Lombardi’s Pizza
(212) 941-7994
32 Spring Street
New York, NY

After a forty minute wait, we were finally seated.

Lombardi is a revered pizza restaurant and I questioned if the pizza lived up to the hype.
One bite, the crispy crust along with vibrant toppings confirmed the blue ribbon winner.

Filled with aromatic spices, the meatball topping was a great choice.
Nutty notes from burn cheese married well with tangy tomato sauce.

Compared to John’s Pizza, Lombardi delivers a pie that is more dry in terms of the cheese and tomato filling.

I would come back to Lombardi’s but would avoid the wait and come off hours.

Campusfork.com is an easy way to upload share and restaurant food photos.

After my first awesome visit, I wanted to come back to Two Boots.
Their cornmeal crust was just remarkable. Cornmeal just adds another texture dimension along with nutty notes.

This time around, I tried their white pizza which did not have any tomato sauce.

The slice came out to be rather dry but their original cheese pizza is stellar. The service is consistently friendly.

As a restaurant consultant, I visit over one hundred restaurants monthly. Often times, aspiring restaurateurs would ask me the key ingredient that contributes to the success of a restaurant. I answer,“the owner.”

This is evident as soon as one steps into Little Henry’s. Just located a few blocks away from Cliff House, owner Sally Tran has been serving Italian food and greeting patrons with her vibrant smile for over twenty years.

After immigrating from Vietnam in the 1979, Tran started out as a cleaner and seamstress. A few years later, a great opportunity came about. Her boss, who owned several building, needed someone to vacate a spot on Larkin Street .

Along with her husband Henry, she took out a loan of $60,000 and started the first of many Little Henry’s restaurants. Henry, who had been trained in Italian cooking, worked in the kitchen while Sally worked the front of the house.

With an open kitchen, the casual Italian diner is a great spot for families. Tran has added a few personal Asian touches including orchids sitting on the side window along with serving Thai Ice Tea ($2.50). The calamari rings coated with Italian seasoning is a great starter ($8.95). Served with soup or salad, the entrees are served with a good portion.

Two thin slices of breaded veal pairs and rigatoni ladled with their house made tomato sauce is a great entrée ($12.95). Known as the “fisherman’s stew”, the ciopino ($14.95) is my favorite dish and is a meal in itself. The soup displays sea sweet tones made from hours of brewing crab, clam, shrimp, and calamari. Infused wine and herbs melt with the bold tomato based dish.

A few dips of rustic garlic bread complete a great dish especially on a foggy day. The fettuccine della casa ($8.95) is all about texture. The fettuccine bathes in a creamy white sauce while bites of bacon add a great savory touch to the dish. A house favorite is the ox tail stew($12.95), with meats literally falling off the bone.

During the first few years of operations, she rarely saw her kids and this is a sacrifice she had to endure. As one of the first Asian Americans to open an Italian restaurant, customers often were hesitant to try her food. But Tran’s customers kept coming back for her food and to experience her warm hospitality.

Tran believes that customers dine at a restaurant not only for the food, but for the experience. She also added that Marco Polo came into China and learned about noodles.

Her innovative thinking includes not spending money on advertising. Instead, she compliments her regular diners with appetizers and wine. Tran said, “flyers do not work well. You don’t even know if they will throw them away. But word of mouth marketing is powerful.”

Sally Tran recalls the long days working from 7am to 11pm. She said, “I didn’t even have money for inventory. Each time I ran out of eggs, I went to the locate grocer and bought more.”

Aside from not having any restaurant experience, Sally Tran could not even write English. Once a customer told her “eggs over easy”, she dashed quickly to the chef and whispered the item.

As the restaurant began to flourish, she expanded the restaurant to locations in Daly City , Oakland , and a few more in San Francisco . After building up each restaurant’s customer base, she sold the operations.

She encourages entrepreneurs not to fear the unknown. From learning about city permits to working with landlords, Tran has believes that with perseverance, the American dream is possible.

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“What’s for dinner? Let me grab a pizza at the vending machine. Be back in 10 minutes honey!” The pizza vending machine would work well especially on college campuses.

Pronto Pizza
798 Eddy St
San Francisco, CA 94109
(415) 921-1999

I looked him straight in his eyes.

“You guys have the best pizza!”
He was confused, but I didn’t care.

“One slice of the Hawaiian.”

Located in the seedy tenderloin, it is easy to bypass Pronto Pizza. The lack luster exterior simply did not scream pizza king.

For those from the suburbs, your pizza excursion includes an adventurous outing.

Grab a slice, hi-five Stacey the tranny, head over to an “Oriental Message” parlor. All in a days work.

While working at California Culinary Academy just a few blocks down, I can still recall my cubicle monkey days. We had a “meeting just to set another meetings.”

Each meeting we had Pronto Pizza, I ate at least four slices and that was the birth of my sake belly.

back to the present.

Caressing my Hawaiian pizza slice ($3.25) , the features still remain. No greasy residue, but instead, a dry crispy thin crust.

The savory ham slices balance so ever well with sweet pineapple. The cheese adds a nutty note.

One bite, I had reached comfort food heaven.

Tip: Pizza taste better straight out of the oven. Pizza delivered in cardboard box adds moisture from the heat making the crust soggy. Ask the pizza restaurant to cut a small hole (slither) as a vent.

Last week, I got a chance to stroll along the seedy streets in the Mission district. Aside from having strong Hispanic representation, various cultures are high lighted especially by a wide range of cuisines. After a grub tip from Thanh, I had to try Arinell, a hole in the wall pizza joint famous for their New York style pizza. I ordered the Sicilian slice ($2.50) and one bite transported me to comfort food heaven. The slice is all about texture. The thin slice is chewy married with the nutty taste of slightly burned cheese. Simply delicious. An overuse of powered parmesan cheese, oregano, and chilli flakes would simply be a sin overpowering the goodness of the main ingredients.

{Pizza, like hot dogs, is a regional food}
New York:The New Yorkers like it thin and many eat their slice rolled up in half. I also like Escape from New York and Amici’s East Coast Pizzeria.
Chicago: Deep dish and meaty. My record, four slices in one sitting in Chicago’s Geno’s Eastin Chicago and Zachary’s in Berkeley
Californian: The use of Californian ingredients such as avocados and artichoke. (California Pizza Kitchen: Great BBQ pizza)

For other good eats in the Mission, try Cha Cha Cha for a festive environment and good Cuban tapas. They have two locations, one in the Haight and the other one in the Mission. Read my Cha Cha Cha review.For a great steak burrito, I like Pancho Villa.Also, check out a blog dedicated to pizza.Slice Blog

May 23rd thru 31st, Enjoy 60% off $25.00 Gift Certificates for $10. Now $4.00 when you use code DEAL!

Consultant hat.
I like the operations at Arinells. The quick service restaurant mainly requires one main equipment which is the pizza oven which can range from a few thousand dollars and upwards. Most ovens can be found at www.pizzaoven.com. My estimation is that the oven they are using would cost around $17,000. The most expensive part in the operations is the rent. Located on the high traffic Valencia St, rent is probably around $6000 per month. Again, restaurant owners should be able to make enough to cover their rent in 3 days of operations.

Arinell (menu online)
509 Valencia St
San Francisco, CA, 94110
(415) 255-1303
Mon-Wed 11:30 a.m.-10:00 p.m.
Thu-Sat 11:30 a.m.-12:00 a.m.
Sun 1:30 p.m.-10:00 p.m.

Cha Cha Cha
2327 Mission St
San Francisco, CA, 94110
(415) 648-0504
Mon-Thu, Sun 5:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat 5:00 p.m.-1:00 a.m.