Pizza Rustica

Today I stopped in a small pizza place called Pizza Rustica.  It is on the sunset strip, and apparently there is one in Beverly Hills as well.  Of course this is a franchise that runs wild in Florida, with more than 10 different places and also there are a couple in France too, I don't know what thats about.  This place I'm guess makes their money on people passing by.  The sunset strip is filled with tourists and other late night party people.  All of who want nothing more than a quick slice to go.  They have many different toppings here, lots of different veggie combos - artichoke pizza, 3 kinds of mushrooms pizza, spinach and blue cheese.  I have to stress again, anyone can put great fresh toppings on a pizza, but that doesn't make it good.

The pizzas on display are in a rectangular pan rather than the classic round and the slice you get is quite a large square.  I ordered a medium 14 inch Margherita.  Which was round not square, strange how the display pizzas would be different.  It was 13 dollars, not terrible but for what I got a little too much.     

This is what the pizza looked like after I ate most of it.  Including part of the slice pictured.  Sorry my appetite got the best of me again. 

Everything was put on heavy.  Lots of sauce and cheese on a doughy crust.  On top was a lot of crushed basil which does not taste the same as fresh basil.  The cheese tasted pretty decent, but the sauce was just plain.  It tasted fresh, but didn't have too much flavor to it.  The crust was the worst part.  It was a generic pre made doughy pad of bread.  The under side was very dark and it would seem that the pizza had been cooked very well, and it should be crispy, but it was not crispy at all.  Very cheap poorly made pizza.  Yeah maybe the ingredients were fresh, but they weren't the right ingredients and they don't have the right recipe.  On their menu they have various quotes of praise from Wall Street Journal, Zagat, and Angeleno Mag.  Angeleno says the are among the top 5 pizzas in LA and Wall Street Journal says they are the top 10 best pizzas in the Country.  I don't know how true these comments are, but they must of been drugged when they had this pizza.  It is in no way the best pizza anywhere.  It isn't even the best on the Sunset strip.  Panini's Pizza, or Frankie and Johnnies would fall in that category.  

I have had much worse, but to say it is some of the best pizza is ridiculous. it isn't even average pizza, even for LA's standards.

Pizza Rustica - 8410 Sunset Blvd. West Hollywood 90069

Price: $$

Overall:

Brownstone Pizzeria

Brownstone pizza is a great family owned and operated little place in Eagle Rock.  It has been remodeled by some reality t.v.  business show so it apparently looks better than it did, but I am guessing the pizza hasn't changed.  There is a lot of competition over there, with Folliero's and Casa Bianca not too far away.  But I think that this one fits right in, or maybe I should say stands out.  The pizza is unique and it's a pizza you taste and know it was from Brownstones.   

I ordered a 14 inch pizza that was a perfect price of 11 dollars.  The next size up was 20 inches, which yes, is even too much for me.  The crust was the first notable thing to me.  It was extremely crispy and thin.  Very flat and thin all the way from middle to edge.  The outside was very crispy and blacked on the bottom and edges.  Some may not like the extreme char on the edge but I think it added to it.  Despite being cooked hard, with a serious crunch, the little inside it had was still doughy and it tasted pretty good.  

The sauce was the next major factor here.  It had a heavy spicy flavor, it was a little thicker than most, and was tangy but not too sweet.  It was almost like a pasta sauce rather than a sweet light pizza sauce.  It tasted good don't get me wrong, just maybe a little too heavy for pizza. 

The cheese was merely an accent on the heavy sauce and charred crispy crust.  However the taste of cheese was prevalent enough to know it existed.    

Overall the pizza had a hardy, rustic taste you could say but while still being light enough to eat a lot of, if hungry enough.  The flavors and style of the pizza all worked well together to set it apart from many others.  It is a pizza that some people might not enjoy, but others might praise.  Still others like me will meet you in the middle by giving credit to what it does well, but not giving it all the praise in the world.     

Brownstone Pizzeria - 2108 Colorado Blvd. Eagle Rock 90041

Price: $

Overall:

Mr. Pizza

Mr. Pizza - A delightful eatery that specializes in Korean food.  I should rephrase that, a Korean eatery that specializes in american food, specifically pizza.  So not so much Korean, I guess it's  American with a Korean flair.  The flair comes with the side of pickles they give you with your pizza.  Now, I realize that this was not where I was going to find a great NY slice of pizza, but as a fan of pizza in general I could not resist.  I have to say I was expecting the worst.  I saw other reviews were praising their potato gold pizza.  So I went with half Potato Gold pizza and half plain old cheese.  I didn't look at the menu when I called to put the order in, so I was not aware of the many varieties of pizza they have.  They have Premium pizza, like the Potato Gold which has it's crust filled with sweet potatoes.  Then they have screen pizzas, which have a normal crust, no filling.  Then they have a thin crust pizza, which I am not sure is any different than the screen pizzas, except the toppings are more traditional, pepperoni, Margherita, etc.  

Anyway I did not know any of this existed during the phone call.  I asked how big the large was and the lady said it feed 4-5 people.  Then I was more specific and asked how many inches it was, she said 13.  I couldn't imagine a 13 inch pizza could feed that many.  Of course I realized soon that only the Potato Gold pizza, 13 inches small, could indeed feed 4 to 5 people.  This thing was heavy.  The price was heavy too, 25 dollars for that small diameter pizza.  I don't know how much your average Korean eats in one sitting, but I know I could have eaten half the pizza, which is less than usual.  Of course I am no normal person, I would say this pizza could have fed 3 people very well, maybe 4.  So I guess if you break the price down, it looks to be 6 to 8 dollars a person whether it's 3 or 4 people.  So I guess thats not too expensive, but when you are alone it is ridiculous.  (The thin crust is only 13 for a 13'')   Plus you weren't just paying for the sauce, cheese and bread, there was everything they had in the kitchen on this pizza - mushroom, ground beef, corn, onion, bacon, nacho chips, sour cream, and of course a big wedge of a potato, plus the crust was stuffed with sweet potato mousse and covered in cheddar cheese.       

So this WAS a serious pizza.  And I have to say it tasted as good as the picture looks.  You can't  go wrong with potatoes, bacon, and pizza.  If I wanted to binge on fat I would definitely go back with 3 people and order this thing all the way around.  

Now of course is it NY style pizza, is it even regular pizza ?   I suppose yes it is pizza, but is not of the kind from NY or Italy or even Chicago.  It's Korean I guess ?  The crust was doughy and not that thin, the sauce was generic tasting and the cheese was actually half decent.  Now maybe the thin crust pizzas are different, but I can't see them being anything like the pizza I yearn for. So coming from a NY stance this pizza is no good.  However if you are hungry and you don't know what for... Potato Gold. 

Mr. Pizza - 3881 Wilshire Blvd.  Korea Town

Price: $$

Overall:

            Cheese Rating:           Potato Gold Rating:

                             

The Potato Gold is more than a pizza, and is very good.  However the cheese, is what it is, pizza.  And as pizza its not great.