Urbn Revisited....Again!!

Man is this good pie.  I'm gearing up for a visit to the East Coast in a few weeks and I can hardly wait to get to New Haven(or West Haven) to treat myself to Pepe's, Sally's or Zuppardis.  I may try to hit Modern this time, since I've heard a lot about it, but I've never been there.

We are hosting a Swedish hockey player for the San Diego Gulls Junior team(18-20 yr olds).  He arrived last week and I've been introducing him to the USA and to San Diego.  First stop was In N' Out Burgers.  We hit Luche Libre on Washington St. for tacos....but the highlight for me was showing him what good pizza is...

My first and only choice was Urbn Pizza on University Ave. in North Park.  Of course the Urbn in Vista is just as good if not better, but too far for me.  If you've read anything I've written, you will know that Urbn is my favorite Pizza restaurant in town.   I know it's good, because, in addition to recreating the New Haven Napoletano style of pizza, I can't stop myself from eating once I start.  I can down a half of a large pizza in one sitting if I want to.  Usually,  I try to restrain myself and save 2 or 3 slices to take home for eating cold out of the fridge or reheated in the toaster oven.   When I eat most other pizza's in San Diego, I can barely finish 1 slice...it's just not usually good enough to waste the calories.   Most of the pizzerias I've reviewed in previous columns are good and warrant at least 2 slices, but Urbn takes the "pie".

So Ludwig, our guest Swedish hockey player, and I ordered a large cheese with sausage on 1/2, bacon on 1/2 and onions.....it was de-freaking-liscious.  I loved it.  Ludwig was impressed.   It was everything I would expect and hope for...sloppy thin pizza with a tasty crunchy crust.  Perfecto!   Foxon Park Birch Beer ....mmmm!!!   One caveat.  $30 plus tip for a large pizza with 3 toppings and 2 drinks.  Not cheap.

My mouth is watering thinking about scarfing down pizza in New Haven...tempted to head back to Urbn for more, but I'll hold off.  

New York vs. Chicago

We recently visited a couple of Pizza Joints in town that I've been hearing good things about.  Our first stop was at Bongiornos Pizza in Poway.  My friend, Howie from the Scripps Ranch Dog Park has been telling about this place for Months.   I've been meaning to try it for a while now and since we were just preparing to move out of the Ranch, we jumped at the chance to check it out.

Bongiorno's is a funky little dive in a non-descript strip mall in just off of Poway Road.  I would never have tried it without the recommendation.  I wasn't disappointed.  It's a fine example of a decent New York pie.  Thin crust, crispy, good sauce and cheese....definitely worth it if you are in the area.  Eat it there if you can.  I don't know how well it would travel.  They sell by the slice.  Very good but I'm not sure how far I would travel to eat there.  Great find for a local inland north county spot tho. 

The restaurant is decorated with all kinds of New York City decor.  Friendly staff.  Try it if you are in the area.

 We recently moved to Mission Hills area and are thrilled with the abundance of eateries in the area.  Another friend, also from the dog park, recommended a place in Hillcrest called Lefty's Chicago Pizzeria.  You may recognize the building.  It is the location of the original Phil's Barbecue before he relocated to the Sports Arena area.

As a New Englander, I never thought much of Chicago Style, deep dish pizza.   I figured it would be too filling and never had the desire to try it.  I'm not sure, but I may have tried it in a mall or an airport one time, but either way I've never been a fan.

So we go in...there's a huge line.  A long wait to be seated.  The place was abuzz with eager diners.  We gave our name and placed our order and hung out, enjoying the energy and ambiance.  We ordered slices.  I didn't want to risk buying an entire pie since I probably wouldn't care for it any way.  They also have New York style, thin crusted pizza and a large pasta menu.  We ordered 1 of each slice and a pasta dish to share.

I was amazed at how good the deep dish slice was.  The New York slice was really good and easily comparable to most of the decent pizza we've found in our quest.  I would order it again.  But the Chicago style was a complete surprise.  Even though it was deep dish, the crust was surprisingly tasty and not too filling.  What delighted me the most was the chewy cheesy filling and tomato sauce topping..it was amazing.   Notice the sauce is on top, covering the cheese.  I'm looking forward to another trip soon.  I'm still a New Haven pie junkie, but this was damned good pizza.

Landini's Pizzeria, In the heart of Little Italy

Had a chance to sit and enjoy a slice of pie at Landini's Pizzeria in Little Italy earlier today. A fine example of New York style pizza. It was pretty good. I still prefer Bronx Pizza on Washington Street for my favorite NY Style pizza in town and of course, I'll always go for the New Haven Style of Urbn Pizza in North Park and Vista.

Of course there is the ambiance and buzz of Little Italy, so the atmosphere adds to the experience. That's something you don't get everywhere.

Has My Quest Ended

Well, with Urbn Pizza in Vista and North Park and the recent news that my daughter will be attending Uconn(with Pepe's Pizza only 30 minutes away from the Storrs Campus) has my search for the ultimate New Haven pizza come to a happy ending?

For the past few months we've bounced back and forth between the 2 locations of Urbn in San Diego County; Vista and North Park.  Mostly, because the pizza is so good and the closest thing to eating at Sally's, Pepe's or Zuppardi's that I can find in San Diego.  Also, because I haven't heard of much else.  We keep meaning to get to Naked Pizza in Hillcrest and Bongiorno's in Poway.

If you have any recommendations, please pass them on. 

De(eh?)l Mar Pizza

Well, we bought a groupon coupon for Del Mar Pizza, so we made the trek across hwy 56 to Del Mar to check it out.  We've heard good things about it, so we decided to try it.

Nice hangout in the midst of the Del Mar action.  Parking was tough until we decided to go around the back where we were able to squeeze into their own lot behind the restaurant.

Anyway, the pizza was so-so.  A decent pizza joint for San Diego, but really nothing special.  I wouldn't go out of my way, but if I was in Del Mar and hungry for pizza it would do.

It didn't come close to passing the Bronx Pizza or Urbn Test.....miles away from the ultimate New Haven style pizza I'm looking for in San Diego.

Close But No Cigar-Pizzeria Luigi

We headed out to check out Pizzeria Luigi in Golden Hill on Friday night.  Luigi's is a cool little spot right across the street from one of my favorite restaurants in San Diego, the Turf Supper Club.  It's right on 25th and B St just up the hill from Downtown San Diego.


Proprietor, Luigi Agostini grew up in Italy, traveled the world, and ended up in San Diego where he learned the pizza business working at Bronx Pizza.  In 2004 he opened the Golden Hill restaurant.  He also has a location in North Park.

In 2008, the Food Network's "Diners Drives and Drive Ins" visited Luigi's and literally put them on the map.  They've been a local hotspot since they opened, but after the episode aired they achieved cult status and people travel from all over to check it out.

We got there on an early Friday evening and the place was just starting to heat up with hungry customers.  They brand themselves as "New York style pizza".  I set my expectation meter on "Bronx Pizza".  Bronx would be my benchmark.  I love Bronx Pizza.  I've never been disappointed and until I discovered Urbn Pizza, Bronx was my favorite San Diego Pizza place.  Would Luigi's Pizza stand up to the Bronx test?

Luigi's offers slices, just like Bronx.  Urbn and a few of the others we've visited only serve full pies.  Luigi's has a deli case full of cold pizza's so you can see choose the kind of slice you want.


We ordered our standard fare; cheese pie with 1/2 sausage and 1/2 meatball with fresh tomatoes.  It took a really long time for them to make it.  After about 20-25 minutes we started getting impatient, but just then our pizza was delivered to our table.


It looked pretty good:

But, unfortunately, it didn't come close to Bronx Pizza.  The flavor missed the mark for me and the crust was not crisp or crunchy the way we like.  It was really disappointing because everything about this place was so cool and looked so promising.

I will come back and give them another chance.  I wanted to like the pizza, but I could barely finish my second slice.  In fact I didn't finish it. And then the next day when we popped the leftovers in the oven, it wasn't all that good then either.

When I eat a pizza in New Haven at Pepe's or Sally's, etc, I can't stop eating.   Even at Urbn, I could down 3 or 4 slices.  I don't like to fill up, but I will if it's worth the calories.  Not worth it this time.

I'll report back when we try them again, but for now it was close but no cigar.