Tony's Little Italy Pizza
Unit B
Placentia, CA 92870 (714) 528-2159
- Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Private Lot
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: Yes
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: No
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Good for: Dinner
- Alcohol: Beer & Wine Only
29 reviews
Brea, CA
"New-world italian I just went here for lunch and it was excellent! I'm not sure about the dinner menu's pricing, but for lunch the prices…" read more »
35 Reviews for Tony's Little Italy Pizza
I've been to famous pizza places in Chicago like Giordano's and Gino's. I didn't like the pizzas at either of those places. But Tony's I really dug. The crust was buttery and crumbly and the cheese rich and thick. The tomatoes were balanced, to my tastes--not the virtual stew that I've had in some deep-dish pizzas. Very good.
I never been to Chicago, but this is great pizza. All I had was the stuffed pizza, each time. It is very tasty with lots of sauce. No better pizza that I have found. I mean there is some good pizza joints, but this is my favorite. Also, a nice selection of draft beer. TV's with the games/sports channel on help with the atmophere. I will keep going here til I find something closer with a good stuffed pizza. (A bunch of people voted that there is no alcohol, but there is, they even have pichers of beer) MMMMMMMMMMMM Beer!
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Nope, not again. We used to pick up a couple large stuffed pizza pies for lunch for our office. Last time I had some, I was sick to my stomach for the next week. I was only able to have 1 slice too, and if you've seen the pizza, you'll understand why. Service is ok, it depends on who's working the counter up front. I can't see myself coming back here, sorry Tony.
My boyfriend and I can eat pizza like a champ. Large pizza, no problemo! However we met our match yesterday with the large deep dish from this place. We barely ate half and were whining about how full we are for a long time after.
For a large with 2 toppings it's like 20$ which is alright. 4 people could probably spit it and be full. You can dine in or take out, I did notice they have Stella on tap. Inside it's your typical pizza parlor. My only complaint it is on the greasy / sloppy side and slaps your in the face with eaters remorse once you're done. However it is the best deep dish I've come across and kicked ass, or made my ass bigger..one of the two..actually both. So worth it though!
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The large deep dish pizza weighed as much as a small child but tasted way better! I found myself moaning in defeat after only eating half of the pizza. We had left-overs the next day and it still kicked my ass. Definitely one of the better pizzas I have had (and I love pizza). Don't plan on doing anything remotely physical after eating here; you'll end up in fetal position on your bed rolling in pain/joy.
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I am not unfamiliar with Chicago-style pizza, though I can count the number of times I've eaten it on a single hand. Aside from the innumerable times I augmented my Freshman 15 with Zachary's Pizza in Berkeley, I had actual Chicago-style pizza IN Chicago at Giordano's (1). It was several years later (okay, more like ten) that I slipped into a food coma with Gino's East (2).
Yup, I've got at least two fingers on one hand.
Given that I am not amenable to subjecting myself to the terror of aerial acrobatics in a hundred ton death tube with flimsy pigeon wings, aka "flying," one might wonder how I could manage a Windy City delicacy without resorting to some pathetic West coast attempt of cheese and sauce in a doughy excuse for deep-dish crust like BJ's (what a horrible name), Pizzeria Uno, or God forbid, a thick-crust pizza from the Hut.
It's not close to my usual outposts in the OC, but Tony's Little Italy in Placentia is a hell of a lot easier than LAX:ORD.
We went there for lunch on the weekend, so I have no idea what the place is like for a weekday lunch (probably busy) or a weekend dinner (also probably busy). We sat down in the middle of the tiny dining room, ordered two pizzas for five people - WAY TOO MUCH - given that three of us combined weighed less than a single slice. Still, our group was able to polish off half of each, allowing enough for two take-home boxes. Re-heated, the slices still maintained the crunch of the thick crust with so much oil it had to have deep-fried itself in the pan.
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For a Chicago deep dish pizza, you don't have too many choices in California. In fact, I'd say it's safe to say slim to none.
So the 5/5 rating of this place is accurate in the way Yelp describes it because it is indeed as good as it gets for Chicago deep dish. This style of pizza isn't one I eat very often but the seldom times I want it, this is the only place that I like because no one gets it done right.
First great thing I love about this place is that they don't have a stupid 40 min wait time (Masa's in Echo Park, holy shit you fail), but they still make it right with the cheese on bottom and stacked backwards with sauce on top. Everything is done within 20-25 mins, which is normal for any handmade pizza.
The toppings are generous as should be the minimum standard of a Chicago deep dish. I concure with some of the other reviewers by warning you guys to be careful when taking a huge bite, because the cheese is so overwhelming that you can seriously choke on it. Wow, that's some cheese!
The crust here looks like its been baked golden and crisped by the oil in the pan yet when you bite into it, it has a light and airy taste with a very distinctive bread like core in between the outer crust and moistened inner crust. It's incredibly distinctive, and one of the first things I noticed. It wasn't greasy, it wasn't dry. It didn't have a spectacular flavor. But the texture of that crust, done so uniquely and precisely well, is something I can say is above and beyond what a lot of pizza places give and definitely better than any deep dish pizza I've had in So Cal.
And this was all at this tiny, unpretentious little restaurant with few tables and a single old lady behind the counter. This place is easy to dismiss when you drive by, but when it is Chicago deep dish pizza you're looking for, this place has it right.
when my father used to tell me that I can be a doctor or an astronaut, I really believed him. I was sooo happy!
That is until I realized that I couldn't do derivatives in college...nor any subject for that matter. I was deflated.
When yelp told me Tony's pizza was the BEST DEEP DISH EVER, i was equally excited.
Last night, I had to cry myself to bed. I was so disappointed. wah wah. This isn't close to anything in Chicago.
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So my co-worker is from the Midwest, lived in Chicago for a while and we're talking about deep dish pizza and he says this place near his house (in CA) has awesome deep dish. That is about all I need to hear. With a little yelp research and a look at their site, I find out they are also an AOL City Guide winner for top pizza too! Cool!
So as per the instructions from the other yelpers and my buddy, we call in our order first (Med. Pan pizza w/Sausage) and head out. Its a good 20 min away from work but once we get, they are just pulling it from the oven. Its a beautiful site covered in tomato goodness. Not heavy on the cheese at all, but a heavy pizza in general. The whole place was decked out with Chicago sports gear and the Cubs game was even on the TV so the atmosphere was perfect.
The pizza was really good. The crust had a great flavor and was nice and flaky, not like that deathpool of grease you get from pizza hut or BJs. The sausage was great as well. I uploaded a couple pics of the pie so you can see it. Also it is true that there is a sign on the soda machine that says "1 Refill" which is pretty funny and I do expect her to enforce it. My guess is that Tony (the owner?) is also the pizza chef and his wife (?) works the register. Nice people to us.
I would say this is probably a 5 star pizza place but I cannot award the 5th star until I also try their regular pizza to see if its as good as the pan. Great find!
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I love Chicago style pizza. When I read that the best place for Pizza in OC serves Chicago-style pizza, I was extremely excited and couldn't wait to find an special occasion to order. After phoning in our order, we were told we would have to wait 40 minutes before picking up our pie. I know that Chicago style pizzas take a bit of time to bake, so I eagerly waited the time before picking up our pie.
Our pizza must have been completed in about 20 minutes, because by the time we opened the box, the pizza was only warm and our crust was as soggy as a wet sponge.
I normally love cold pizza the morning after, but our pie was terrible the next morning. Not only was the crust still soggy, but now the sauce and all the toppings did not taste good. I guess I'll just fly to Chicago the next time I was a tasty Chicago-style pizza.
We are from Chicago and we have been searching for months to find pizza that is as close to the pizza we love such as Lou Malnatti's and Uno's. All the pizza we have tried within a 5-10 mile radius of Brea (including BJ's- yuck) has been sub-par garbage, and sadly a waste of $, except Mamalucco's which has pretty good pizza. It took us a while and several pizza dinner disappointments, but after reading reviews of Tony's and finding out they are from Chicago, and show Chicago games there, we had to check it out.
They have regular crust, deep dish, and stuffed pizza, but we haven't tried the stuffed yet. The thin is probably the closest tasting as you will find to Chicago style, and the pan is definitely right there too. We order from there about every other week, and we will continue to order from Tony's until (if ) we move far away from Placentia.
While writing this review, it had made us hungry for the chunky tomato sauce, the good amount of flavorful cheese, and the just right crust on the pan pizza, so will be ordering one soon.
Do your mouth a favor and order from Tony's, according to 2 people who grew up eating in pizza mecca.
It would be a bonus if they sold Vienna hot dogs!!!!
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I work at a pizza place and I'm not the biggest fan of deep-dish, so every time someone decides we're eating at Tony's my stomach screams "NO Jenn, NO!!" And every time I go there, it realizes it was wrong, and apologizes for not trusting me.
I'm always happy I ended up going. The sauce is top notch, the crust is delish, and i love the cheese on there! And because it's deep-dish I can only eat about two slices at most, which means smaller pizza, smaller cost. A medium will feed two people to the unbutton pants phase.
I like the atmosphere too, just a guy or two in the back making pizzas, and two t.v.'s on. It's a really relaxed place where you can come and enjoy a pizza with your friends. One time they even turned the t.v. up for me when I was watching jeopardy so I could hear the answers, and I didn't have to ask!
I've had the regular crust and it's alright, but let's be honest, why you goin' to Tony's and not gettin' a deep-dish? I recommend pepperoni and olive, the flavors all meld together perfectly!
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Great chicago style deep dish!!! The owners are from Chicago and they do chicago style pizza right! They have the best crust, cheese, and sauce. My husband has a new love haha.
This place is da bomb. After hearing great things from Frank, Judy, Dave G and everyone else, I had to go try this place. My friend and I decided to hit this place up.
When we entered, it was quite small but that didn't bother us. After ordering, we sat there and chilled until we got our garlic bread. That was soooooo good. They gave us a lot too. We didn't want to eat all of it because we didn't want to get full for our pizza.
We got the thin crust pizza with pepperoni, sausage, and Canadian bacon. The crust was hot off the oven and it was soft and crispy. The dough they use good too because every bite I took was crunchy and not doughy. As for the toppings, the sausages were in big chunks and pepperoni was made to perfection.
I would definately come here again for sure!
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I love pizza, but not too fond of deep dish. Yeah, I said it... I don't like deep dish. Why? Because it's too much dough! I feel like I'm freakin eating a loaf of bread with olives sprinkled on top. I like my pizza to have the right balance of pizza dough, sauce, cheese, and toppings. OCD? Mayyyyybe. And yes, I am those type of people that like to eat my burger with my fries in order to coordinate the harmonious consumption of both AND to ensure the precise timing of the last bite of burger to coincide with the last couple of fries. So *nyah* to you :oP
However... I must say I was slightly swayed when presented with a deep dish from Tony's. At first a friend accidentally ordered the thin (regular) crust. After crying about if for 5 mins, he decided to order a deep dish too. It worked out because more friends arrived to share the yummy pizza. Tony's deep dish had a good ratio of bread to sauce to cheese to topping. However it was a little on the watery side, probably because of the choice of toppings. The sauce isn't too tangy or sweet, but the cheese was really stringy/rubbery. I think one string stretched to about 2.5 feet.
I just wish they had root beer. I like root beer with pizza. Yeah, I think I'll go back again and try a deep dish with a meat topping. Perhaps a veggie or two, for balance. Because I'm OCD like that.
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I liked the pizza. The deep dish was a bit on the doughy gooey side. More so than I'd like....
The toppings that Frank chose were interesting but a great flavor combination. Jalapeno and Pineapple I think? I don't like pineapple's on my pizza but the flavor left over on the pizza was yummy with the cheese, sauce, and jalapenos.
The regular pizza (which wasn't meant to be ordered) was good too.
Just wasn't superb in my taste. It was good, but not fantastic. Also, I wish the place was a bit more cozy.
I'll try it again next time when I don't feel so rushed or bothered...
Thanks Frank, Judy, Wes, and AJ! :)
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Considering pizza is not my favorite food in the world, it is refreshing to have such good pizza. Deep dish pizza has always been my favorite type of pizza and Tony's Little Italy sure does satisfy.
Even if you plan on dining in, make sure to call in your order as it takes about 30 minutes for them to make your pizza. When you walk in, they'll even have a little "reserved" sign on the table for you. Aw....made us feel like celebrities. We were eating as soon as we sat down. The phone was ringing off the hook with people calling in to-go orders.
A small (10") is enough for 2 people. The pizza was so good I didn't even think to pick off the sausages I normally don't like. (If I had to say something negative...I'd say they could've used bigger pieces of mushrooms.) I was afraid of all that cheese but it's now 14 hours later and I still haven't had to pay for it...phew! My favorite part of the pizza is the dough right before you get to the crust. It is warm and has the perfect texture & flavor.
If you like Chicago...definitely make your way to Tony's Little Italy. The whole place is decked out in Chicago sports memorabilia.
If you do end up having to wait for your food, you can play on the old school Ms. Pac Man machine...the kind where you get to sit down across from your opponent. Where else can you find those machines these days?
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UPDATE - 12.27.07
Wow...twice in 4 days? So not me. But since Roman Cucina was packed and Frank was craving pizza...here we went. Thanks to him accidentally ordering the thin crust instead of the deep dish, I got to try something new. Hmmm....definitely not as good. The crust was hard and tough. Get the deep dish!
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After that hoe-bag Frank K told me about this place, I was intrigued to eat here since the last time I had good pizza was in Chicago a couple years back. My magic coworker and I called ahead and ordered a 12" sausage and mushroom stuffed pan pizza. After two drinks, heaven on a pizza platter only cost us $20.85 total. Heck yes!
It's a great feeling to walk into a restaurant, pay for the grub, have the pizza brought to our table and be seated all within several minutes. The circumference of the pie was not at all menacing, but the true power lied within. Like the small ring that encompasses two dueling sumo champions, Tony's pizza is dense--due to two layers of gooey cheese, tomato sauce, slices of mushrooms and thick chunks of sausage.
The crust itself could be a meal. It was golden brown and crispy. The mantle of fluffy bread separated it from the inner layer of doughiness with thick and chewy cheese fused to the edge. Wow.
Kelly and I didn't really talk to each other during lunch. We made even less eye contact. All our attention was on this pizza. For two people, a 10" is good enough--the 12" is slightly overkill. Two slices is a good hearty lunch. Three slices calls for unbuckling the belt. Eating four slices is just wrong on both a religious and ethical level.
To yelp about this place immediately after eating there shares a distinctive parallel to smoking a cigarette post-sex. Puff, exhale, and sigh...their iconic pizza is too good.
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5/5
Great service, if you guys ever have the time to chat with the owners. They are friendly and big fans of sports and they even support the local schools.
I am a fan of cheese so, naturally I was introduced to this place by a friend. I was hooked when I first saw the amount of cheese they had piled on. Not a fan of thin crust but this is one of the places where I actually need to use a knife and fork just to eat a pizza. I can eat about half a pizza at the chain pizza places if I tried but here, two slices and I am full and happy as a bear entering hibernation as the food coma will kick in about 15 minutes after I leave this place.
The only bad thing (or good thing) about eating here is that I cannot go back to eating from the pizza chains.
Totally worth the drive to the middle of nowhere!
The deep dish here is AMAZING -- the product of fresh, quality ingredients prepared expertly. The crust is surprisingly complex --crisp on the outside yet soft and bread-y on the inside. The sauce is simple and doesn't have that harsh canned/overly seasoned taste, while toppings are authentic, generous and hearty. This is definitely a knife-and-fork kind of pizza!
Get a salad with your pie -- although it's very simple, the cold, crisp lettuce and the tangy Italian dressing cut through the richness of the pizza beautifully!
If you're dining in, I'd recommend calling about 30 minutes before you plan on arriving so that you don't have to wait too long.
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More towards 4.5 stars actually.
This was really good pizza. I liked the regular crust pizza that aK-47 ordered. The crust wasn't too thick and it wasn't paper thin, but just right.
The only drawback, the toppings fell off very quickly with the cheese, but you know what, it was fun eating it. Hehe, just like pizza should be.
This place is decorated to the gills with Chicago sports teams, so, if you're into those teams, this wouldn't be a bad place to watch the game as there are a couple in the restaurant.
They have a soda fountain to get your glutton drinking on. Maybe my next visit out here, I would like to try the other offerings they had here. It was great hanging out with AJ, The Judy, aK-47, and CJ.
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Finally I have a reason to go to Placentia. This was another fantastic Yelp find. The stuffed pizza is one of the closest you'll find to a Chicago-style deep dish pizza outside of Chicago (other than Zachary's in Berkeley). I ordered the 12" sausage and mushroom pizza with a salad and wings. I'll definitely get the pizza and wings again, not so much the salad. The pizza is loaded with cheese, toppings, and tomato sauce. The buffalo wings were really well seasoned, not too spicy. After bring stuffed from the high caloric intake, don't plan on doing much afterward. Plan on a wait if you order on the weekend. I took the advice of another Yelper and called in my to-go order, which took about 45 minutes on a Saturday night.
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THE BEST PIZZA EVER!!! the crust is thick..fluffy..amazing.. the cheese melts all around the pizza. slices are HUGE.
nice chicago themed restaurant..it's a really small little hole in the wall.
make sure you call ahead to order because the wait is long. but soo worth ittt.
IT'S SO GOOD THAT FOOD NETWORK SHOULD FEATURE THIS PLACE!
Price:
around $13 for small plain cheese and $15 for medium plain cheese.
Even if you get small size, it can serve 2-3 people.
Taste: (4/5)
If you haven't had a Chicago style pizza, google "Gino's pizza" and "Lou Maltani's pizza". If you are still interested, try this place. If you like Gino's pizza or Lou Maltani's pizza in Chicago but hate Uno's pizza, this may be what you are looking for (at least in OC area). Their pizzas are not as good as Gino's or Lou Maltani's but far better than Uno's.
Ambience: (1/5)
not a good place to dine in. I would recommend take-out.
Service: (3/5)
it is OK.
Overall: (4/5)
I went to college in Illinois so I used to eat deep dish pizzas a lot.
If you have a craving for Chicago style pizza, give it a try.
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i cant believe i ordered a 14" or whatever their large is last night.
I strolled in with my dining companion, i'll call him frank. We had heard of this place before and heard it's as authentic as it gets in all of socal for deep dish chicago pizza. The place is decorated with sports stuff, i think i noticed chicago cubs stuff on the wall. They have TV's around the spot and looks like a decent enough place to watch a game at and enjoy a pie.
Went to the counter and saw their paper menus. Grabbed one and it was pretty easy to navigate for a first timer. Frank and I ordered a large canadian sausage and pineapple deep dish with additional jalapenos on top. I was told it would be about 25-30 minutes.
(has nothing to do with tonys)if you care, my wait time involved driving to a liquor down the block and picking up a 6 pack of newcastles and 4 lotto scratchers. I didnt win anything :( Its ok though cuz i paid for the beer and scratchers with winning scratchers that i had in my wallet hehe. 5 minutes had passed. Argh. So i drove down placentia and found my way to imperial hwy and decided to stop by trader joes. I strolled around, grabbed a couple bottles of beer, hummus, soy and flaxseed chips and valrhona dark chocolate.
ok so 30 minutes passed, i dont even know what i did in that time. :|
Got back to tony's and a older man was there and he handed me my pizza. First thing i noticed was that this thing was a good 7lbs! damn! (i dunno if this is accurate)
I got home and got my first bite and WOW it was good!! Plenty of sauce like i like it. Good amount of cheese and toppings all up under there. This was some seriously good pizza! I can't believe i actually ate half of it last night...oh wait, i mean my dining companion and i ate it...yeah...
oh man, this morning i think the combo of pizza, beer and dark chocolate did me bad...
i had to wake up and take care of business, go back to bed, then wake up and take care of more business...and by business i dont mean i made any money. I made something else*. :|
*apologies for my nastiness
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i've become an impulsive happy food eater...
pizza is happy food! tho pizza with lots of cheese is total gassy food.
you can call ahead to have your order ready when you get there. i shared the sausage and mushroom stuffed pan pizza. oh man. i was definitely stuffed. my zipper tried to unzip itself a couple of times.
best pizza i've had in a while!
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Jeesh!
I don't know how to feel about this place.
First off, I want to say that the food was great. We got the ham and pineapple deep dish pizza and was not disappointed- even the crust had cheese in it!
So what about this place rubbed me the wrong way? I don't know if this is really the case, but damn the cashier was such a racist and had the nastiest attitude ever.
When we ordered our pizza, she was super cold and made us feel like we were asking for a hand out. I thought this was just how she treated everybody, but that wasnt the case. The white ladies who ordered pizza were greeted with smiles and some kind of respect. I think this made my pizza just taste bitter- so I cant give the full 5 on this one.
ALSO, check it out guys. There is a ! drink refill MAX. OH yea, and dont think your smarter than the cashier by trying to sneak a third refill because shes got a tally on you.
The whole time I was eating my pizza, she was doggin me like crazy. Dude, if the pizza wasnt good I would have told her off.
That lady needs to get that sand out of her va jay jay.
Yeah I said it.
This place was pretty good: I've never had Chicago style pizza before this but in doing some research, this was supposedly one of the best in the LA and Orange County areas. Alright, so I called in my order and they said I could pick it up in 40 minutes, I left after 35 minutes at home and came expecting to pick my pizza up: uh no. For some reason they made me wait for 40 minutes, seriously, I was angry. We did call them later and they apologized but I really don't know why we waited because it's a small restaurant and there was barely anyone in it. The pizza was amazing though: a delicious flaky crust with a texture so delicious that a pie crust make would be jealous. I got the famous sausage, mushroom and pepper combo: not enough of the toppings but everything was so delicious. 4 stars and not 5 because of the lousy service.
The day I decided to try a pizza from Tony's was the day my life changed; Tony makes an incredible stuffed pizza! I always order a small and it's more than enough for me and my wife; it may be a small but when you pick up the box it's heavier than a large from other places. 2 pieces are enough to fill me up but I'm always wanting to go for a third slice; think before going for #3, you're gonna be so full you wont want to move anymore.
I've had garlic and bell peppers a couple of times and my experience has been a more runny pizza; my guess is the water content from the bell peppers. Pizza was still great.
my favorite toppings are pep and sausage; the sausage is delicious and probably what puts Tony's as my absolute favorite pizza.
The crust tastes great and eating the crust is as much a pleasure as eating the rest of the slice.
Comparing Tony's to BJ's; I like BJ's but it just isn't at the same level as Tony's; the biggest difference is the crust, BJ's has a crust almost similar to a Pizza Hut pan pizza. I can an actually pass on eating the crust. I also think BJ's pizza is a little lighter with the toppings, I would eat about 3-4 slices compared to the 2 slices that fill me with a Tony's pizza.
If you like Chicago style pizza head on over to Tony's and order a Peperoni and Sausage Stuffed Pizza; you wont regret it. If you haven't had a stuffed pizza before give it a try and then send me a message of thanks after wards :)
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Having just won the 2007 AOL City Guide Dining Out Contest for the Best Pizza in Orange County I really wasn't sure what to think. Many times, when a restaurant wins an award as voted by the "locals" it usually screams out mediocre at best, but I was willing to give Tony's Little Italy Pizza a try.
Hotly debated about the authenticity of their deep dish pizza on Chowhound, was there any debate about what to get? I have read mixed things about Tony's but mostly positive.
The restaurant is very small and is adorned with wall to wall Chicago sports team memorabilia. There is even a hand painted overhead picture of Wrigley Field to help get you into that Wrigleyville state of mind.
I ordered a Canadian Bacon and Mushroom Stuffed Pizza. This is the classic Chicago style deep dish pizza. The crust was a nice golden brown and had a nice crunch on both the bottom and sides. There was also a distinct buttery flavor to the crust. When I asked the owner if they used butter in their dough, my query was quickly cast aside.
The bottom crust is a fairly thick layer upon which mounds of cheese are layered. The toppings are then placed on the top of cheese. I was sort of dismayed by the amount of toppings that were placed on the pizza. For a pizza of this magnitude, with its thick crust and huge amounts of cheese, a fairly substantial amount of toppings should be added to balance out the pizza. Sadly this was not the case. The Canadian Bacon was sliced pretty thing and was hit and miss on the pizza, some slices had a good amount of it while others had barely of whisper of any. The use of fresh mushrooms was nice to see. I am not particularly fond of the canned mushrooms that some places use. Again, the rather meager amount of toppings seemed to get lost in the huge pool of cheese.
The toppings are then layered with tomato sauce and once the pizza is finished cooking a light sprinkling of parmesan finishes everything off. The tomato sauce had a nice acidic kick to it and the perfect amount of sauce was placed atop the pizza. I could taste both oregano and basil mixed into the sauce which added a nice herbal punch.
This pizza must be eaten in small bites. With the huge amounts of cheese on it, I almost choked several times when big melted cheese balls got stuck in my throat. Now I know what a cat feels like when hacking up hair balls. I think the addition of more toppings would help alleviate this problem. The large pizza is pretty substantial. You could probably make 3-4 meals out of pretty easily.
Overall this is a pretty good pizza. I'm not sure if I would go out of my way to eat here, but if I was in the neighborhood and felt like having pizza this would be a great option.
To view pics: http://ocfoodblogs.blo...
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These guys serve up some of the best food-coma-inducing pizza I've ever eaten. Three of us split a 14" deep-dish Onion & Green Pepper (one of us is semi-allergic to Pork or we'd have meat on it). The price was high compared to Papa Johns / Pizza Hut / etc but one pizza knocked us out. I had three pieces and called it quits. Being that I'm the fastest eater of the group, I had to smell it while the other two finished up theirs. This proved a bad move as I was soon consuming a fourth piece, followed by a calorie-induced hour-long nap.
The second time we ordered, we got a chicken mushroom. Even better and just as filling. Both were delivery and made on time and both were delivered hot.
Oh, it should also be mentioned that these guys make some other Italian dishes which are also quite good (try their Manacotta). Nothing compares to their pizza though. Gooood stuff.
I've never been to Chicago, so I don't know what "real" Chicago deep dish is like. I just know that this is fantastic pizza. If you're only used to wimpy, thin crust, you'll be amazed by the deep dish. Each slice seems about 2'' thick. The pizza is loaded with a rich sauce, a massize amount of cheese, and whatever toppings you choose. One slice feels like an entire meal.
The pizza tastes good when you heat it up, too. You have to remember to brush some olive oil on the crust before you pop it in the oven. That way the crust won't dry out.
This is a small, family-owned place. Chances are that Tony the owner will be working there. If you're a Chicago Cubs fan, you'll feel at home. The place has plenty of Cubs paraphenilia.
note: their new address is on their website: www.tonyslittleitaly.com/
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3.5 Stars.
Anyone who thinks this pizza is great, has never been to real Chicago deep dish pizza places. Ok I admit, I've never been to Chicago, but I went to school at Berkeley, and I inhaled Zachary's.
This place is ok, but the crust is not as great (chewy more than crispy, kind of like a pan pizza at Pizza hot) and they load it with mediocre pizza cheese. But truthfully this is the only deep dish place in this neck of the woods.
But if you're really craving Chicago deep dish pizza, I suggest going to Masa Cafe in Echo Park. Call ahead though, because it takes an hour to get it, and you want it ready by the time you get there.
I decided one night that Tony's Little Italy would satisfy my need to find delicious Chicago pizza right here in California, since I've longed for it ever since I returned from that windy, cold city. Maybe that's why it tasted so good there, simply because by the end of a mere walk, the only thing keeping you alive, warm, and full was a full-blown deep dish pizza. Oh, but Tony's did let me down. The grease oozed out in the box and the excessive cheese stuck to the paper without any chance of coming off. It was that you either eat it with the paper, or not at all. That in itself was a disappointment.
Unfortunately, you can't buy the deep dish by the slice because that's definitely enough to complete a full course meal. Tony's was just really greasy, cheesy, and not completely satisfying. The one great thing would be the tasty pizza sauce. The fact that you have to buy a whole pizza if you want this type prevents me from returning to Tony's, but I guess that's as much as you can expect if it's not from the original city.
We didn't need to order the 12" pizza. I'm sure the 10" would have been fine. But after a morning spent extolling the virtues of our rescued greyhound at a show and tell event at the Fullerton Arboretum, the 10" pizza just didn't seem like enough comfort. Being gregarious requires a tremendous expense of energy and the only way we were going to resupply was with the deep dish pizza rated #1 by AOL's City Search users in 2007. I'm the first one to discount the infinite monkeys typing on infinite computers opinion (especially AOL monkeys), but I have to hand it to them - this pizza rocks. The cheese bomb exploded in our mouths with a sweet and tangy sauce and a crust like a crunchy homemade biscuit. The counter dude and I had a brief debate over the flaky crust aspects of the Chicago chain Giordanos. He felt it was flaky and tasteless, I thought it was flaky and sublime. (By the way, Giordanos will partially bake and overnight ship their pizza anywhere in the U.S. I'm going to do it very soon!) The crust at Tony's is what Pizzaria Uno attempts but fails to achieve: a firm crunch yielding to spongy bread beneath, designed to support the high depth of the Chicago pizza rather than soak up the grease of the New York style. Tony's is so far the best deep dish pizza I've had in Southern California. The 12" pie was more than enough for the two of us, and continued to feed us throughout the day. I should note that any attempt to operate heavy machinery afterwards is ill advised - the drive back home with the belly full of Tony's pizza was deadly due to carbohydrate induced yawning. A 12" pie and a drink was twenty bucks.
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