I was a surprisingly normal kid.  Like any boy my age there were two things I loved: Pizza and wrapping my lower half in a blanket to pretend I was a beautiful mermaid.  I never really lost my fondness for either.  So a trip to this week’s restaurant was a no brainer.  Pizzeria Luigi was founded by an actual Italian named Luigi in 2004.  They started with a location in Golden Hill and branched out to a second location in North Park 5 years later.  This is the place I’m at tonight with my pizza loving friends:

Aimee-Roommate since the 90’s, BFF, allergic to hot dogs and therefore labeled a commie by many

Arturo-Raw Story reporter, Rocky Horror community main stay, Mr. DJ

Christy-Rocky Horror performer, Cat lover, We’ve all seen her boobs

Craig-Jackie’s lucky and mysterious other half, picture unavailable

Esparza– Rocky Horror performer, once played Rock Band naked at a party, don’t ask him about the door.

Jackie-Awesome Soprano, fellow East Coast transplant, Has a Vegas story or two

Nick– Gamer extraordinaire, Once made a rap video in a tub with me, Colorado resident

Tomy-Fashionista, Rocky Horror performer, an original Kathryn

We are here to judge your pizza and make surprisingly few Mario Bros jokes in the process.

The place was small but busy.  Many people picking up whole pies to go or eating at the bar.  There was a line to order for in-house dining.  Pizzeria Luigi offers a great deal of 2 slices and a soda for 6 bucks.  They also stay open late which is another plus.  Hopefully the pizza would live up to this promise.

Arturo ordered the Pepperoni slice and the Capone (Pepperoni/Sausage/Meatball) slice.  He felt it was disappointing.  The kind of pizza that is better elsewhere in the city.  There was no real kick to the flavors and the flavors that did come through could be more lively.  Nick and Craig both had the Capone & the Leonardo (Parmesan Cheese/Mozzerella/Pesto).  Nick felt the cheese was underwhelming on the Leonardo while Craig thought it completely lacked flavor.  Nick added that the crusts on both pizzas were middle-done. They both said the sausage was great but the Capone overall needed more meat on it.  Jackie had the Fresh Prince (Spinach/Tomato/Mushroom/Onion/Artichoke/Garlic Marinara) and the Spinach Ricotta.  She noted that she needed to add salt to her pizzas, which is not a good thing. She overall felt like the slices were not satisfying and felt more like a appetizer than a meal.  Tomy got The Sports Bar (Potato/Bacon/Sour Cream/Cheddar/Green Onion) and the Leonardo.  He also ordered a Pabst Blue Ribbon for reasons unclear to the rest of us but Tomy assured us he’d stop drinking it before he grew an ironic mustache.  He felt the Sports Bar was good but he would refrain from ordering a whole pizza of it. He also said The Leonardo was tasty.

Aimee ordered two slices from the case but was unhappy with the selection, saying they tasted a bit old and she also found the staff to be unhelpful..  She would be interested in ordering a whole pie to see if freshness would make a difference.  Esparza had the Buffalo Chicken Pizza and the Capone.  He found them both to be okay but overall lacking flavor.  As Esparza is not a big fan of thin crust pizza to begin with, these did little to sway him.  Christy got the Spinach Ricotta and The White Girl (Chicken/Bacon/Spicy Ranch).  While she enjoyed the Spinach Ricotta, the real stand out for Christy was the White Girl and I have to agree with her.  She insisted I try it and it was fresh!  Hot out of the oven and super tasty!  It was a nice change of pace from what a lot of other folks at the table seemed to be experiencing.

As for me, I had the Spinach Ricotta and the Sports Bar.   I have to say there were good points and bad points about this meal.  The good was that they were good for what it was and the value of 2 slices and a soda for 6 bucks is kind of amazing.  I also liked the fact that they are open later.  Not so successful was the fact that the pizza had clearly sat in that case for a while.  In fact, having some of Christy’s White Girl only made me realize what a divide in taste there was from Luigi’s pizza fresh versus not so fresh.  It seemed very strange to me that this was what was available by the slice on a busy Saturday night with a sizeable crowd.  That having been said, I would also come back.  Both slices gave hints of what could await a taster when the pizza’s at it’s best.

Like pizza from New York! After the flight…

The overall feeling with Pizzeria Luigi was that better pizza could be found elsewhere but what we had was good enough in price and taste that it would be worth coming in for again.  Many (myself included) felt it would be worth trying a whole pizza as freshness would be less of an issue than it was for the individual slices offered in the case.  My dining companions also praised the selection of inexpensive beers.  So basically this is the place you want to come after drinking at the bar and before heading home.  I’ve also been told the Golden Hill location is a difference experience so it’s safe to say that even though it was not phenomenal, Pizzeria Luigi has not seen the last of my business.

Further reading