Primarily from NYC transplants, and I’ll explain why.
My daughter has been attending university in Manhattan since August, and her palate has been altered for the worse. To wit: she no longer considers a thick-crusted pizza to be actual food. I, on the other hand, only bestow the term “pizza” upon thick-crusts.
Thing is, next Tuesday she’s coming home for six weeks, and she’s worried that she won’t be able to have an acceptable pizza for an unacceptably long interval. Does anyone in the OC/Long Beach area know where I can find a New York-style pizza that meets the specifications required by eaters of such items?
LaRocco’s in San Clemente is New York style and they do it right.
It’s not as good as the best New York pizza, but it is definitely as good as good New York pizza.
Indeed.
I’ll have to try Johnny’s next time I’m in Corona del Mar.
LaRocco’s is good enough that it is still good when you order by the slice and they have to reheat it, but if you go with a friend or two and have them make you a fresh whole pie …it is really delicious. Their calzones are also wonderful.
I’m very happy to hear the inspiring story of how kaylasda99’s daughter has risen above the unfortunate circumstances of her upbringing to be able to appreciate the beauty and deliciousness that life has to offer.
Thanks to all for your input. So far Johnny’s in CDM has the lead. I really would be grateful for something in North County/Long Beach, though. I just don’t get as far south as San Clemente these days.
As a native of Southern California, I grew up calling thin-crust pizza ‘pizza’. I have to admit that I’ve never paid much attention to ‘New York-style’ or ‘Chicago-style’. If someone says ‘Chicago-style’ to me, I think of a ‘deep dish’ pizza where the crust rises vertically around the circumference and filled to the top with toppings. ‘Thick crust’ pizza, to me, has a thicker crust than you would get at Round Table or wherever. It appears, looking at images on google, that ‘New York pizza’ is just ‘pizza’ – i.e., the default – like you can get anywhere in Southern California. I would call cardstock-thin crust ‘thin crust’.
Try Two Saucy Broads in Fullerton. Not real NYC pizza, but close. They insist on giving it a “California twist,” which sounds like a WWF move and an illegal one at that. I’ve had a few of their pies over the years and they were quire serviceable. Not Lombardi’s, but adequate.
It’s not a “cool” suggestion because it’s a chain rather than some charming local’s secret, but Z Pizza is actually pretty good. According to the locator on their website, they have two in Huntington Beach and one in Brea.
Really, if she’s just home for six weeks she’d do best to indulge in her favorite local food that she can’t get in New York. The pizza in New York will still be there for her in January. It’ll even taste better if she just allows herself to miss it for six weeks.
Still, if she takes this opportunity to educate her father on the finer points in life, she’ll have done a good thing.
