Pinocchio's Pizza

Pinocchio's Pizza is located only 0.3 miles away from me. It is on the corner of Lake Ave. and Rio Grande St. I ordered their NY thin crust pizza with eggplant for a topping.

Parking is a bit tricky as it is tough to park on Lake Ave. The restaurant has a tiny parking lot in the back, though it is hardly visible and too small to really be practical to squeeze your car in. The best plan is to park on Rio Grande which is predominantly residential.

The small pizza I ordered came out to be just under $11, which is relatively comparable to other pizzerias such as Pizza Hut or Domino's. I had a lot of tea to drink when I was at work so I stopped by their bathrooms before inquiring about my order when I arrived. The bathroom is very clean and everything is automatic- the flush, sink and soap dispenser. And for those with babies, there is also a diaper changing station.

When I arrived at approximately 7:00pm, the place was relatively empty so there were some families seated already with pastas and breads. There were 2 staff members working at the counter- a woman taking orders on the phone and a man named Armen acting as the bartender. Armen helped bring out my pizza and assisted in the transaction. However, I felt that the customer service wasn't that great, though perhaps it was because they were short on staff even though they didn't appear too terribly busy that night. There was only one elderly man at the bar watching the game. They had several good sized TVs to watch sports. There were signs everywhere about their great happy hour deals.

Even though I ordered the thin crust, the crust wasn't thin and crispy as I expected. It was like a normal crust. However, the upside would be that it isn't as cheezy and the eggplant was pretty good.

The pizza would be good enough for me to go back and order for my next pizza craving, mostly due to the convenience of it being closeby. And next time, I think I may end up walking so as not to deal with the hassle of looking for parking. And if I were to walk, I'll probably be tempted to take advantage of their happy hour.

Additionally, the interior decor is quite nice and it would be a pleasant place to sit in and have a get together with family and friends as well.