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Friday, February 10, 2012
Today I had but one objective which was to find a superior slice of pizza to sit down and enjoy without going broke in the process. You should know I was born and raised in New York so this was not going to be a simple task.
I decided to try Giovanni’s Old World New York Pizzeria. My first impression was that the restaurant is enormous. The size of the restaurant drew attention to the fact I was the only one in the place. Normally I wouldn’t stay at a completely empty restaurant but they deserved an impartial review as much as any place.
Let’s start with the positives. The lunch special which is offered from 11-4PM consists of two slices of pizza and a soda for $5.99. Draft beer is available in a 32 ounce bucket at $2 for Bud and Bud Light and $3 for all others. The windows were nicely decorated for the holidays and there was a Christmas tree up by the front door which was aesthetically pleasing.
On to the less popular news. The 32 ounce bucket was made of Styrofoam which is an environmental nightmare. The only similarity between theirs and a slice of “New York” pizza is the thin crust; besides this I found it to just be OK. Five of the eight draft beers carried at Giovanni’s were supplied by Sacramento Brewing Company which we all know recently shut down due to economic reasons. I asked the employee working the counter where they will be getting their beer from now on and he had no idea which I thought was absolutely darling. They may want to start thinking about where their next kegs are coming from because the stout I ordered was beyond stale. An extra large pizza can run as much as $32 at dinner time which is just too much for me to pay with all of options I have available in Sacramento. Lastly, there is what I estimate to be a 60 inch projection T.V. which isn’t clearly visible from any angle in the room most likely due to the fact it was manufactured in the mid 1990’s.
In fairness to Giovanni’s the pizza really was not bad, but you should really be prepared to bring on the quality if you are going to have the words “New York” right in the name of your business. In conclusion I would never want to deter someone from drawing their own conclusion, however for my money the entire experience was mediocre and I myself might give them another chance once the kegs are switched out.
Giovanni’s is located at 6200 Folsom Blvd. 916.455.8831. Please note there are also locations at 5924 South Land Park Dr. 916.393.7001 and Natomas Town Center at 2701 Del Paso Road. I have not tried the last two locations and therefore no opinions or feedback on those particular locations.
As always, please know I am in no way affiliated with this or any restaurant I review. My goal is to go out and slowly experience different aspects of the Sacramento dining scene then share those experiences with you.
Andy Soto
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In Sac, I found three places in and around Land Park that offer reasonable pizza, approximating the Church Street experience, but not quite hitting the mark...
Giovanni's and Brick Oven are two of them -- they make pretty good pizza, but not GREAT pizza, and they're reasonably priced.... but they don't deliver...
Famous Pizza, near Freeport Bakery, does deliver, and, if one orders double toppings, you get a pretty good pizza for the price... but again, something's lacking....
Another New York experience that is singularly missing in Sacramento is a good Jewish deli, a la Katz's or 3rd Avenue, or Your House of Bagels or The Bagel in SF, with good fresh pastrami and other meat sandwiches stacked high and served on the best rye or challah or brioche... The Bagel in SF, btw, has the BEST chicken salad sandwiches, matzoh ball soup, and roasted chickens I've ever had in my life, including those made at home...
There is the little Italian shop/store at 19th and J, which does make decent sandwiches, but not stacked high like New York or SF.... But then again, their sandwiches are very reasonably priced...
Sacramentans don't know what good pizza is...after all Luigi's pizza is popular, and their pizza is like cardboard.
Pieces on 21st can be exceptional, depends on who is cooking that day. They occasionally make a meat ball pizza which is very very good.
You have to go to SF for good Pizza... Golden Boy on Green St, or Escape from NY Pizza on Haight... Or to Santa Cruz...Pizza my Heart.
Apparently in Sacramento, it's easier to sit down with the city manager than it is to sit down with a great slice of pizza. You know there's a problem when Roundtable (which makes a decent pie for a chain) is consistently on SN&R's "best of" lists.
As for Giovanni's, I've had people tell me for years that their pizza is the closest it comes to a real NY slice, which has made me always wonder, "what on earth are those poor people eating back east?"
But RT is hit and miss..and it is ungodly expensive.
When kids spit out their favorite food..is that subjective?
Luigi's Slice is pretty good, but not the true fold-and-drip I expect from a pie slice.
Sbarro has a couple of Sac metro locations but their quality has declined in recent years in my opinion.
Amici's East Coast Pizzeria in Nut Tree (Vacaville) is good, but again not true NY (perhaps Boston?).
The most authentic NY slice I have consistently enjoyed is in the Bay Area, where Arinell Pizza has 2 locations:
Arinell Pizza Inc - Google Maps http://bit.ly/7DSF26 (Berkeley, CA)
Arinell Pizza Inc - Google Maps http://bit.ly/6EquTU (San Francisco, CA)
If you don't mind standing at a counter & eating (just like NY) or sometimes an available (limited) seat, you're in for a treat. My son & I try to swing by whenever we're near one of their locations. The last time we arrived just as a Cal football game ended, so we had to do without.
I have thoughts on a number of other pizza joints, but will save those for another time & place.
I haven't been to either place Jim (see above) has recommended, but will hope to give them a try at some point).
Other thoughts?
PS: I agree with bbbbmer (see above) about the lack of a true NY Deli experience in Sac.... Max's Cafe was fairly close but they closed their locations at Arden & the Roseville Galleria... you've got to go to Marin (Corte Madera) or beyond to find one now.
Everyone I know says this as well... yet for some unknown insane reason... people still go there.
How about instead of capping on all the crappy pizza out there....so easy to do... we should list some that are actually good...
Anyone?
And Hot Italian is actually pretty good, but too pricey. I don't care for upscale pizza. I'd like a slice and a drink for 5 bucks or less.
The City gave David Taylor 10 million bucks to build a cougar bar and pizza joint downtown. That was several months ago... from what I see construction has not even close to starting. I hope at least their pizza is good. I also hope that for Sacramentans it if half price since our tax dollars are paying to build the place. Maybe William can give us an update since he seems to keep track of everything.
What ever pizza you embrace, make sure they give you local farms to table quality
and Hot Italian doesn't sell pizza by the slice do they?
Maybe I'll get round to some other places for pizza (Hot Itallian and Zeldas are the only other places I usually consider), but One Speed is well worth a try!