Luciano’s Pizza – RANT

[Ashley]

Garlic Jim’s does charge a delivery fee. I ordered from them a couple of times and always wondered why my bill seemed so high. I checked on it and saw they are charging a delivery fee and not telling me. I only live Avalon Way as well which is very close. I wrote an e-mail and complained and the owner said all callers are supposed to be informed of this charge. I just decided not to order from them anymore.

[cjboffoli]

charlabob: You have it reversed. NYC has the super thin crust and Chicago rolls with the deep dish. The best places in New York have coal-fired ovens (building new ones are disallowed but existing coal-fired ovens are grandfathered in) which make for a crucible-like cooking chamber for hot, fast cooking and that gives you that crispy, thin almost-charred-but-not flavor.

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I recently read an article about Mario Batali’s new restaurant in Los Angeles and the tremendous amount of research and work he has invested in giving Angelinos an authentic-tasting New York pizza. There is a surprising amount of science and chemistry that has gone into the process, looking at the ingredients and the composition of the water. One of the most interesting theories was that years of cooking pizzas in certain stone ovens leaves residual flavors on the inside of the ovens that in turn deposit flavor molecules on whatever food you are cooking. I suppose the same might be said of Chinese woks that are used repeatedly and never washed with soap. It was a fascinating article. I’ll have to find it and like to it here.

[Sue]

Christopher, on the blog New York Food Anywhere -http://www.nyfoodanywhere.com/ – there were a few posts dedicated to the science of making your own NY pizza. It’s not a site that’s updated often, but the blogger is from the Seattle area, so there are some hints on NY food in general in this area.

In 6 weeks I will be back in my own NYC food heaven, gorging myself on those things I severely lack here. I don’t miss living in NYC at all, but I do miss the food. I agree though that the salmon is better here. :)

[RainyDay1235]

(IMO) Best TO-GO pizza is Amante’s – look for their coupons in the mail – very good quality!

Best EAT-IN is Talarico’s happy hour (3-6 every day)….enormous tasty (sweet sauce, not too greasy) slices for $3.50 – YUM. Killer ceasar salads too! :)

[feydras]

Lucianos is my favorite WS pizzeria. I like Amantes as well. As much as i wanted to i didn’t like Giannoni’s in Westwood village but i only tried it once. The owner was very friendly.

Has anyone tried the Olympia Pizza and Pasta, new pizza place on Delridge? I’ve held off bcs the price is a bit higher and menu very similar to Lucianos. I’d love to support more businesses on Delridge though. Anything is better than a used tire store. On that note Bubble’s cafe on Delridge is fantastic. Very good coffee and nice atmosphere.

[villagegreen]

cjboffoli – I agree with your general assessment of Seattle pizza. I’m not from the East coast, but I’ve had NYC pizza and it’s the best – cheese slightly browned and the thin crust crisp underneath, but nice and chewy in the middle.

The closest I’ve had in Seattle is Talarico’s (dining in – not sure if they deliver). If you’ve had a bad experience there I’d give it another try. Their crust is usually done just right and the slices are huge. Try the Sinatra.

BTW – I’ve had Amante’s once and it was decent.

[elgrego]

I’ve heard Talarico’s is good, but since it isn’t open for lunch, I never get to go (I work a swing shift… I’m “working” now, in fact). I’d like to go, but I’ve also heard a lot of bad things about the place itself – frat boy central, people who can’t hold their liquor, etc. I figure if I’m gonna go out for food, which I only do once or twice a week, I’d rather take my chances going to a place where I won’t likely experience anything like “bro rape”.

[RainyDay1235]

Every time I go to Talarico’s – always before 6pm to take advantage of the great happy hour prices – it is 1/2 empty, and quiet. It’s so nice to sit by the open windows on the pub stools and feel the breeze. I have seen nary a “white hat” in there! ;)

[Zenguy]

So, pizza…a favorite topic of mine. In West Seattle Pegasus of course is great Greek pizza, it is important to make the distinction since Greek versus Italian are like apples and oranges. Get the one with the crispy pepperoni on top…mmm. Abbondanza in the Morgan Junction has great Sicilian pizza, thin crust and crisp edges. The pasta is just so so and the atmosphere is a little sterile. For good New York pizza Piecorras on Madison on Cap Hill is good.

[Sue]

I’ve heard Piecorras recommended as “NY Pizza” but as New Yorker I’m unimpressed with it. Locally I’ll go to Talarico’s or I’ll drive up to A New York Pizza Place which really is the best (to me) in the city and worth the drive: http://www.snellsoftware.com/anewyorkpizzaplace/

[RainyDay1235]

I too found Piecorra’s bland. I guess I like the sweet/spicy style sauce like at Talarico’s.

For great deep dish pizza (oh, and wings!) – try Tiger Mountain Grill in Issaquah (also known as Jay Berry’s in North Bend)

[datamuse]

I’m surprised that no one appears to have mentioned Spiro’s yet.

And it’s in Georgetown, not West Seattle, but Stellar is my favorite place for pizza in town.

[MargL]

OK We’ve officially ‘written off’ Luciano’s.

I walked in with my 2 year old to order take-out – a meatball sandwich and spaghetti and meatballs. We got the salad really fast and I thought great we’ll be ready by the time the Husband gets here from downtown. So Husband gets to Admiral Dist., finds parking, takes the kid outside and we wait another 15 minutes. We’re at a total of 40 minutes now for a sandwich and spaghetti – stuff they probably already have sitting on the stove that they just have to throw in hot water or microwave. So I go up to the counter and one of the cooks notices while the cashier guy is on the phone. She looks and finds my order was sitting on the counter in the kitchen. So I asked how long it was sitting there and the cashier interrupts to say “You have your salad? You have your food, there you go. Enjoy.” He didn’t say “What more do you want?” or sneer, but he might as well have. We’re done with that place and their not so hot customer service. I shouldn’t have tipped them before we got the food. :-(

And yes, I know, I’m stupid and should have asked about my order sooner – but I figured they were really busy, I was distracted by a 2 year old, and the LEAST they could have said was “Oh, sorry!”

[cjboffoli]

MargL: My pizza delivery took an hour and when the driver arrived he had a cell phone glued to his ear the entire time. Clearly this place doesn’t put its customers first. Their use of frozen, pre-made pizza crusts reflects that too. Hearing about how challenging it is to run a small business, especially a restaurant, it surprises me that some folks can get by for so long being as mediocre as they are. But then again, with some folks here saying they PREFER Luciano’s I’d guess that the restaurant owners are not the only ones to blame.

[barb]

cj, I’m going to have to stand by my decision to keep going to Luciano’s. I’ve NEVER had a bad experience with them, either walking in or delivery. Maybe my taste buds aren’t as refined as yours since I’m not a New Yorker, but I don’t think blaming people who have not had bad experiences there is the way to go.

[cjboffoli]

barb: It is not about having refined taste buds. For me it is about having a passion for food. There is just so much mediocrity everywhere that no one minds. It annoys me a bit when I have food from a place like Luciano’s and the quality is just so thoughtless. If you like it then good for you. Knock yourself out. I don’t know you so why would I care where you eat? But with that said, I can tell you with the authority of someone who has been fortunate to have had many of the food experiences I have had, that you deserve better barb.

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There are plenty of people who file into chain restaurants and factory food places like the Olive Garden and the Cheesecake Factory and LOVE those places. That’s great for them. But those places just aren’t for me. I have different expectations and make different choices.

[Zenguy]

Check out olypizza.net. It is a small chain, there are ones on Capitol Hill, Queen Anne and Wallingford. Great Greek/Italian food, good portions and prices. They covered the opening on here and got great reviews. Glad to see new businesses on Delridge.

[Zenguy]

Have you tried the pizza at Abbondanza in the Morgan Junction? They toss their own crusts and have great Sicilian toppings!

[Kayleigh]

It’s fun reading the different versions of what “good” pizza is. :-)

I like CPK-style pizza–no meat, fresh toppings, don’t care if the crust is thick or thin. Most restaurant pizza is too heavy greasy for me to have it more than a couple times a year.

So like most things, I’ve learned to make it at home. Pizza stone, real yeast, olive oil, fresh herbs from the garden, real cheese….

/control freak off :-)

[Zenguy]

Well it is difficult to compare Greek to Sicilian to New York. I have my favs in every catergory. You would probably would like Abbondanza they have lots of fresh ingredient options and it is not greasy unless you add greasy meat of course.

[Kayleigh]

A true connosieur…a fave in different categories. :-)

Abbondonza is close by so I will try them.

[cjboffoli]

Kayleigh: I’ve gone the pizza stone route too but I can never figure out how to get the crust right. The stone gives it the right crispiness but it seems to draw out all of the moisture and make it dry. Have you found a crust recipe that’s working for you?

[Zenguy]

Don’t even get me started on burgers…lol

[Kayleigh]

Hehehe, zenguy. I just spent lots of time and money learning about New Mexican cooking….;-)

CJ, I’ve had the same problem with the crust drying. I wonder if olive oil in the crust will help. Or some bread recipes have you spray the insides of your oven a few times with a spray bottle of water to create moisture…I wonder if that would help. I will let you know if I find a really good one.

[JoB]

kayleigh…

don’t let my hubby know we can make it at home…

so far i have managed to hide the benefits of a pizza stone from him:)

i do know that olive oil and yeast are often not a good combination if you are expecting anything to rise…

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