Changes made by writer, awaiting revision by AE
It is without a doubt that in the United States, one of the most popular choices that Americans make in their daily routine is to answer the question, “What’s for dinner?”
The answer is simple: Pizza!
At Cerritos College, students might get accustomed to the tastes from Italy, courtesy of Frantone’s Pizza, which is conveniently located in the campus food court.
However, apologies are in order for Frantone’s who did not make this list.
Get your keys ready, it’s time to take a ride around Cerritos and over to the top 5 pizza spots in the surrounding area.
Each destination will begin from the campus of Cerritos College.
5. BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse – 11101 183rd St. Cerritos, Calif. 90703 – 1.4 mi.
The first spot is the most commercial one and a place where you can enjoy much more than just pizza, not to mention, just around the corner (get ready to drive far soon).
At BJ’s it’s common to have a huge crowd where you might find yourself waiting to sit down and eat, but don’t let that stop you from enjoying a drink, or even watching a ballgame, or several of them, displayed on its many television sets.
When the pizza gets delivered, you will realize that the wait was totally worth it.
The crust really makes the pizza here. The cheese is tasty, giving off a unique flavor. It is sweet, kind of like french toast, but it works, and it makes the pizza all the more delicious.
The cheese and the crust have unique flavors as opposed to other restaurants that combine to keep your mouth happy throughout the duration of the pie.
Heed the warning that many customers tend to dislike the roma tomatoes that are added as an additional topping. Waiters have recently begun to ask whether one would like them to be included on the pizza.
They shouldn’t be minded, they add a different element to the pie, but, it’s not a game-changer either.
As far as the toppings go, they could be tastier, which is why BJ’s chimed in at No. 5 in this list.
The sauce isn’t special either, so if you are a lover of extra sauce, you might find yourself looking elsewhere.
Crust: 4/5
Cheese: 5/5
Sauce: 2/5
Toppings: 0.5/5
Overall: 2.9/5
4. Rosario’s Italian Restaurant – 1343 E. Carson St. Carson, Calif. 90745 – 13.1 mi.
Word of advice when visiting Rosario’s Italian Restaurant, call and order your food 20 minutes before arriving, there is quite a delay. Pizzas could take up to 30 minutes to arrive to your table after placing the order.
But oh boy, what a pizza.
The decor inside the restaurant is quite boring, with a tiny television set from yesteryear, which has a popular sports game displayed during prime time, or a choice talk show during the day.
It’s like love at first sight. The pizza looks spectacular, and it boasts a ton of toppings.
Eater’s beware, you might think you could eat four slices of pizza but because it is piled high with toppings you are only going to be able to eat about two.
Some have had to ask for light toppings so that they might dare to finish the monster of a pizza.
The toppings are the highlight of the pizza at Rosario’s, they are so flavorful, captivating your taste buds.
Cheese here is good too. It’s not the best, but absolutely not the worst. It absorbs the flavor of the toppings, which can be raved about all day long.
Crust fans will be satisfied at Rosario’s as it bakes a good one, completing each slice with a delightful flavor.
Rosario’s does come up short with sauce as did BJ’s, a marinera sauce that is tasteless, but more than makes up for it with everything else.
Crust: 4.5/5
Cheese: 2.5/5
Sauce: 1.5/5
Toppings: 5/5
Overall: 3.4/5
3. Clara Rio’s Pizza – 9317 Slauson Ave. Pico Rivera, Calif. 90660 – 7.4 mi.
Prepare to be sent further away with No. 1 and 2 on their way.
The downfall to Rio’s Pizza is that it’s solely a takeout restaurant, with no tables to sit down and enjoy this pizza.
They do have a location in Montebello that provides seating for eaters, but believe it or not, the pizza there doesn’t match up with the Pico Rivera product.
Tasty is the perfect word to describe Rio’s Pizza, that falls just a good crust shy of being higher on this list.
Finally some tasty sauce for those previously mentioned sauce lovers and they stack on the cheese too, giving fans a little bit of everything.
There is an abundance of toppings that keeps mouths watering for more.
A recommendation should be noted though: Order the pizza with a thin crust. Do not deprive yourself of the need to taste the greatness of this pizza.
The crust is not Rio’s strength, but it’s tasty, however, just unnecessary.
A double pepperoni pizza from Rio’s is to die for.
Think of Chips Ahoy cookies for a second. They promise a chocolate chip with every bite. Rio’s Pizza’s double pepperoni pizza offer a pepperoni chip with every bite, it’s great!
Crust: 1.5/5
Cheese: 4.5/5
Sauce: 4/5
Toppings: 5/5
Overall: 3.8/5
2. Petrillo’s Pizza Restaurant – 833 E. Valley Blvd. San Gabriel, Calif. 91776 – 21.1 mi
Get your cars ready for a ride that’s very worthwhile and necessary if you really deem yourself to be a pizza fan.
The place can get crowded, but there is ample room to sit down and take in the classic tunes playing over the restaurant’s speakers as you wait for your food to come out.
Try not to be too amazed by the pizzas that come out prior to yours, the excitement could become unbearable.
My warning to you about Petrillo’s is the service, it’s terrible.
However, it will all be forgotten when the pizza arrives.
Depending on which size pizza you order, you’ll get to meet the large square-shaped pie, where slices are cut differently, but enjoyed much in the same.
For years it seemed as if Petrillo’s was perfection, offering the perfect blend of cheese and toppings, while enticing taste buds with a flavorful dough.
How about the crust?
Aim for the center of the pizza and cut the crust off and leave it to the side, much like a homemade sandwich and its unwanted crusts.
The sauce is okay, but this is one of those places where it’s alright to ask for no sauce and allow for the pizza to take a different element. After all, it might be your cup of tea.
Crust: 2.5/5
Cheese: 5/5
Sauce: 3.5/5
Toppings: 5/5
Overall: 4/5
1. Tony’s Little Italy Pizza – 1808 N. Placentia Ave. Placentia, Calif. 92870 – 18.1 mi.
The best pizza on this list resides in Orange County and it is another hole in the wall, but one you absolutely must drive out to enjoy.
Think about the pizzas you just read about and implement much of that into the champion — Tony’s Little Italy.
There is a wait for your food, just like Rosario’s and a small atmosphere like Rio’s, but this time, there is seating with a very fun decor for sports fans as the restaurant glorifies it’s ties to the city of Chicago, Ill.
Impressive is the word for the pizza at Tony’s Little Italy and it never stops impressing from the first bite until that last sad moment when it’s finished.
Let’s begin with the first bite, it packs a punch full of flavor and everything tastes delicious, which begins with a combination of different spices, stemming from the buttery crust to the different cheeses used.
It continues with the excellently blended sauce, which has a very authentic Italian taste to it, then finally finishing with those toppings, completing the ultimate pizza bite.
The cheese is abundant and tasty, while the sauce has a perfect blend to it that enriches the experience, and don’t forget the complimentary toppings, which complete this masterpiece.
Best of all, the crust is something that can be eaten alone.
The warning that must be given here is one of overeating. The pizza is so good that you won’t want to stop, which isn’t a good thing because it’s a long drive home.
Crust: 4.5/5
Cheese: 4/5
Sauce: 4.5/5
Toppings: 5/5
Overall: 4.5/5
