Just when I thought it didn't get any better in the food truck lot by my place in Westwood, here…read morecomes the Pizza and Co truck. I've seen pizza, I've seen pizza trucks even, but I don't recall finding a pizza truck that boasts a wood-fired oven, ingredients from Italy, a baby-basil plant at the counter for garnish, and three Italians in the kitchen.
Dinnertime just got real for this guy.
This place has anything you want for an authentic european-style pie. Two sizes are available, and a myriad of quality vegetable, cheese, and meat toppings make these pies ripe for customization to your taste. I like the variety in the range of the cured meats. There's a lot of culinary potential here.
This being my first time, I went simple. I just went with the Verde pizza. It had an arugula pesto sauce that I have never tasted before, freshly shaved parmesan cheese, and a hefty serving of "OH MY GOD THIS IS DELICIOUS".
The pie was ready in about 4 minutes from the time I ordered. Awesome for a fresh and fast pizza fix.
So on to the pie...
Crust was perfect. Slightly blackened in spots from the wood-fire treatment on the bottom, but not burned. Thinner crust of course as is the European pizza custom. A little crispy at first bite, but immediately that chewy texture that carries the flavor of the toppings all over the palate. Make no mistake ladies and gentlemen the crust is where this place shines.
The toppings are what toppings should be, accents to the crust. And each one was perfectly portioned and arranged on each slice so you could enjoy them. There was no "oil slick" effect that made me want to reach for the nearest roll of paper towels to soak it up.
My toppings: Sausage, Parmesan cheese, and of course freshly torn basil.
The sausage was meaty and not overly greasy or chewy. The parmesan was put on AFTER that beauty came from the over (as it should be!) and between both ingredients, gave me just enough saltiness to crave a good beer or red wine, but by no means was overpowering at all. The basil I pulled off the plant myself, and it don't get any fresher than that. A quick shake from the oregano, and a splash of the garlic and rosemary olive oil and I was right back in Italy
Pricewise, this place is a value for the quality of the food. Drop 10-12 bucks and you've got a real treat and piece of food art on your hands and tongue.
They'll stack as many toppings as you want, but my first and best tip for you all is this: keep it to a good base pie as a first choice, then add on one or maybe two toppings at the most, and that's all you'd need, aside from a second pizza!
A quick word on the staff: They are very excited about what they do, and are more than happy to show off when they make your pie. they showed mine to me on the pizza peel before it went into the wood-fired inferno! We spoke a little in Italian, and talked about ingredients and quality, and what it takes to get a really great pie. Very nice, friendly, and passionate for their culinary art.
Will I return? I've already put pizza money in my wallet for next time they are in my neighborhood. I give this truck and the pizzas that come from it a rare and well-deserved no-reservations "5 stars". So until next time my food-truck-pizza-pie-loving friends all across the Yelper-verse, I bid you "good eating."
