It is time for a return of an Aaron Martinez™ Yelp© review. Like aforementioned in previous…read morereviews, as a college student visiting home over the holidays, one of my favorite activities is exploring whatever extravagant and stimulating businesses open up in my vicinity. The one that seemed to pique my interest the most was this quirky Italian spot-- particularly for it's clever, tongue-in-cheek and saucy statement that reads "Legalize Marinara." For context, after extemporaneous research, you'd be keen to find out marinara is in no way illegal in Hidalgo county, the State of Texas, or the United States of America. Now, to begin the review, I would first like to describe the ambiance of the restaurant. This restaurant is a quaint business with about 12 varied tables of different sizes. The tables and interior design provided a feel of an Italian villa, like the type that you would sit outside, glass of a crisp sauvignon blanc in hand, reading a Leonardo Sciascia novel or chatting with a pal over the amazing artistry of Piero Piccioni's scoring. Rather than being outside though, this interior is insulated, and gives you a fragment of that experience maybe to evoke this feeling in a restrained sense - a home away from home. A piece of their interior I also appreciated was the row of pizza boxes along the south end of the building. Not only does this serve great utility for the aftermath of gorging on a strambouli, but it also gives the business a gritty, DIY feel. Like a NY pizzeria. You acquire a mix of both worlds. I like that. When I was eating, the demographic was a mixture of families ranging from an older couple post-50's to a young parent with youth who were wildin' out rambunctiously with Beyblade's - a nostalgia inducing moment as I recalled the first moment I let it rip. We obtain a sense of the Dionysian and Apollonian dichotomy when my Beyblade nostalgia conflicted with my longing for the Italian villa scene. When deciding what to order you are offered a mixture of several very price-friendly lunch specials which include either slices of pizza, strombolis, sides, or a drink. I selected the Stromboli, side, and a drink. I chose this option because the restaurant is unique in that it grants you the esteemed privilege of selecting your Stromboli as you see it behind a glass window. This reminds me a lot of adopting a dog at an animal shelter. As you scour the cages looking for the most pristine, you find that special, longtime friend. That's a lot what ordering a Stromboli is like. A Stromboli isn't a simple, one time meal. A Stromboli is a lifeterm friend. The Stromboli that particularly caught my eye was of the Meat Lover's variant which contained pepperoni, Italian sausage, Canadian bacon, cheese, and other potential meaty goodness. The side I selected was a fresh garden salad drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette. The salad contained iceberg lettuce and a mixture of that tarty green olive, Roma tomatoes, and the purple, radish-in-color type of olive. Although the lettuce was fresh and worked well with the tomato under a balsamic vinaigrette, I personally was not a fan of the blast of olive and would appreciate a more varied ingredient list. Olives taste to me like what golf is as a sport - it's something you admire for it's skill but you probably wouldn't watch or eat it often. A recommendation would be to include cucumbers, chickpeas, maybe ricotta, or a bready crouton of sorts, but that may be personal preference. Now, the real star of the show was the Stromboli. The Stromboli was fresh and warm and looked appealing with it's golden brown skin. Needless to say, I was thirstin to dig in. The Pizzeria truly went sicko mode on this Stromboli. The amount of each meat in the Stromboli was well represented and because the ratio was so efficacious in assorting flavors, the Stromboli was never lacking in flavor with every sequential bite. I was shoveling that bad boy in my mouth like a tonka truck. On top of the meat, the Stromboli coalesced with the cheese, bread, and marinara spread well in which the tang and spice from the meaty goodness appealed to the umami character of the cheese and meaty combo of sauce. I am quite the sauce fiend, so having the option to control my sauce intake is a responsibility more restaurants should take advantage of. Altogether, my experiences, from my Beyblade induced nostalgia upon entering the restaurant to the sauce based sensory playground of the Stromboli during my meal, were brilliant. The Pizzeria is simple, but holds with it a particular pizazz when you open the pizza box and look inside.

I was really looking forward to this restaurant after hearing great things. With the baby asleep in…read morethe car we opted for takeout: pizza and wings. The pizza was fine, nothing special, and the wings were on the dry/tough side. Maybe I caught it on an off night, but it didn't wow me like I'd hoped.

Save your time, money and go buy from a different pizza franchise, short middle aged manager tried…read moresevering me expired soda.

Loving this spot! I wish there were more pizza patron spots everywhere! They offer great…read morecustomization options and if you use the app, it's even easier to customize. The prices are very decent for their specialty pies and their regular pies are just above little Caesars price, but way better in value. Next, time you're in the area, give them a try! If you like spicy, but don't want spicy toppings, try their spicy marinara. You won't be disappointed! Start with the lite spicy though!

Hands down some of the best pizza in town.... amazing…read more The place was nice and empty when I went with my wife...I liked how it has several different seating options (bar, booth, outside patio). Only negative comment were that we entered and no greetings from the staff. We stood there ready to order for like 3-4 mins...the girls just kept on making pizzas...no "we'll be right with you".. nothing. It was pretty awkward standing there...like they wanted to avoid even eye contact. On to the pizza...I love the choose your own toppings places. They have numerous combinations you can choose from as far as cheese goes (mozzarella, parmesan), veggies, and proteins. I had the cauliflower crust with pepperoni, sausage, chorizo, jalapenos, mushrooms, and banana peppers. The pizza came out piping hot and delicious! Again...it was delicious. Whether it was the crust or the combination of ingredients or the way it was made...as they say it was a "perfect pizza pie". The crust was perfectly toasted...the thickness of the pizza was thin crust type so it wasn't extremely filling. Sometimes you only eat 2-3 slices at other places and you feel loaded down with the flour. I ate the whole thing and didn't feel like I had a 2lb weight on my stomach. My wife also loved her pizza...loved it. Great thing of this place is they had draft...and several selections. I had the local 5x5 Bombshell draft and it was a perfect complement to the pizza. They also had other types of fruit drinks of combinations that aren't found elsewhere (cucumber/mint, mango/lemonade). We sampled a few and each one tasted natural and not pumped full of sugar. Overall... this place is a definite 5 star (even though the workers don't greet you)... recommended to everyone.

Better experience this time. Got cuts right. I prefer more char on the crust, but can understand…read morewhy this is not a standardized practice at a chain. Bottom dusting on crust has even improved: either gone with a finer grain cornmeal or with a wheat flour.

Based on all the reviews I was a bit skeptical of going to this place since it took me awhile to…read morefind it ... But boy was I glad I did. I walked in and Got me the Armando's deluxe and yall You cannot compare this pizza joint to any other place. If your looking for authentic pizza this place is the place to go. They have a beautiful Crispy and chewy crust flavorful toppings and beautiful mozzarella cheese. And for valentines they got those heart shaped pizza for those cheesy gifts...(pun intended) Highly recommended

Decent pizza.. a little light on toppings and could have been cooked a little longer. Despite…read morethat the flavors of the sauce and crust were really good.

Second time I've been at this establishment and the male bartender with grey hair who sits behind…read morethe bar and drinks provides horrible service. Do not recommend while he is working.

Service was bad. The bartenders don't check on who needs a drink and actively avoid eye contact to…read moregive said drink. The vibe was nice just sucks I waited 15 min for someone to open a beer for me.

Love the pizzas! Service is great and ambience is wonderful…read more I usually order DRAG IT THRU THE GARDEN!!! Full of veggies and cheese.

Visiting from Dallas and was told this was one of the best. For 58 dollars I should have just got…read morea CiCi pizza. It was over done and basically nothing on it. If you are Visiting from a North Eastern state that has REAL Pizza - don't waste your time..... Our pizzas looked nothing like the photos.....

No need to go to Chicago with this place around. Great food and service! Nice ambiance felt at…read morehome. Artichoke dip 10/10 flavor and pizza bites would definitely recommend. The pizza is always cooked to perfection with a nice crisp never soggy. The Staff is welcoming and very friendly. Definitely worth coming out to try. *Better than Mama Mia's*

Loved the pizza and service when dining in. I'm always for the deep dish. Owner is a sweetheart and…read morefeels comfortable and like home.

The ambiance is quaint. Service was great and their italian food tastes authentically made from…read morescratch. I love italian soo I'm picky when it comes to trying a new Italian spot but I would return to this one! Their house wine was good and I want to try their wood brick oven pizza next!

Nice and enjoyable location with friendly staff…read more The appetizers were great, the mango tea was amazing but the fire brick pizza, prosciutto and arugula was just okay. Definitely expected a bit more flavor and crunchier crust but I didn't ask for the extra crispy. Options were regular, crispy or extra crispy, I would have to try it extra crispy next time. Definitely have a nice bar and areas for intimate discussion or open areas to enjoy with family or friends.

Two times coming here and I brought friends the second time as I had been wanting to come back…read more Pleaseeee give this place a shot if you're craving Italian. Download the app for a free appetizer & points as well! Portions are pretty considerable so I recommend sharing a plate, at least for the pastas. The first time my partner & I tried the Greek Pasta, we knew this was going to be a repeat spot for us. They made us like olives, which I never thought I'd say lol!! Service is nice & very attentive as well. Def will come back for another date night

Food was just so so. Not as good as I expected. I was ,…read morehowever, able to stay in my car and have my order delivered to me. That was a plus. Their sign says Pasta Company and in smaller letters "Malfitany".

I wanna start off with saying the food here is delicious! But honestly the place is a bit…read moreoverstimulating. I understand it is a place where kids and family can hang out especially because there is courts in the back, but when i went there was a group of kids about the age 13-15 they were being rude talking and yelling loud saying bad words and talking about the staff. I'm just upset the parents never showed up or asked nicely to settle down. They also dropped drinks and made a mess everywhere on purpose it was just so disappointing to see how those kids were acting, i went to have a nice dinner and honestly left pretty upset. Parents got to learn how to correctly raise their kids.

Let's start with, I'm coming back. Never been to Chicago but the ambience/setting makes me want to…read morego! Their salad was fresh, received mine with no onions as requested. The gal who helped is was patient and went over the menu with us. Before we left, she also explained about the outside courts available to customers. *Please note: must get the deep dish (finger licking).