Settebello Pizzeria Napoletana-Closed

Settebello Pizzeria Napoletana
625 E Colorado Blvd
Pasadena, CA 91101
626-765-9550

Having gone to DeSano Pizza Bakery recently, I remembered Settebello Pizzeria Napoletana, in Pasadena, has been on my bucket list of places to try.

As the name says, Settebello is a Neapolitan style pizza.  A fairly large restaurant with a huge bar to the right of the entrance and tables scattered around the bar.  The noise level is fairly loud for a busy Saturday dinner, but not so loud you have to scream at the person across the table from you. 

Margherita, $12, Crushed Tomatoes, Mozzarella, Basil, Parmigiano Reggiano, Extra Virgin Olive Oil.  The crust was almost great, but too many burnt areas.  The none burnt areas had a very nice texture-chewy yet very soft.  The sauce was balanced and flavorful.  They could have put more cheese on the pizza, but otherwise a very good pizza.  It would have been better if they pizza chef had moved the pizza before it was charred.

Service was quick but very inattentive.  While our server came by often, he didn't notice we needed refills.  At most restaurants you don't have to ask for refills on water or soda.   Yes, I could have asked, but a couple times when the server came by I was talking to my friend and just didn't ask for a refill. 

Overall my experience at Settebello was good, but not great and didn't live up to the hype.  For a place that has been open for a long time, they shouldn't serve charred pizza!

DeSano Pizza Bakery

DeSano Pizza Bakery
4959 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90029
323-913-7000

DeSano Pizza Bakery has been on my bucket list of places to try for a long time.  I was going to go to Village Pizzeria, but on the way there I drove past DeSano!  A quick U turn and I parked in DeSano's huge free parking lot.  Desano's is a Neapolitan style pizza like Bollini's in Monterey Park.

From the parking lot there are two doors, one to the dining room and the other to where you place your order.  The dining room has huge ovens where the pizza magic happens!

Charleston Pizza- 11 inch, shrimp, broccolini, peppers, and buffalo mozzerella, $16.  The Charleston is a special, normally it's only available at their Charleston, South Carolina location.  But, I'm glad they brought it to Los Angeles!  This was a great pizza!  The crust is great, soft, but with a great chewy texture!  The toppings plentiful and fresh.  All the flavors worked very well.  The sweetness of the sauce helped the bitterness of the broccolini.  A great pizza! 

Service was very good.  Nice helpful lady at the counter.  And the lady who brought the pizza to my table, was very nice too.  She quickly changed the channel to the baseball, instead of some stupid racing.  The other TV had that stupid kickball game at the Rose Bowl, that caused a ton of traffic on the 210 freeway!!

I hope DeSano keeps the Charleston Pizza on their Los Angeles menu, but I will go back and try their other pizza!!  A great place for Neapolitan style pizza.  Yes, while I haven't been to Bollini's in a long time, DeSano is better!!

Pizzamania

Pizzamania
13547 Telegraph Rd
Whittier, CA 90605
(562) 944-8803

I have been to the Pizza Mania in Long Beach, and liked the pizza and sandwiches.  I saw that there was a Pizza Mania in Whittier and I was in the area and dropped by.  I forgot to ask if the two locations are related.

The Whittier location is huge, with a separate room, where you placed your order and a huge dining area.  This place has to be very popular with the little league kids in the area.

Medium mushroom and jalapeno pizza, $16.57.   The sauce had a mild flavor.  The mushrooms were fine, but the jalapenos were pickled and just too salty.  I would prefer fresh jalapenos or pickled jalapenos that were less salty.  But, the crust was off.  Cripsy on the outside and way too bready in the inside.  The pizza was heavy and it's all crust.

Service was very good.  Mostly teenagers working, who were nice and helpful.  The pizza came out in about ten minutes.  They were pretty busy for a rainy Saturday afternoon.

I wouldn't go back to Pizzamania in Whittier, the crust just isn't up to par.

Rokuan-Closed

Rokuan
14230 Chino Hills Pkwy
Chino Hills, CA 91709
909-590-1233

Rokuan is in the Stater Bros. shopping center, the same center as Oh Queso is located! The sign outside says Sushi, and on the door is Rokuan.   It's a small restaurant, with minimal decorations.  It has about eight seats at the sushi bar, another five long bench seating and a couple tables to the left of the front door. 

I got there early for lunch, about 11:45am, and got seated quickly.  But, within 20 minutes, every table was filled and about three people waiting for a table. 

Shrimp sushi, $4.95 and lobster sushi, $5.95.

The shrimp was good.  Nice and fresh and good quality.  The lobster was amazing, even though it was more of a lobster salad than lobster.  They cut up pieces of lobster and mixed with the some mayo and other ingredients and it was damn good!!  

Spicy tuna hand roll, $5.15.  Again, fresh and tasty. 

Crunchy roll, $9.95.  Shrimp tempura a California roll.  Pretty good, even if the shrimp tempura wasn't that crushy.

Service was very good and attentive!

I would happily go back to Rokuan.  The exterior isn't that inviting, but the sushi is very good!

La Azteca Tortilleria

La Azteca Tortilleria
4538 E Cesar E Chavez Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90022
323-262-5977

You don't have to search long for a good burrito in Los Angeles.  Hell, go to an area with a large Mexican population and you'll find a good burrito within five minutes.  So, when a restaurant is suppose to have the best burrito in Los Angeles, it better be damn good!

LA Weekly rated the chile relleno burrito at La Azteca Tortilleria, the best burrito in LA.  Word of caution, in their Top 9, they included Al and Bea, where I was underwhelmed!

La Azteca Tortilleria, is located on a busy stretch of E Cesar Chavez Ave., which used to be Brooklyn Ave, before they renamed the street to honor Cesar Chavez.  It's a small restaurant, with about four tables and some counter seating.  It can get hot in there but they have a portable air conditioner that helps.

Chile relleno burrito, $6.50, Anaheim chile, cheese, tomatoes, in a flour tortilla.  La Azteca Tortilleria makes their own flour tortilla and it's great, really fresh.  The other ingredients were good and they sure give you a lot.  But, while good, not the best!

Service is good.  They are nice and friendly.

The chile relleno burrito is worth the $6.50 price tag and some people may not be able to finish the burrito.  But, it's not the best burrito in LA, though the tortilla is very good!

Mexico City-Closed

Mexico City
2121 Hillhurst Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90027
323-661-7227

Located in Hipsterville, Los Feliz, across the street from the now closed, Tangier Korean BBQ of Toyko, Mexico City is an Americanized version of Mexican food.  Located in, what has to be a, googie style building, it was packed and very loud.  The noise level is unbearable.  I was practically screaming at my dinner companion who was less than four feet from me!  They have a large menu, if a bit pricey.

Vegetarian tostada, $11, with yellow squash, avocado, onions, lettuce, broccoli, with a side of black beans and rice.  Not a fan of squash but I ate it.  This really lacked flavor and seasoning.  The only thing Mexican about this dish was the tostada and the crema.  While the portion was huge it wasn't a good value.

Service was friendly but slow.  Drinks were slow to be refilled and it took awhile for us to get our check.  The server didn't come around much and while he did have other tables, he needed to come by more often to our table.

I wouldn't go back to Mexico City again.  Why eat bland food at a Mexican restaurant in LA, when there are a ton of better Mexican restaurants?

Pizzita Circle

Pizzita Circle
4047 Grand Ave Ste E
Chino, CA 91710
909-590-0404

Much like Giuseppe's Pizza, Pizzita is a combination pizza and Middle Eastern place.  Pizzita is a fast casual restaurant, located in the very busy restaurant corner of the Wal Mart shopping center in Chino, with good size dining area with tasteful decor.

Veggie Pizza, $7.95. Mushrooms, spinach, green peppers, onion, olives.  Comes with broccoli but I asked for no broccoli.  The crust is just too crispy for me.  Some people may like it, but it's not my cup of team.  The sauce is a bit bland.  The toppings are, for the most part, plentiful, except it was hard finding any spinach on the pizza.  I wouldn't order the pizza again. 

Falafel-$3.  Loved the falafel!  This had lots of flavor and was fried perfectly.   This may also be the largest falafel I've had, huge!  Well worth the price.

Service is good and friendly.

While I didn't like the pizza, the falafel was great and I would go back for the falafel wrap or just another order of falafel.  I have heard the hummus, which comes in three or four flavors, is great!  I'll be ordering some hummus on my next trip!