Does anyone out there know what this place is all about? I pass it all of the time and wonder if I should stop and order a pizza pie. How does it compare to Casa Bianca?
RNP
Mar 23, 2006 03:33AM
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Love this place.
Meatball sandwiches are very good.
House Italian dressing is excellent.
Pizza is very good. Can't really compare it to Casa Bianca........it's a different style.....but still really good. Good minestrone soup...
Very down-home place w/friendly family style service.
They deliver to downtown as well.
Check it out.
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Though I live in SL, I rarely go to EP -- another chowhounder talked about this place a few days ago so I called and the claim they deliver to SL so we'll see. We'll try ordering from them next time we need a pizza fix and let you know --
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Sadly, I can't be as enthusiastic about their delivery as I am about their pizza. Perhaps they've improved that service, as I haven't used it in years. But it used to take a really, really, long time.
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I must disagree to some extent. I am also an ex-NYer and this does not come close to the best NY pizza. It is pretty good by L.A. standards and certainly edible if you are having a pizza craving. However, I thought they overdid it with the dried herbs, the crust is way too thick, and the cheese is not crispy enough.
Casa Bianca and Nicky D's in Silver Lake are both better. I would recommend Pizza Buona for cheap and quick pizza if you live in Echo Park, but I would say don't get your hopes up and it's definitely not worth a long trip.
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Great pizza, as far as this ex-New Yorker is concerned, and one of the few in L.A. that isn't reminiscent of enchilada sauce. Theirs is the real deal: good sauce and proper crust, cooked right on the gas oven stone (no pan, no mesquite charcoal, no goat cheese and duck toppings). Good, east coast style pizza.
Allow me to add, if you love Casa Bianca pizza (and I can't imagine why anyone would), you probably won't like Pizza Buona. If you're looking for a good, New York style, pizza, it's the place to go on the east side.
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I have to agree. I love Casa Bianca and I found Pizza Buona to be a dissapointment.
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I agree with both of your points: this Jersey boy thinks Pizza Buona is the only satisfactory place he's found yet on the eastside (the only one I've been to more that twice), and that Casa Bianca is an overrated joke. Ditto for Petrillo's in San Gabriel.
Emphasis here on "satisfactory" -- it's not exactly perfect, although when the oven is real hot and they leave the pizza in a little longer, so the cornicone chars in a few spots, it gets pretty damn close.
I haven't tried Nicky D's yet.
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Pizza Buona is good by LA standards (which means all pizza in LA sucks including Casa Bianca ((which is right by my house)))
Buona is cheese heavy, decent thin crust that's not exactly crisp. I'd recommend the ham-pineapple which for some reason isn't called Hawaiian, it's just ham-pineapple. I also recommend you order, and pick it up yourself lazyface! The ambiance is about as nice as the carwash across the street. I like this place OK.
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since vito's went out of business pizza buona is hands-down the best pizza in los angeles! i can't believe this place get less raves than casa bianca.
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The comparison between Casa Bianca and Buona doesn't square -- Bianca's pizza is much more cracker-crusty (and over-rated, frankly, unless you really enjoy waiting 1 1/2 hours for a decent pizza). Buona has really good pizza, not super-fantastic, but really good -- the Rustica is terrific -- and beyond that, they're an institution in the 'hood. The folks who've owned it have been there since the earth cooled. It's where I always test-date someone: can he handle the Frank & opera on the jukebox, the chilled Burgundy and the representative slice of Echo Parkers who patronize the place? Nicky D's is another place we frequent -- good pepperoni, mixed delivery history (usually about 45 minutes faster just to pick it up yourself), nice people. Masa is okay, too. I'm a Chicagoan, though, and their "Chicago-style" pizza is admirable in effort, but just doesn't get all the way there.
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excuse me but perhaps Nicky Ds was good at one time but thier pizza sux compared to pizza Buona. mOreover, the personnel at Nicky Ds have that attitudue of "oh, shit-here comes another customer, I wanna go home." Ive tasted good and bad NY & LA pizza. Just because its made in Ny doesnt make it good just as because its made in LA doesnt make it bad.
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Pizza Buona is great for salads, traditional Spumoni icecream and pizza. Sure, it's not for the thin loving pizza fans but great for a little bit bigger crust. As for people complaining about it being dirty- that's crazy- their kitchen was spotless when I passed by it and everything was in it's place. As for Casa Bianca-which all of my friends rave about- what gives with the canned mushrooms--yuk
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