*** (3 stars)
This is an open, clean and nicely designed Uno location. Of course it offers the standard chain menu, but that’s okay, because it’s fairly interesting, with much more than just pizza.
Service is friendly, and the lunch specials are a good deal.
Uno Pizzeria & Grill
3167 Daniels Road
Winter Garden, FL
34787
(407) 877-6510
https://www.yelp.com/biz/uno-pizzeria-and-grill-winter-garden
Calzone
Interior
Exterior
***** (5 stars)
A lot of pizza restaurants think they know how to make calzones, but they basically just fold their pizzas in half. Not at Papa D! This is a real calzone, with a light, crisp, paper-thin crust filled with the best ingredients. I had pepperoni, red peppers, and ricotta, in addition to the standard mozzarella. It’s served with a bowl of fresh marinara. It was easily the best calzone I’ve had anywhere.
Papa D Pizza
5106 Dr Phillips Blvd
Orlando, FL
32819
(407) 299-0033
https://www.yelp.com/biz/papa-d-pizza-orlando
Interior
**** (4 stars)
This hidden away gem of an Italian restaurant serves excellent food, and has some of the best wine prices you’ll find in Central Florida. The wine offerings are top notch, with a lot of hard to find labels, and an emphasis on top-rated reds. The owner obviously has a passion for it.
During a special event we were seated in the wine shop, and it was actually nicer than the main dining room. Plus, there was an excellent jazz saxophonist.
Highly recommended.
Corellis Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria
1042-1044 E Hwy 50
Clermont, FL
34711
(352) 989-5924
https://www.yelp.com/biz/corellis-italian-restaurant-and-pizzeria-clermont-2
Lunch pizza special
**** (4 stars)
This new location replaced the old tired building just to the south. Unfortunately the buffet didn’t make the move. It was the last surviving one in Central Florida. But the new location is bright and airy, and the service is friendly.
The food is, of course, standard Pizza Hut food.
Pizza Hut
12195 S Apopka Vineland Rd
Orlando, FL 32836
(407) 239-0205
https://www.yelp.com/biz/pizza-hut-orlando-51
Interior
Exterior
Bread with garlic anchovy butter
Funghi pizza
*** (3 stars)
Excellent service here is the highlight, and the decor is intimate while at the same time being bustling. The food doesn’t quite live up to the resulting expectations.
Housemade bread was delicious, and worth the extra charge. The funghi pizza was flavorful, but the crust was more like naan bread, with no crispness at all. We ate the toppings off.
Rigatoni was nicely al dente, but this dish should only be ordered if you absolutely LOVE chicken livers, and they weren’t just the prime flavor component, they were the only flavor component.
I give them points for doing something different with the wine list, but it may not be what you’re looking for. ALL of the wines are from lesser known Italian appellations, so you’re not going to find any varietals you’ve likely heard of. This encourages exploration, but also invites disappointment.
Sotto
9575 W Pico Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90035
(310) 277-0210
https://www.yelp.com/biz/sotto-los-angeles
Interior at peak lunch hour
Personal pan pizza
*** (3 stars)
People seem to dislike this Pizza Hut, but I thought it was fine. At the middle of lunch time it was deserted and we thought it might be closed. But someone appeared and took our order, and the food was Pizza Hut standard, so I wouldn’t hesitate to go back.
Pizza Hut
1555 S Western Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90006
(323) 734-7713
https://www.yelp.com/biz/pizza-hut-los-angeles-11
Pretzel bites to go
*** (3 stars)
This is a nice little sidewalk cafe and wine bar. The menu is extensive and we only had time for a snack, so I don’t have a lot of data points to go on. But I will say we were there in mid-afternoon, were the only customers, ordered a diet coke and espresso and pretzel bites, and the service was so slow we ended up having to take the pretzel bites to go. So I can’t recommend it if you’re in a hurry.
The pretzel bites, by the way, aren’t what you’re expecting. It’s actually a bowl of fondue with the pretzels floating in it. It was okay, but I wouldn’t have it again.
The 3rd Stop
8636 W 3rd St
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(310) 273-3605
https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-3rd-stop-los-angeles
Counter
Exterior
Interior
Lunch calzone
**** (4 stars)
Nice new location of flippers with a bright, clean interior. All the usual Flipper’s offerings. The lunch deals are excellent. I had my usual pepperoni and green pepper calzone, and it was nicely prepared.
The service was excellent. The only thing I didn’t like about the place was the manager didn’t seem to be treating the servers very well. I realize the place just opened and he wanted it to go well, but they were doing a fine job without all the shouting.
Flippers Pizzeria
6526 Old Brick Rd
Windermere, FL 34786
(407) 877-1717
https://www.yelp.com/biz/flippers-pizzeria-windermere
Pepperoni and basil thin crust 9 inch
Mojo potatoes
Interior
**** (4 stars)
I’ve been coming to this location since the 1960s, when Shakey’s was in its heyday, the tables and chairs were wooden planks, and there was a live piano player cranking out honky-tonk tunes, accompanied by “multimedia” in the form of a slide projector!
The planks and piano are gone, but Shakey’s is largely unchanged. There’s a special taste to the pizza here that I really like; I think they use more sauce, and it’s tangy-er. The original thin crust recipe is still crisp and delicious, with just the right amount of chew, and even the pepperoni seems to have a slightly different taste from other places.
One thing that changed–albeit back in the 80s–was the addition to mojo potatoes, and those quickly became a favorite of mine, and still are. Essentially they are thin slabs of whole potatoes deep fried in a concoction that attempts to turn them into fried chicken. Yum.
I’m sad that there are so few Shakey’s left, but I hope this one hangs in there–it was certainly busy the day we visited–because it’s a delightful blast from my past.
Shakey’s Pizza Parlor
6052 W Olympic Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 937-4234
https://www.yelp.com/biz/shakeys-pizza-parlor-los-angeles-6
NY Dog
Exterior
Interior
*** (3 stars)
This was a perfectly fine hot dog, but I guess I was expecting something more, having been to many gourmet hot dog places in other cities. The dogs and buns are split in two for grilled. I tried the New York dog, which had mustard and sauerkraut, but was somewhat overwhelmed by the cloying red onion sauce. I was glad I didn’t get the foot-long version, as the small size was plenty, although at $5 I didn’t feel it was worth it.
Fat One’s Hot Dogs & Italian Ice
8001 S Orange Blossom Trl
FC16
Orlando, FL 32809
(407) 634-0205
http://www.yelp.com/biz/fat-ones-hot-dogs-and-italian-ice-orlando-2