This pizza crust sported house manicotti spread and mozzarella cheese topped with portobello mushroom, jalapeño, and caramelized onion. It was garnished with an impressive swirl of reduced balsamic vinegar. I had some creaminess from the spread, some heat from the jalapeño slices, some acid and sweetness from the balsamic, and umami from the mushroom slices and the caramelized onion. This is a brick oven place so the crust was blistered nicely.
Location: 2 Guys Pies, 56969 Yucca Trail, Ste A, Yucca Valley, California. Date: March 20, 2024.
0 Comments
This 16” Greek inspired pizza featured Nina's marinara sauce, mozzarella, garlic, chopped fresh tomato, soft eggplant pieces, feta cheese, Greek oregano, kalamata olive slices, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, and a generous garnish of fresh shredded basil. The tomato added freshness, the eggplant added creaminess and extra flavor, the feta cheese gave it saltiness and a touch of sour, the fresh basil gave it some herbal spice, and the other ingredients were the supporting cast that helped take this pizza to the next level. The dough was fairly thin and nicely baked.
Location: Nina's, 555 S Sunrise Way, Palm Springs, California. Date: February 10, 2024. When a flatbread has portobello mushrooms, mozzarella cheese, cream of parmegiano, truffle oil, and whole garlic cloves, you have to take notice. Both the garlic and the truffle flavors came through in force, and the flatbread was cheesy with umami from the parmesan cheese sauce. It was garnished with chopped parsley. The bread had crispy edges, and it was served on a wooden board. I love a good flatbread, and this vegetarian version was definitely a good one.
Location: Spaghetti Western, 50048 29 Palms Hwy, Morongo Valley, California. Date: January 20, 2024. Besides chicken, the flatbread sported BBQ sauce, mozzarella cheese, onion, and cilantro. The cilantro, unfortunately, was dried and just sprinkled on for a touch of green. Fresh cilantro would have been a lot better; however, there were generous amounts of gooey cheese, smokey and sweet and tangy BBQ sauce, and cubes of seasoned chicken breast. For me it was the BBQ sauce that really brought this thing home. Everything at this fireman owned establishment is made from scratch, and this was a darn good piece of flatbread.
Location: The Station Taphouse, 41 W Ramsey Street, Banning, California. Date: November 4, 2023. This delectable pizza had house-made ricotta cheese on the nicely charred crust, mozzarella, pistachio pesto, and imported mortadella. There was great chew on the crust, the ricotta had a lovely pillowy creaminess to it, and there was more than I expected, and there were some crunchy pieces of pistachio in the nutty and herbaceous pesto. The mortadella was almost crispy and provided a savory flavor. My sister and I sat under pine trees at almost 6,000 feet and enjoyed this very nutty, creamy, and savory pizza.
Location: Ferro, 25840 Cedar Street, Idyllwild, California. Date: September 16, 2023. This crust was spread with blackberry sauce and topped with dollops of apricot ricotta and bits of applewood smoked bacon. It was served with a nice bunch of fresh arugula in the center. The blackberry sauce was very blackberry with some seeds and all. The apricot ricotta was sweet too, but also salty and creamy. The bacon added salt and chew, and the arugula added freshness. Even though this interesting pizza was sweet, I wouldn't call it a dessert pizza as it had plenty of salt. The crust had some nice char on it. Who came up with this? Never mind, I loved it!
Location: Kitchen 86, 73-130 El Paseo, Palm Desert, California. Date: July 7, 2023. This white sauce pizza was topped with a blend of sauteed mushrooms, mozzarella and parmesan cheeses, baby arugula, and truffle oil. It was served with house made spiced honey on the side. The truffle oil, of course, accentuated the mushroom flavor, the arugula was there for freshness, and the spiced honey really added an interest factor to the pizza crust. My sister and I are both enjoying what the new owners of Haus of Pizza are doing, and not just because of the upscale pizzas but the salads and desserts as well.
Location: Haus of Pizza, 72-795 Hwy 111 Ste G2, Palm Desert, California. Date: July 1, 2023. A Bosnian chef bought Haus of Pizza, and owning his own restaurant is a dream come true. He revamped the menu, and so far his food has been refreshing. Today I ordered the Haus Pizza. It came with pesto sauce, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, fire-roasted red pepper, feta cheese, basil, and cold chopped tomato. This was a very fresh take on pizza. It wasn't very salty, which I liked, so I could really taste the ingredients. The raw cold tomato pieces were a nice contrast to the rest of the pizza. This was easy to eat as it had no sticky cheese, just gobs of tangy feta here and there. This place has Mike's Hot Honey on the table, the rage of Las Vegas according to the chef's wife. It's a spiced honey that goes well with pizza, we were assured, and it works!
Location: Haus of Pizza, 72-795 Hwy 111, Suite G-2, Palm Desert, California. Date: June 9, 2023. I came across this noteworthy pizza quite by accident. I was on my way to San Diego's Little Italy for dinner, but I found a parking spot in Mission Hills and decided to stay there. Next to me was Pizza E Birra, and after looking around a bit, that's what I decided on. Their pear and gorgonzola pizza spoke my language, and so that's what I ordered. The impressively blistered and nicely charred crust was topped with mozzarella cheese, dollops of gorgonzola blue cheese, pieces of poached pear, and balsamic glaze. There was sweetness and fruitiness from the pear, and just when I thought the gorgonzola was missing in action, it came through in spectacular fashion. There was also a welcome sourness from the balsamic reduction that was drizzled all over the pizza.
Location: Pizza E Birra, 3625 India Street, Ste 101, San Diego, California. Date: November 1, 2022. I probably would never have ventured into the bar at the Hotel Zoso had it not been for Palm Springs Life magazine choosing them for Best Happy Hour. The flatbread topped with smoked pork butt and prickly pear sauce sounded like something I just had to try. It also came with bacon, mozzarella cheese, raw jalapeño slices, and fried shallot. The flatbread was thin and crispy, the pulled pork was very smokey, the jalapeño slices were crisp and peppery but not too hot, and there was wonderful aroma from the bacon and some welcome sweetness from the prickly pear (cactus fruit) sauce. Not only is this some really good bar food, it was also one of the best flatbreads I've ever had. What the magazine didn't reveal were the happy hour days and times: 2pm to 6pm every single day!
Location: Hotel Zoso, 150 S Indian Canyon Drive, Palm Springs, California. Date: August 27, 2022. |
AuthorChef Roland has been a legal resident of seven countries and has travelled in over thirty, documenting food along the way. He currently resides in the desert in Southern California. Categories
All
|