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.

While waiting for the pizza it was fun to listen to the one table that was occupied. It had one of those big shot tough guys sitting around explaining how he knew everything, and how he knows Cafe Martorano's will go out of business since they could never survive at this location, since Steve (the owner) doesn't have come around to check up on it. He continued to say this casino isn't high enough for him to charge those exorbitant prices. I love it when people just bash places for no reason...When I pass Cafe Martorano's it is usually happening at night, but I guess anyplace could go out of business in this economy.

When the pie came out I noticed it was a bit small, with a thick crust. For a pie sized as such, they really should have thinned it out and made it appear bigger. They applied a lite amount of sauce, which was actually the perfect amount for me on this pie. The pizza was quite hot and remained hot, throughout my tasting. The crust could have been cooked more, and since it wasn't cooked properly the pie was not crispy.

Went back the second night to try it again, and asked for the pie to be well done and thin, and I was much happier with the pizza that came out of the oven.

Tuscany Restaurant at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fl gets 5 out of 8 slices.