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Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Vinny's Pizza

Vinny's Pizza is a cool bar/restaurant in a quaint little area in downtown El Segundo. It has a great outside patio with TVs and a good beer selection. It also has pizza. Which according to their name, they are known for. So I ordered a large 16 inch pizza for 12 dollars, way cheaper than Stuft Pizza.

It is a pretty good looking pizza. It is pretty good tasting too. A thin and crispy crust. Not so crispy on the bottom, but definitely on the outer edge. It was a little dry too, maybe due to the over cooking of the crust. The cheese and sauce were put on generously and in good ratio to each other. The sauce was a heavily spicy sauce. The cheese was decent but had a real salty and oily flavor and after taste.
I'd say overall the pizza is definitely a pizza I'd be happy with if I was drinking at the bar. Though it has some issues that doesn't make it near the best. It is definitely the best in El Segundo, in my opinion. In the close area there are 3 other places Stuft Pizza, Justa Pizza, and Hanks Pizza.

Vinny's Pizza
310 Grand Ave. El Segundo 90245
310-322-5464
Price: $
Overall:

Vinny's Pizza on Urbanspoon

Stuft Pizza

A quaint little area in downtown El Segundo brings many different eateries. Including a great cheese steak place and 2 pizza places. Down the street from Vinny's Pizza is place called Stuft Pizza. They had slices sitting on a rotating display case, so regretfully I bought one. After you see this pizza, you can guess it is a franchise. They have 6 or so places all over the Southern CA area.
A large Pizza is 16 dollars, but the size is only 14 inches. So a bit overpriced. The slices on the other hand are only a dollar. Though they are small and as you can see not that exciting.
Not a whole lot to say about this place. It is generic pizza. The crust is thick and doughy. The sauce is dry. It has decent flavor but nothing extraordinary. It just is pizza, with no inspiration. Similar to Domino's but with less oil, butter and fat no doubt. So I guess it is probably relatively healthier but doesn't have the same addictive taste. Though I didn't feel sick after eating it either so I guess I'll give it a point for that.

Though it seems, Mondays are the day to go. 1$ beers which is always good and 1$ pizza which isn't always good. On normal days, when you order a large pizza, not a good deal or meal.

Stuft Pizza
400 Main St. El Segundo 90245
310-322-2667
Price: $$
Overall:


Stuft-Pizza on Urbanspoon

Friday, June 4, 2010

Golden Mean Vegan Cafe

I don't eat vegan, I don't know what vegan pizza means and I really don't even know what a vegan is. So instead of trying to explain a pizza I don't know, I have recruited a friend of mine, Lily Milkovic-Jakal, who is more in tune with the Vegan world.
So listen to what she says.

As a new Vegan on the scene pizza has been my biggest challenge because I HEART cheese! I woke up last Saturday with a mean pizza hankering and decided to make a day of it. For lunch I headed to Golden Mean Vegan Cafe in Santa Monica. Golden Mean isn't strictly a pizza joint, but they do have a "Pizza of the Day" on the menu featuring a rustic fibonacci cornmeal crust. My pizza came topped with tomato sauce, plum tomatoes, spinach and Daiya vegan cheese which is the best "fake" cheese I've tasted to date. Daiya does not contain many of the common allergens including; Soy, Dairy (Casein or Lactose) Gluten, Egg, Wheat, Barley, Whey, and Nuts and its free of artificial ingredients, preservatives, hormones & antibiotics. But that's not the best part about Daiya cheese! It actually TASTES like cheese, stretches, melts, and when baked it gets golden. So, Daiya cheese is a MUST HAVE for a vegan pizza if you miss the real deal as much as I do! The pizza as a whole wasn't exactly what I expected, but it was good in its own right. The cornmeal crust and veggie toppings gave this pizza a very earthy taste and it didn't leave me feeling weighed down or oily. While I can appreciate GOLDEN MEAN's healthy approach to pizza-making, if you are looking for that classic pizza experience - this isn't your place.

A few hours after lunch at the GOLDEN MEAN VEGAN CAFE, I still needed to satiate my pizza craving so I headed to PIZZA FUSION in Santa Monica, CA for some din-din. Pizza Fusion offers an array of tasty organic pizza options and even has a few vegan..... for more click here

1028 Wilshire Blvd. Santa Monica 90401
310-393-6500
Price: $
Overall:

Golden Mean Vegan Cafe on Urbanspoon

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Slice Truck


I remember a not so distant day when a food truck meant tacos. Taco Hunt.com But lately there has been a flooding of food trucks all over, from Korean BBQ to grilled cheese and now of course pizza too. It all amounts to just more traffic on the highways. It is actually hard to go driving around and not see one. Maybe a food truck will make me something while we are sitting in traffic on the freeway together, now that'd be something great.


Well I finally tracked down the slice truck. I hit them up twice in a week. The first time was at a Silverlake music festival. Then I though I would try them again in their natural environment. Their usual spot is down by USC. Pizza for the kids. Don't know what else USC has in the way of good pizza so it is probably a pretty profitable spot for them.
I just got a slice this time, usually I go with a full large pizza but I figured it is called Slice Truck so if the slices aren't good what's the point.
I have to say it was a pretty enjoyable pizza. I didn't notice any difference from the festival slice to the regular slice. I guess I managed to get fresh slices each time.
The pizza is thin crust NY style, but the crust is a hair thicker than your typical thin crust. It is semi crispy crust, but not charred or crunchy in any way. It has a good tough and chewy consistency and it is not too dry or stale. The sauce and cheese are both put on very generously. Though are in pretty good balance with each other. The sauce doesn't stand out all that much. It is a sweet sauce with a light oregano flavoring. There is an also generous covering of parmesan cheese and basil on top.
The basil and parmesan help disguise the pizza as being a bit more complex than it actually is. I think the pizza is pretty basic and balances on a line between genuine NY style and generic Middle American style. This may sound like an insult, it's not. I just try to classify pizza for the sake of you people and blog. The point is I really enjoyed the pizza, I think it had good flavor and texture and would get it again if it was near by.

The slice truck like most other food trucks has many different outlets on the internet, from Facebook and twitter to a blog of their own. Their blog is filled with random stuff you can read while you eat a slice. They also post reviews by costumers of their place, pulled randomly from yelp, which can be pretty entertaining.
Here is an interesting article on their blog that talks about the geometry of pizza.

Jefferson Blvd and McClintock Ave (but also, everywhere)
Price: $
Overall:

L.O.V.E. Pizza

I love Pizza too. That doesn't mean I would name my restaurant that. It seems that LOVE stands for something, hence the dots in between the letters, though there is no mention of what it might be.
This is a place on Melrose Blvd that has replaced Enzo's another pizza place, which had replaced a pizza place before them called Alberto's. Alberto's, I was told was possibly the best pizza in town at the time, unfortunately it left before I had the chance to try it. Since then the pizza in the spot has deteriorated with each new owner.
Now it is LOVE Pizza. A slice place that pulls out a "fresh" slice from the back for 3 dollars.

It has been awhile since I have had Enzo's, but I'm pretty sure this is the exact same pizza. An average slice with an unnatural amount of grease dripping out the back. The strong flavor of Oregano carries the sauce. Though the sauce is a little lacking and definitely overpowered by the cheese and grease. The crust is generic and dry with a cake-y texture. Not light or airy, nor packed with flavor. It is a little crispy but thats about it. Enzo's wasn't worth going to, and I don't think this place is any better.
They are open "late" they say. This means 12.

L.O.V.E. Pizza
7261 Melrose Ave. 90046
323-936-3696
Price: $
Overall:
L.O.V.E. Pizza on Urbanspoon

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