need New York City water and begin to place frantic phone calls to friends or family to get some New York City water shipped out to them.  We have a place down here in Florida that makes this claim named Vic & Angelos.

No one knows exactly why the water works so well. It could be the chemical make up of the water that helps with the flour. Many people doubt that the water has anything to do with it. However if you were to ask any baker who no longer lives in New York City , if his pizzas come out the same as it did before, you will more then likely get a NO.

Miami, Pizza

Pizza Roma Aventura Florida

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Pizza Roma is a nice little restaurant in Aventura, Florida located at 19090 NE 29th Ave Aventura, FL 33180 (305) 937-4884 that has a full menu and makes great pizza.  This shop has become one of my favorite Pizza restaurants for several reasons.  First of all, the owner has been in the restaurant industry for many years, and he is by no means an absentee owner.  You can find him there on any given day, and he will always be willing to have a conversation.  Of the many conversations I have had with him, the one that sticks out the most is on quality ingredients.  We all know with rising prices in all industries, this can drive up the cost of food.  Because of this, a lot of restaurants chose to use inferior quality products to keep prices the same, but the quality of the product also suffers. This is not the case with Pizza Roma.  They continue to produce good quality food, with very reasonable prices.

Another reason I like this place, is because it is large enough to not be too small, and small enough not to be large.  What I mean is that, you should not expect to wait a long time for your food, and they are not rushing food in and out of the kitchen.  Another thing, is that the kitchen is not really hidden behind closed doors.  You can see the people preparing your food and even strike up a conversation if you are interested or have any special requests.

In terms of take out and catering,  I have never had an issue with delivery or pick up delays, and the quality has always been the same. If you do not know that Pizza is a requirement for birthday parties, now you do.  I have 3 kids and we always order from Pizza Roma.  They have very good appetizers.  We love the mozzarella sticks and the chicken tenders.

Last but not least, the real reason this place has become my favorite neighborhood spot is because of the Pizza.  The quality is very consistent.  The pizza does not fall apart when you pick it up, and there is no cheese drooping all over the place.  The crust holds up very well and its not over sauced.  We usually order the large pies, which are 16″ and $12.95 for cheese.  They also offer 14 and 20 inch pie for $10.95 and $18.95

I will give Pizza Roma in Aventura Florida 6 out of 8 slices.

Please leave comments below with your thoughts about this place

Boca Raton, Pizza

Eat Augys Pizza In Boca Raton Only When Hot

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Yesterday we couldn’t decide where to eat.  The “we” consisted of Eric, Alexahente and Myself.  Since they had never been to Augy’s Pizza by their office, I decided to suggest it.  As you can see by my previous reviews of Augy’s, I happen to enjoy their Sicilian Style pizza.

Although I found it totally repulsive that they have a lunch buffet with pizza sitting out on the counter, with nothing covering it, and a bunch of people breathing and coughing as they grab slices, I decided I wouldn’t let that get in the way of my hunger.  Boy, I wish I did though!  Wonder when the department of health will cease this buffet!

Here is the problem with having a lunch buffet…If you do not have the turn around, the pizza sits there and gets cold.  The slices I originally grabbed were gross.  The sauce was cold, the dough was chewy, and the cheese certainly lost any quality that I might have previously spoken of.  Augy’s you have truly disappointed me.  I have recommended your establishment to countless people who ask me where to get a good pie, and this is how I get repaid?  Cold Pizza.

Just then, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the pizza guy taking something smoking hot out of the oven, and I naturally was praying it would be a Sicilian.  Slowly I walked up to the counter and was overjoyed to see it was.  I grabbed a couple of slices and sat down, and finally got the taste that Augy’s has kept me coming back for.  My advice to anyone going to Augy’s Pizza in Boca Raton:  ONLY EAT THEIR PIZZA WHEN HOT.  If it cools down, ask them to reheat it.  Their pizza loses all quality when it cools down for some odd reason.  Best bet is to just order a fresh pie even during lunch and skip the buffet.

I will give Augy’s Pizza in Boca Raton 5 out of 8 slices, but they should only get 4 for my first slices.