Category Archives: Pizza

Tustin CA

RedBrick Pizza Tustin California

4 Comments

This post comes to us courtesy of our friend Griffin from Griffin Eats OC.
Always looking for the next great pizza, I decided to try Red Brick Pizza at The District in Tustin. I looked over their menu online and was immediately impressed with the number of options that they had. At Red Brick, you can not only choose your toppings, but you can choose your sauce and crust as well. Red Brick Pizza boasts that they bake your pizza in a 1000 degree oven so that your pizza only takes 3 minutes to bake.

After looking over their menu, I decided to get a large Pepperoni Suprema ($18.00) and a Medium Pizza with Chipotle sauce, Canadian Bacon and Jalapenos ($15.00). I ordered my pizza online using LiveOnTheGo.Com (Use code “GRIFFINEATS” to get $5 off your first order-Many other restaurants to choose from). I asked them to have the pizza ready at 7:00 PM. I drove down to the District and had quite a difficult time finding parking. I finally found a spot and walked over to Red Brick. I walked in at 7:00 PM on the dot. The pizza wasn’t ready, so I stood around for about 10 minutes until it was.

I took the pizza home and opened my large Pepperoni Suprema. I was shocked to see that this “Suprema” hardly had any pepperoni on it at all. The pizza was also pretty small. This did not look like an $18.00 pizza. I grabbed a slice and took a bite. My tongue was immediately attacked by oregano. I am a HUGE fan of oregano, and I even sprinkle it on my pizza sometimes. This tasted like the cook had accidentally spilled an entire gallon of it on to my pizza though. The taste of the oregano was so strong, I couldn’t even taste the pepperoni or the cheese. The crust was also a little dry. I was annoyed that I had paid so much for this pizza. I have had $5 large pizzas that were much better than this.

The second pizza was to be shared by “I” and “V”. They opened their pizza box and found a tiny pizza inside. This “medium” pizza would barely pass for a small at any other restaurant. The pizza was about the size of an individual pizza that you would expect to get at a casual dining restaurant. Both of the girls liked the pizza, but said that the Chipotle sauce was not spicy at all. They also didn’t think the pizza was worth anywhere near the $15 we had paid for it.

Overall, we were all very disappointed with this pizza place. We paid $35.56 for these two pizzas. We would have been much better of going to Pizza Hut, Pacino’s, Ameci or many other pizza places, and we would have spent a lot less. I would not recommend Red Brick Pizza to anyone. The only way I would even consider trying it again, would be if they cut their prices in half…or maybe even by 75%…

Riverside CA

Romano’s Pizza Riverside California

Leave a comment

This review comes courtesy of our friend Brandon from Burritos and Mojitos. Do you remember those Pizza Hut restaurants that vanished from the west coast so long ago? Well, there use to be one down the street from my house. That Pizza Hut vanished like the rest, but became Romano’s pizza a long long time ago. I’ve never made the time to check this place out, but Lisett’s new apartment in Riverside CA, is down the street has led to much more frequent trips to its shopping center, and finally this restaurant.

The place is basically a bar and pizza place combo with a large stage. I’ve heard of them having music there, but since I’ve never gone I have never experienced it. There is a little bit of a family vibe, but I imagine that goes away pretty quick later in the evening.

Once again photography is by Lisett, and we were also accompanied by his girlfriend Sandra and their former roommates.

The Bruschetta we ordered really hit the spot and came out fast. The dish would have split pretty evenly between all of us, but I totally ate the most. This is always one of my favorite dishes because it is so simple and has so much flavor, and there’s the added benefit of skipping the cheese so I can share it with my vegetarian friends.

We ordered one other “appetizer”, a pound of fries. The style of pizza we ordered takes a considerable amount of time to make, so a smarter person would have ordered the fires 15 minutes into their pizza wait so they can do a little less starving between dinner and the initial ordering.

Behold our stuffed chicken Parmesan pizza. 35 minutes is a long time to wait for pizza, but it was at least worth it. The pizza tasted delicious and was the perfect end to that evening. I will definitely be ordering some of their pizzas to go in the near future. I will give Romano’s Pizza in 5 out of 8 slices.

Albuquerque NM

Brickyard Pizza in Albuquerque NM

25 Comments

A friend and I, wanting to try some pizza we hadn’t had before, decided to go to Brickyard Pizza, a small pizza place across from the University of New Mexico, 2216 Central Ave SE ,(505)262-2216.  We arrived around 7 on Thursday.  There weren’t many people there, but the room was abuzz with the chatter of 5 different TVs, all broadcasting sports.

Right away I was afraid the pizza would be relegated to an afterthought of watching games.  There is a small bar, a few beers on tap and a hand full of different menu items, like bread sticks and other appetizers, but it seems they mostly serve pizza.  They serve slices, but my friend and I decided to get a 12″ pie in the ‘hand tossed’ style (they offer a deep dish), half cheese, half mushroom, onion, and green chile (around $12).

For those not from or familiar with the southwest, you may need to reference ‘green chile’.   I always like to have a side of half cheese when eating pizza at an unfamiliar restaurant.  Pizza, in its essentials, is the bread (or crust), sauce and cheese.  If those three elements aren’t good then toppings are usually hiding faults instead of enhancing merits.

The service, which was excellent, and the beer, were the only enjoyable aspects.  The pizza arrived looking and smelling good, but the flavor leaved much to be desired.  The crust was dense, chewy and almost rubbery.  The sauce was a thick and dark red paste that must have been, along with the cheese, of the cheapest available ingredients from Sysco, the Wal-Mart of restaurant distributors.   The thick layer of cheese was sliding off the pizza and when cooled became strange and stretchy.  The toppings on the other side didn’t help, as the onions were sliced much bigger than my taste prefers and were more crunchy than soft. The mushrooms were fine and thickly sliced, and the green chile was fresh and mildly spicy, but they could not help redeem the unpleasant aspects of the pie.  I will usually finish a pizza even if it isn’t great, but neither my friend nor I could eat the last slice.

I do have my own personal preferences that may make the experience different for some, but the yelling at TVs by other patrons and the dried oregano that topped the entire pizza were more reasons for me to not want to come back unless I hear the recipes have drastically changed.  Brickyard Pizza in Albuquerque gets 2 our of 8 slices.

Pizza

We Have a New Pizza Eating Champ Named Joey Chestnut

Leave a comment

Famous Famiglia Pizza Crowns Joey Chesnut Pizza Eating Champ Earning Him $5,500 in Prize Money. Two-time defending champion of the famous Nathan’s Fourth of July wiener contest in Coney Island Joey Chestnut ate 45 slices of pizza almost six whole pies, in 10 minutes yesterday to win the Famous Famiglia World Pizza Eating Championship in Times Square. After his win Chestnut stated “I feel great. My stomach feels good,”

In addition to the frankfurters, Chestnut has also won eating competitions in hamburgers and pulled pork. Up til now he had never won a pizza contest. Chestnut, 24, won by putting slices into his mouth with the right hand, while folding the next slice with his left hand. Each 16″ pizza was cut into eight slices. Patrick Bertoletti, 23, of Chicago, came in a very close second with 43 slices, winning $3,500.

Altamonte Springs

RedBrick Pizza in Altamonte Springs FL

9 Comments

I ate a pizza at RedBrick Pizza in Altamonte Springs, FL. RedBrick Pizza seems to be a relatively new chain that has been popping up in the Central Florida area. This was the first one to open in Uptown Altamonte, and others have since opened in Sanford and in UCF.

I ate here when the restaurant first opened, but the pizza wasn’t worth returning for. Someone I was with wanted to eat here though, so I agreed to give RedBrick Pizza another try.

The last time I ate here, I had a cheese pizza which was pretty bad. This time, I figured I’d try a pizza with plenty of toppings to see if they improved the pie. I ordered their Greek Pizza, which was topped with ham, peppers, onions, kalamata olives, and feta cheese. I don’t like ham all that much, and I completely missed that part when reading the menu, but it really didn’t taste too bad on pizza. The toppings really did improve the pizza, and without them, the pizza would have been pretty bad. The crust was nice and crispy on the outer edges of the pizza, but was soggy in the center of the pie. It didn’t seem undercooked, it just seemed very damp. This wet spot caused some difficulties when pulling the slices apart. The pizzas here was really overpriced too. They started at $13 for a 14 inch pizza (the largest size offered), and went up from there. Overall, the pizza was slightly better than the average pie from Pizza Hut.

One thing I really didn’t like in here was the TVs. There was a TV and remote at just about every table. I really don’t watch TV at home, so why would I want to watch TV at a restaurant? I choose one of the few TV-free tables, but I couldn’t escape the TV’s with their blasting audio. I also noticed something kind of ironic about the name. It’s called RedBrick Pizza, but there are no bricks of any color in the restaurant. There are some red tiles on the wall, but no bricks.

The building that RedBrick pizza occupies wasn’t always here. It was once a normal strip mall before the city of Altamonte Springs rebuilt the area into Uptown Altamonte. Before the area was surrounded by highrise condos, almost exactly where RedBrick Pizza now sits, was a restaurant called Presto Pizza. Presto had the best pizza I’ve tasted in all of my time living in Florida. It was the whole New York pizza deal, with large, thin slices. Besides normal pizza, they always had the more exotic varieties like stuffed pizza, which I find difficult to get in Florida. The old strip mall slowly went out of business, and Presto was one of the last open businesses holding out here until they finally closed.  I haven’t found another restaurant in Florida that serves pizza on the same scale as Presto had, and RedBrick Pizza definitely doesn’t come close…

While my memories of Presto Pizza would get 8 out of 8 slices, the Greek Pizza from RedBrick Pizza gets a measly 3 out of 8 Slices.

Boynton Beach

My Take On Vito’s Pizza Boynton Beach

9 Comments

I was driving around the Boynton Beach area and my stomach started talking to me so I knew it was time to feed the big guy. I noticed a small pizza place off of Boynton Beach Blvd called Vito’s Gourmet Pizza, and figured why not give it a try.

It looked to be a new or newly remodeled pizza spot. A nice clean environment, which is a huge must for any restaurant. It was fairly empty on a Saturday but, it was also around 3pm, so I must have missed the lunch crunch.

I ordered my usual 2 slices, well done, with meatball toppings. One thing I have to point out, if you catch this place during their “lunch special” deal, which lasts until 4pm, you can either pay $2.99 for 2 slices and a can of soda or pay $1 per slice. Think about that, $1 each. You can buy 8 slices which equates to a full pizza pie for $8 plus tax. Where can you find a quality pizza pie for under $10?

The pizza was really good. Very crisp when biting into it, the sauce was nicely done not too thick but then again not too runny. The cheese tasted real and not generic like a lot of the pizza places use to save a few bucks. It was a very good meal at a more than acceptable price. Friendly workers, good food and great pricing give this pizza stop a solid 6 out of 8 slices.

Pizza

La Pizzeria in Margate Florida By Coral Springs

13 Comments

Stopped in for a slice at La Pizzeria, which is located on La Pizzeria 5632 West Sample Road Margate, FL 33073  (954) 968-4396.  I was in the area car shopping and needed a little treat.  Being a former new Yorker, I still walk right up to the counter and order.  BIG MISTAKE as here in Florida you need to order from a waitress since it is so hard to carry your own slice.  When will I learn?

Anyway, the slice was really good!  A true New York slice.  Firm crust and a nice flavor.  I would like to come back and try it a few more times.  They also had interesting looking individual pies that I look forward on reporting soon.  5 out of 8 slices.

Albuquerque NM, Pizza

Mario’s Pizzeria and Ristorante Albuquerque New Mexico

3 Comments

My daughter and I arrived at Mario’s around 7:30, late enough to avoid what is usually a busy dinner time there, even on weekdays.  Mario’s is more than a pizza place.  They have an extensive selection of pastas, sandwiches, beers and wines and desserts as well as the pizza I came to sample.

We ordered, after a bit of a wait, a 15″ pizza, supposedly in the NY style, half cheese, half pepperoni and mushrooms.  The atmosphere of the room was casual, as was the service.  The pizza arrived and it’s appearance had me anticipating it to be a quality pie.  The sauce and cheese were pushed close to the edge, leaving most of the crust at about an inch or so, to my satisfaction.  I prefer much of  the crust be accompanied with cheese and sauce.  The toppings on the pepperoni/mushroom side were generous and thinly sliced, also to my taste for those particular ingredients.  My daughter started right away on the cheese side, and I grabbed a slice of each.  The crust was not at all thick, but I could not say it was thin.  There was a lighter shade of gold to the bottom, and the crust above just a thin layer was softer and chewier.  It was firm, but too soft and doughy for this style.  Maybe if it had been cooked a little bit longer the crust could have been much better.

The first bite was a mild disappointment, as there was a sprinkle of oregano in the middle of the pie.  Had oregano topped the entire pizza it would have ruined it for me, but the first bite of each slice wasn’t too much.  The cheese was obviously of a higher quality, and was not thick but still generous.  The sauce was subtle and lighter and did not suffer from the unfortunate spicy quality many pizzas in Albuquerque posses.  It was on the order of a light red and more like a traditional marinara.  After a few slices, it was the sauce I was enjoying the most.  It didn’t taste like they put in dry herbs into the sauce at some later stage as most places do.  Whatever spices inside were cooked, excepting said oregano sprinkle.  My daughter is not picky, but tends to eat less when the quality is less, and her eating as much as she did was another good measure of the taste.  Overall, the pizza was not in any substantial way deficient, and was above average, but not by much.  Mario’s Pizza in Albuquerque gets 5 out of 8 slices.  This experience will have me coming back, but perhaps not for a while.

Boca Raton

Dominic’s Pizza II Boca Raton and Rotelli In One Weekend

4 Comments

Went to another birthday party Saturday with my four year old son.  The party started at 1:30, so naturally pizza was served at 2:45.  I have been known to have an extra meal or 2, but was unsure exactly why we were eating pizza and cake at 2:45.

(more…)

Delray Beach

Nino’s Pizza Best In Delray Beach Florida

4 Comments

I was down visiting family recently and had read the previous posts about Nino’s in Boca Raton, so since I was in the Delray Area I stopped by the other Nino’s Pizza located on the NE corner of Jog Road and Lake Ida Road in the San Marco Plaza 561-499-3988.  This Delray Beach Nino’s is quite nicer then the one in Boca Raton, at least to the best of my recollection.  I haven’t been to the one in Boca Raton for well over a year.

It was hard for me to decide what to order since I wanted pizza, but I also wanted something else.  Ultimately I ended up choosing the pizza and order a couple of slices.  When the first slice came (I ordered them separately) I was amazed at how good it tasted.  Seeing where this Nino’s is located, I naturally assumed they get the early bird crowd in there who expect to get their food for free, or at least back at 1930 pricing.  With that in mind I feared they would skimp out on the ingredients to avoid going out of business.  Well they certainly did not skimp out on any ingredients, and this pizza was better then almost any slice I have had recently in South Florida.  When I come back into town in two weeks, I am immediately going to the other Nino’s Pizza in Boca Raton to see if they taste as good.

Nino’s, I really do not care about your break up, as it is a natural assumption that you both make the pizza the same, since it was owned by the same people at one time.  What I care about is good pizza, and I have to tell you, this was good pizza.  Your waitress Ashley, I think was her name, was a doll and made my experience even better.  I will give Nino’s Pizza in Delray Beach 6 out of 8 slices.