I had been to Gloria Pizza before. I was using the main MTA subway station in Forest Hills and would be walking over to Austin Street and Forest Hills Gardens. It was slightly after lunch and I needed some sustenance. I saw Gloria Pizza and was studying how to best cross hectic Queens Boulevard to get there. Maybe I like this business's name because, when I hear it, the lyrics "Will you meet him on the Main Line ... or will you catch him on the rebound?" and "Will you marry for the money ... take a lover in afternoon?" go through my head. That name alone may have more built-in goodwill than they could have imagined when they opened the place.
The restaurant interior is clean and bright. Most of what they have ready is in the glass cases. I saw the various pizzas and asked if they could add mushrooms to a slice. They could. Soft drinks are of the canned or bottled variety.
The pizza was fine, but the mushrooms had a decidedly "added on" look and taste. The thin New York crust was to my liking. Since it didn't appear they had pizza with mushrooms already made and displayed for slices, maybe they can add one to their regular rotation. But then, what they display probably comes down to their knowing what sells. If I had to go with one ingredient on a pizza in addition to the cheese, it would be mushrooms ... by a mile.
Another part of this exchange made things more interesting. I saw these round, golden, deep fried items and asked, "How much are those arancini?" I got a "huh" sort of response. The person behind the cases then added, 'Oh, the rice balls, they're (insert amount I didn't want to pay and have forgotten).' Gloria's goes back to the baby boom years and, like so many Italian eateries and bakeries, it might be (a little) less Italian. If you have a presumably Southern Italian eatery and have deep fried rice balls stuffed with other ingredients, you should know what arancini are.
I finished my slice of pizza and walked out into Forest Hills with my beverage in hand. I had lunch and quelled my hunger. The price for the slice was a Forest Hills price, hence not $3.99, but the soft drink was priced like it would be anywhere else. The service was a little indifferent. I believe it was somewhat like that the first time I visited Gloria Pizza.
Its main drawing card may be a great location on Queens Boulevard near the MTA station entrances. It doesn't take much energy to go to Gloria Pizza. Local folks are eating in this pizzeria. This is probably a decent option if you're a local, working nearby and needing something quick to eat, or just passing through the area like I was. read more