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Saturday,
March 1, 2003
RIZZO'S
PIZZERIA
BY CHRIS COGNAC
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It was a Saturday afternoon and I had a serious craving, you know,
the kind you get where your stomach tells you "you must have
this now". My stomach was loudly telling me that it wanted
pizza, now! It didn’t want just any pizza, it wanted real
pizza, pizza made from scratch, by hand pizza. I asked my brain
to search its vast pizza place files and it came up with the only
answer that made sense, Rizzo’s Pizzeria in Torrance.
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Rizzo’s is in a strip mall (which many a fine restaurant
are located) next to Steve’s Tuxedo. It’s been a Torrance
High landmark since I was a Torrance High Tatar. Its great food
that’s filling, and doesn’t cost too much, which is
important to a hungry cash strapped teen.
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I went with my 2 and 6 yr old boys along with Jeff the I.T. guy
from work. I told Jeff he was in for the best pizza around. Jeff
was a little skeptical but I assured him he would not be disappointed.
When we walked in were greeted with the aroma of fresh pizza sauce
and garlic. I sat down and told Chuck Rossi the owner to give
us the works. Chuck started us out with a small hot
turkey sandwich on fresh baked bread. Chuck bakes it
everyday from the same dough as the pizza’s are made. The
sandwich is topped with mozzarella cheese, pepper, onions and
baked till the cheese melts, then a little lettuce and Italian
dressing added for an amazing taste.
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We also got an order of Rizzo’s
signature bread sticks dripping in garlic butter and parmesan
cheese which are so good , but oh so bad! Next came
the lasagna which
is a good size portion made with the homemade sauce and lots of
cheese. They also have a "mostaccolli
bake" with is really good too with gooey mozzarella
baked over the pasta. The pizza
is king here though and I can’t say enough about
how good it is. The pizza’s are dense, Rizzo’s does
not skimp on toppings at all, in fact a large "Rizzo’s
Special" pizza weighs over 4 pounds! Chuck tells me that
the pizza dough is 2 pounds and over 2 pounds of toppings go on
top. We got a small cheese for the kids and a small mushroom and
pepperoni and Jeff loved the homemade
hand tossed dough which really makes the difference
from the mass market manufactured pizza’s at the chain stores.
The kids dug into the cheese pizza, with my 2 yr old chowing down
and he never eats anything!
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The hot tip is to go on Monday’s when Rizzo’s
has ALL YOU CAN EAT! $5.95 gets you all the pizza,
garlic breadsticks, salad and spaghetti you can eat
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Rizzo’s
represents what’s good about family run places, they take
pride in the food that they make and really care if the customer
is satisfied. Rizzo’s has a very loyal following among area
residents, I feel it is only my duty to let the rest of you know
about what my friends and I have been enjoying since we were teens
in the 1980’s.
- Prices range from $8 for a small cheese to $17.50 for the large
Rizzo’s special pasta is $5.95 for the Mostaccolli bake to
$7.25 for the Lasagna. Lunch specials range from The also have
really great Calzones (stuffed
pizza) which are a must try if you have never had one.
Lunch specials from $2.15 to $4.80.
Rizzo’s
Pizzeria: 2350 Sepulveda Blvd # G, Torrance, CA 90501 Phone: (310)
530-9527
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