Anyone who knows me personally knows that I have an incredible soft spot for pizza. And why not? In a lot of ways, it's the quintessential meal. It has all of the major food groups; grain, dairy, meat, veggies, grease(!), and fruit (if you're one of the disgusting few who actually enjoy such toppings as pineapple). And you don't need any silverware to eat it. Anyway, I just wanted to share some of my thoughts on a pizza restaurant I had tried for the first time tonight.
Let me start by setting up the scenario. I had just gotten hungry when I realized that it was getting passed 9pm. At this point, most of my food options were taken from me, but I remembered that some pizza places stay open until 10 or 11 at night. I didn't feel like being ripped off by Dominoes or Pizza Hut, and none of my usual pizza stops were open this late. I figured Little Caesar's (ugh) would be an easy and cheap choice, so I started driving around looking for one. In a short while I became lost, and during that time I stumbled upon a restaurant named Valentino's. Not really feeling up to driving around any further, I decided I'd just give this place a shot.
Before I talk about the pizza itself, I wanted to discuss my impressions of the restaurant itself. It was a quaint little place, barely noticeable. In fact, I'm certain if I hadn't been looking for Little Caesar's I likely would have never discovered its existence. The inside was simple enough, just an order/checkout counter and behind it the kitchen. There were no tables, only a broken pacman machine and one of the 25¢ vendor thingamjigs. I got a super ball.
The smell of the restaurant reminded me that of a bathroom. Not that it reeked of urine or feces, but it had a strange lemon scent to it. I suppose that could be attributed to the fellow mopping the floor nearby, but it still gave off a pretty bad impression as I waited for my pizza to cook.
For $5 ($5.75 total), I thought this place was at least worth trying. I opted for a regular cheese, as I figured it was the least likely that could be fucked up. The pizza as a whole was decently sized. What they called a large was most definitely a medium at other places, but I'll allow them this one Immediately, when I got back in my car, I grabbed a slice and took a bite (notice one is missing in my photos). I quickly learned what a mistake this was as scorching hot cheese dripped down my lip, burning both my chin and mouth. I understand that a pizza is meant to be hot right when it is removed from the oven, but holy shit, they cook their pizza's hot.
When I arrived back at my apartment I started to engorge. The pizza had a fairly appealing sent, and there were no raised bubbles of cheese anywhere to be found (I fucking despise those). Upsetingly enough, when I grabbed a slice, much of the cheese had melted to the rest of the pizz and was pulled off the slice I had just chosen to devour. After having to do some fancy work with my fingers, I finally got a slice together and took a bite.
I wasn't sure what to make of the pizza at first. I had to wait a few more bites before I really started becoming acquainted with the taste. The sauce had an unusual flavor, I couldn't really make out what it tasted like. It seemed slightly fake, or that it was taken from some sort of can, or at the very least not made at the restaurant itself. I did like that there was enough sauce put into the pizza that it was not the least bit dry. At times, I would taste the dough and I found that to be a bit distracting. The cheese tasted pretty good, however, slightly spicy in certain parts. The slices as a whole had a pretty good texture to them. They weren't too thin, nor were they too thick.
The pizza was rather greasy, thoough I'm not usually one to complain about such things (it is pizza after all). Surprisingly enough, I was unable to finish it, which is a little odd considering I typically eat whole pizzas roughly its size. Oh well, I have some leftovers, and perhaps some further material to review upon (how it tastes the day after).
All in all, my feelings for this pizza joint are mixed. On one hand, I was fairly disappointed. Not that I was expected much, and trust me, my expectations were pretty low, but I was kind of hoping it would be one of those surprise places that are located in random and sketchy areas. The cheese was pretty good, but the sauce was a little funky. I'm definitely glad I decided to go here than Little Caesar's, but I can think of so many restaurants that make far superior pizza. But I suppose, given the time that I was looking for dinner, and the price, I can't really complain too much. Still, I don't think I'd recommend this place to anyone, nor eat there again any time soon.
tl;dr version:
- The restaurant smelled like a bathroom
+ The pizza had a nice texture and consistency
- The sauce taste a little weird.
+ I got a super ball!
- I lost it.
- The pizza was pretty greasy.
+ Probably better than Little Caesar's.
- But not by much.
Rating: 2/5
Valentinos Pizza
2340 East PCH
Long Beach, CA
90804
PS: I should have found a better way to spend my time.
