Like a big pizza pie....that's amore!

Here is the first installment from the West Coast Pizza Hunters. The expedition brings 2 Pacific Beach establishments into head to head competition. We found Rosaria's through a mailer that came to the house. It proclaimed they won a local news station's best pizza (which year?). The other establishment, Liberty Pizza, was on the commuter path. Each night, we thought we should stop for a slice, and on this night we decided to do it!

Rosaria's had a website which we consulted for the menu. After careful consideration, we decided on the Rosaria's Works which featured Sausage, Pepperoni, Meatball, Black Olive, Onion, Mushrooms & Green Pepper. We called in the order to what sounded like a Latin woman and were told to be there in "20 minute."

Upon arriving at the pizza parlor (if you could call it that!), we went into what had to be the slowest, emptiest pizza place ever. There was no buzz about the shop, with delivery folks rushing to and fro like children who just washed down some chocolate with a can of jolt. It was practically dead, and the woman who had taken our order was not Latin, but Asian. Her Asian husband presented our pizza in a floppy cardboard box (not the sturdy corrogated type) and gladly took our money.



Back in the car, we opened the pie and much to our dismay, the pizza looked about as good as the picture on some frozen pies. Worried that this would fall short of both our hunger and expectations, we travelled a few blocks to Liberty Pizza.

Having not called ahead for a pie, we decided to get 2 slices to go. Upon entering, I was immediately razzed by the man behind the counter for wearing my Red Sox hat. "87 years, yeah you deserve a slice!" I surveyed the place and it had several of the telltale signs of a good pizza joint: customers, several ragged dollar bills taped to the wall, bad photos of Sinatra and other entertainers, pictures of family and friends, and plastic plant life, this was promising. The slices were properly wrapped on their paper plates in a brown paper bag and we headed home.

The Rosaria's pizza wasn't as bad as we had expected. It was a bit doughy and reminded me of pub pizza that was served at Papou's in Delaware County, PA. The toppings made the pizza, but they were not the freshest.



The slices from Liberty were closer to a slice of pizza that could be from the east coast. The pizza's quality was a bit difficult to gauge because we weren't sure how long the slices were waiting, but since they tasted better than the Rosaria's fresh pie, logic would lead me to believe that a fresh pie from Liberty would be good.



The other feature of Liberty Pizza that had me excited was what I've coined as "the pizza afterglow." If you look at the picture below, you can see that after the pizza slice has been removed from its plate, you can hold the plate up to a light source and see a glow through it.



Perhaps I can sell this plate on eBay? Is that Elvis I see in the pizza afterglow?

In summary, I don't think either of these shops will become my standard pizza destination, but I'm slowly learning the landscape of the west coast pizzeria and will hopefully find that elusive slice!