Pitfire Artisan Pizza, Culver City, CA

Pitfire Artisan Pizza
12924 Washington Blvd
Los Angeles / Culver City, CA 90066
424-835-4088
http://www.pitfirepizza.com/
Small parking lot that is very crowded on Friday and Saturday nights.
Warehouse environment that can get quite loud when crowded. Outdoor seating available.
Order at the counter, and food is brought to your table (self seating). Additional drinks and dessert may be ordered from your server.
3 more locations around LA in North Hollywood, downtown LA, and West LA.

Visited: September 2010, Dinner, Dine-in


Overall, we enjoyed our meal, however we wouldn't go out of our way to eat at Pitfire.

All food is brought at the same time, so even if you order an appetizer or soup, it will come as the same time as your pizza and pasta.

We 'started' from the Pantry or appetizer section with Meatballs ($6) which was 3 of their large Hand-Crafted Chicken Meatballs served with their tomato sauce and topped with some grated Grana. The menu says it's served with grilled bread, and well, we got one slice of grilled bread. This seemed rather odd - one slice of bread served with three meatballs? Regardless, the meatballs and the sauce were very very tasty. The meatballs had a nice texture and a very interesting spice mix - it had something sweet that almost hinted of a Middle Eastern spice. The tomato sauce had a great fresh yet rich flavor. I would definitely order the Meatballs again, or try them with the Spaghetti and Meatballs ($9.25).



We tried a couple pizzas. They use a thin crust that is cooked very well, and has a nice char. The pizzas are sliced into quarters, and I noticed some folks eating their slices New York style - folded in half. One problem is that there is quite a bit of untopped crust at the edges, and it's rather lacking (and too charred). If you have sauce leftover from the meatballs, that makes a nice dip. We noticed that folks at other tables were leaving crust edges behind, too.

First was the Pitfire Sausage ($9.95) topped with their very tasty tomato sauce, fontina and mozz, large and small chunks of their sweet fennel sausage (very mild flavored), and crunchy flavorless red onions. While overall, this is a pleasant pizza, it seemed lacking in sausage particularly when compared to the Pepperoni that we also ordered.



The Pepperoni ($9.75) was covered in slices of nitrate-free pepperoni slices which had a nice flavor - herby and with a little snap. A very good pepperoni that wasn't greasy. The pizza was also topped with their tomato sauce, fresh mozz and fresh basil. A very good pizza (except for the crust edge issue).



The Roasted Vegetable Panini ($8.95) was a disappointment. The crusty bread was quite lovely, however it didn't make up for the bland contents. Roasted vegetables should have a caramelization that provide their own seasoning, but alas, no. It was a large sandwich with olive mayo (the only tasty thing), pesto (which seemed nonexistent), roasted eggplant, roasted zucchini, roasted bell peppers (almost tasteless - how is that possible?), those flavorless red onions, melted fresh mozz (added a nice texture), and some lovely, but too plentiful, lettuce. The sandwich was also served with a very large side house salad of mixed greens, shaved Asiago, vinaigrette and homemade croutons. The salad was quite tasty.



They also have a nice collection of bottled sodas. Coke and Coca Light from Mexico so they're made with sugar. And a selection of Boylan sodas - regular and diet. I had the Ginger Ale, which was a nice treat. Interesting bottled and draught beers, and wine were also available.

I'd go back and try more items on the menu, but only if I were in the area.

Calamari's, Torrance, CA

Calamari's
1000 Torrance Blvd, Unit A, Redondo Beach, CA 90277
310-792-0077
Southeast corner of Torrance and Prospect. In a strip mall with free parking.
Casual. Large dining room.

Visited: A few times, Dinner, Dine-In
Most recently: June 2010

This is the former location of The Appetizer which now has a new owner, but retains much of the same menu. We went on a Friday night for dinner, and were surprised how empty the restaurant remained. There was a steady stream of business, but the restaurant was by no means full. We wondered if this may be have been an effect due to the confusion from the closure of The Appetizer.

Anyhow, we enjoyed our dinner, and here's what we had.

We started off with Garlic Bread which was brought to the table (versus ordering it from the appetizer menu). It's pizza dough or thin foccaccia based, and very light on the garlic seasoning. Wasn't too inspiring.

We also had an order of Fried Mozzarella ($5.95). The coating was crisp and seasoned, and happily, the cheese was piping hot. They came with a dish of marinara which was tasty, and enough to dip the garlic bread in, too.

Since the place is called Calamari's, we decided to try the Fried Calamari ($6.95). The calamari was a golden brown breading with some herbs sprinkled in, and served with a dish of marinara. The serving was generous, but overall it was rather plain.

The Antipasto Salad ($6.95) was very generous. It has a base of romaine and iceberg, topped with sliced rolls of salami, ham and provolone, plus marinated mushrooms and marinated artichoke hearts. The pieces are rather large which makes this a knife and fork salad. Everything is very tasty, and definitely large enough for an entree salad. It's lightly dressed in an Italian dressing - you may want to ask for more on the side.

The Calzone with Pepperoni and Ham ($11.45) was well done. The crust was crisp and cooked well, without being mushy or doughy. There was plenty of pepperoni, mozzarella and sauce to fill the calzone from end to end (none of those doughy corners) plus it comes with extra tasty marinara on the side. We tried ordering this on a second visit, only this time adding ricotta, and were saddened to find out that they were out of ricotta (seems odd, no?)

They feature Brick Oven Pizzas, and so we decided to try an XL (16 in.) Pizza with Pepperoni and Sausage ($18.00). The sauasage were nice slices of sausage instead of chunks (which can sometimes be hard), and there was plenty of both meats. There was also plenty of sauce which had a nice spice to it.

We ordered the Seafood Fettuccini ($14.95). This comes with choice of marinara or white wine sauce, but I asked for Alfredo sauce instead, and they were happy to comply. This dish was great with a mix of nicely cooked baby calamari, scallops, shrimp, and white fish. The pasta also comes with garlic bread and soup or salad, and we chose the Lentil Soup. The lentils were tender and had a nice mild middle eastern spice to it.

We also tried the Cannelloni ($9.95) with meat sauce (choice of having marinara or meat) which also came with garlic bread and soup or salad. This time we got the Chicken and Rice Soup, and it was very tasty. The broth was rich, and the soup was full of chicken, rice and veggies. Now, my favorite cannelloni is/was the version at the now long departed Rossini's on PCH in Torrance (now home to the expanded Volvo dealership), and unfortunately all future canenelloni is compared to theirs. This one doesn't compare. It's a very nice sized serving of three rolls of pasta sheets filled with what seemed like sausage lumps in a gravy. I was hoping for a soft smooth filling, not the firm lumps of meat. Overall, it was tasty, but not my favorite.

We will definitely be back to try more things including the sandwiches.

The Appetizer, Redondo Beach, CA

The Appetizer
1000 Torrance Blvd, Unit A, Redondo Beach, CA 90277
310-792-0077
http://www.theappetizerrestaurant.com/
Southeast corner of Torrance and Prospect. In a strip mall with free parking.
Casual. Large dining room.

March 2010 Update: CLOSED. This location has been sold, and is now a restaurant called Calamari's. The new owner has kept the menu very similar to The Appetizer. The other Appetizer location on Deep Valley Drive in Rolling Hills Estates is still open.

Visited: a couple times, Dinner, Dine-in
Most recently: Dec 2009

This restaurant had been teasing us for some time with a sign out front saying that it would open soon, and many months later, it finally did. What we didn't realize was that this was the next in a series with the first ones open over at the Hughes market, and they still have a location up on Deep Valley Drive in Rolling Hills Estates. Well, this was a first time for us.

The service was still 'new' feeling. Everyone was very friendly and courteous, but I think the kitchen still has some kinks to work out to ensure all of the items come out on time. Maybe they need to add an expo back there.

But, the food was quite good. So what did we eat?

Pepperoni and Canadian Bacon Calzone ($11.45 + $1 extra topping): really, it was probably the best calzone we've had on the west coast. The dough was crisp and soft, plenty of goodies inside, and overall very flavorful. It comes with extra marinara on the side, but not quite enough; you'll probably want to ask for another cup. It's also quite large - good for sharing or for someone who's hungry.

Hot Meatball Sandwich, Large ($7.45): wow, was this good! The bread was very nicely toasted on the outside yet still had enough softness on the inside to absorb the yummy sauce. The meatballs were big and very tasty, and mozzarella melted with gooey goodness. You may want to ask for extra sauce.

Meat Lasagna ($9.95): comes with soup or salad and a big basket of garlic bread. We had the Garbanzo Bean Soup, and while not sure what to expect, the soup was very tasty. Lots of garbanzo beans and mini pasta tubes in a vegetarian broth with plenty of flavor. The garlic bread actually had minced garlic on it - fancy that! It was also very nicely crisp and soft in the right places (they do their bread well). The lasagna was also good. Despite the meat sauce being a little thin, it has a very deep rich taste.

XL Pizza with half pepperoni/sausage and half sausage/mushroom ($17.45): the half with pepperoni had much more flavor than the other side. The sausage is in these tiny little crumbles that cover the pizza well, but just didn't have enough oomph to work well with the mushrooms. Overall, a good thin crust pizza, but need we need to figure out what flavor combos to get.


We will definitely go back; probably for take-out.