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.

BJ's Restaurant' Brewery

BJ's is always crowded Friday nights so I joined my friends for dinner before they headed to watch Ironman 2.

One guy ordered the Mediterranean topped with fetta cheese and olives. I don't like it. Not just because of the toppings but because the crust is like mushy.

I ordered the mini pizza with just 2 slices; I had corn and roasted garlic, but it was really lacking in flavor of any kind. Would it have killed them to add butter to the corn, salt and pepper? And for roasted garlic as one of the toppings, I sure didn't taste much of the garlic. Again, the crust wasn't crunch at all; it was like doughy, like it hadn't been baked long enough or something.

My friend later explained to me, it's because it's deep dish; that's all BJ has. And that thin crust is for me.

I had the broccoli cheddar chowder and it's too much cheese! Why don't they call it cheddar chowder instead with broccoli bits? Also I had to ask for crackers. They don't give you crackers or bread to start out.

As for the dessert, everyone else liked it. The Pazookie is essentially a large thin cookie topped with like 5 scoops of vanilla ice cream. How come they don't make their pizzas like that, thinly crusted? Anyway, it seemed like a kid made it. You could do the exact same thing buying Pillsbury chocolate chip cookie dough, stick it in the oven for 5 minutes. It was kind of a disappointment to me. And would it have killed them to decorate it up a bit with a cherry on top?

Zelo Pizza

For a unique pizza experience, go to Zelo Pizza where their pizza base is made from cornmeal. The corn pizza is topped with roasted red peppers and of course corn. There is also supposed to be sausage, but I couldn't taste it. Mostly I tasted mozzarella cheese. They put too much mozzarella. This is my second time at this place. My dining partner did not appreciate the lack of marinara sauce.

The place does not offer ketchup. I give it extra points as a non-ketchup lover. Instead it has the Chinese rooster chili sauce and the Mexican Hot Sauce- Tapatio.



The first time I also got the wild mushroom pizza which was very tasty. It is also one of the few places to have Orangina and Pelligrino if one is into those European drinks instead of American sodas.

I don't know what they did to the corn pizza or not did, but it tasted rather bland this second time around. Of course, the first time is always the best. It has a fairly thick crust, but not doughy. The price is a bit on the high side, but it is a different type of pizza and the place is family owned, not a chain restaurant. I'm all for supporting your local business. For two people, there were still 2 slices leftover.

I do recommend it as something different to try. I would like to try their pastas next time. They don't have a wide variety of desserts. Just the homemade Zucotta made from layered ladyfingers.

It is a quaint place; parking could be a problem. There is some parking in the back, but barely any. Street parking may be the best way to go, although some idiot honked us when it was pretty clear we were trying to park.