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View the
Village Pizzeria Menu
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Village Pizzeria is located at 41 N. Baldwin Ave., in Sierra Madre |
Front
counter, with pizza by the slice case and large, easy to read menus |
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Two
slices Hawaiian pizza, for proportion, compare to the plate size |
Italian Grinder |
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Same
sandwich, different angle, a little blurrier |
Spaghetti and meatball comes with garlic bread |
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DOT COM DINING
A Look At San
Gabriel Valley Restaurants by SanGabrielValleyMenus.com
Village Pizzeria in Sierra Madre – Gourmet
Pizzas, Salads and Pastas
By Bill Coburn
Sierra Madre is
known for its small town charm. As I travel around the valley and meet people
from all over, the one comment I hear most often from people when they find out
my business is based in Sierra Madre is something along the lines of ‘Sierra
Madre’s so nice, it’s really a great little town.” Of course the second most
common phrase is, “Where is Sierra Madre again?” As close as it is to Santa
Anita race track (literally five minutes) and Old Town Pasadena (8 -10 minutes)
it’s amazing to me that there are so many people who don’t know where it is.
While Sierra Madre
is known for many things, its annual Wistaria Festival, 4th of July
events, Pioneer Days and Arts Fair; its proximity to great hiking trails (Mt.
Wilson Trail, home of the annual Trail Race, and Bailey Park), its Mayberry
style downtown business district, its winding canyon roads and homes where many
of the munchkins settled after Wizard of Oz, its Sierra Madre Playhouse and
Foothill Creative Arts Group, since about the mid 90s, it has also been known
for having a lot of fine places to dine al fresco, many of which come with a
great view of the San Gabriel mountains that literally make up Sierra Madre’s
backyard.
One of the places
with the great al fresco dining and a great mountain view is a place called
Village Pizzeria, located at 41 N. Baldwin Ave., (626) 355-8817. You’ll find
their menu online at www.sangabrielvalleymenus.com/villagepizzeria. Tamara
Brock, who owns the place, opened her first restaurant more than 18 years ago in
Pasadena; it was called Posse Pizza. A couple years later, she moved Posse
Pizza to Sierra Madre Blvd. in Sierra Madre, and gave it a new name, Village
Pizzeria. She threw herself into the community, becoming involved with lots of
local organizations, some of whom became quite successful re-selling her pizza
at local events. For the last few years, she has been an active sponsor of the
ACS Relay For Life, even winning the prize for best campsite in its inaugural
year in 2001. All the while, she was developing a thriving business, and in
1999, after 11 years, moved it to her current, more accessible location with the
view, and better opportunities for outside dining.
My family and I have
eaten at Village Pizzeria a lot over the years. Their barbecue chicken pizza is
one of my favorite pizzas. I also eat their meatball sandwich pretty regularly,
sometimes with cheese, sometimes without, but it’s always enjoyable. My son
usually gets a slice or two of pizza, sometimes pepperoni, sometimes bbq
chicken, sometimes Hawaiian. Katie likes the Italian Grinder, which she always
gets with a side of their garlic mayonnaise, a personal favorite of hers.
The other night, we
ate there and Keelan had two slices of the Hawaiian pizza, Katie had her usual
Italian grinder, and I had the spaghetti and meatball dinner. I was thinking
about ordering extra meatballs, since I’m just one of those guys that likes meat
in their entrée, and I wasn’t sure one meatball was going to be enough. I was
pleased to find that my meal, despite the singular moniker, had a plurality of
meatballs. No, I don’t talk like that, I just write like that. Okay, yeah,
sometimes I talk like that. Either way, not only did I get two meatballs, but
these things were huge. I don’t think I’ve ever had meatballs that big,
anywhere. And they were delicious, as always. Surprisingly, for me, I ended up
taking half my meal home and reheating it the next day for lunch. Usually,
spaghetti and meatballs just gets vacuumed, but there was enough here to make it
two meals.
Besides traditional
pizzas, Village Pizzeria also offers a selection of California Pizzas that are
its own creations, including the aforementioned BBQ Chicken Pizza, an Italian
Pesto Pizza, two Bianco (white) pizzas, and the House Specialty Pizza, with
artichoke hearts and sun-dried tomatoes on a whole wheat crust, among others.
They offer pasta dishes, including spaghetti w/marinara, meat sauce or
meatballs, lasagna, ravioli, a seafood pasta and more. Sandwiches include the
already discussed meatball sandwiches and Italian grinder, and half a dozen
others. Salads include a house salad, baby greens salad, antipasta salad,
Chinese chicken salad and others. Right now, for a limited time, you can get
Amy’s Summer Chicken Salad. Now I don’t know, but I think it’s a safe bet that
the name means it’s available this summer, not that Amy’s chicken is a little
older than a spring chicken. Anyway, it’s a bed of chopped lettuces, with house
made ranch dressing, fire roasted corn, seedless watermelon, diced cucumber,
scallions, fresh cilantro, barbecue chicken and crispy potato stix. Sounds
interesting, maybe next time. They’re also featuring two summer drinks, Fresh
Summertime Lemonade, and the Arnold Palmer, which is a blend of fresh lemonade
and iced tea. A little birdie tells me they’re quite good. Yes, that’s a bad
golf joke, but a bad joke or two in this column is par for the course, right?
Nothing to get teed off about.
Village Pizzeria
makes their sauce on the premises, the dough is made daily, and they also grind
their cheese fresh daily. I like it, and I’m looking forward to Tami’s new
restaurant scheduled to open down the street later this year, called Betty’s
Garage. We’ll let you know more about that as it gets further along in its
development.
I didn’t check
around for Father’s Day specials, but I did happen to hear that Mijare’s,
Pasadena’s oldest restaurant (since 1920) is expanding its already extensive
champagne buffet brunch for this special Sunday. They’re always busy, so
reservations are recommended. Cost is $18.95 for adults, $8.95 for children.
Call them today to make sure you can get in, at (626) 792-2763.
I had someone
ask me the other day if I knew what was going to happen with the Sunny Italy
location that was closed a while back, on Rosemead Blvd. Well, last week, Nikki
C’s opened at that location, featuring Italian cuisine, an extensive wine list,
and plasma TV for sports in the cocktail lounge, including horse racing daily.
They’re not open for lunch (yet?), just dinner. The bar opens at 4, the kitchen
at five. And guess what, surprise, surprise, their menu will be on the
SanGabrielValleyMenus.com website within the next couple days. They can be
reached at 792-7347.
Bill Coburn is owner of SanGabrielValleyMenus.com, a
restaurant website featuring dozens of restaurant’s menus, as well as
downloadable coupons. He has nearly 20 years experience in the restaurant
business, and has been eating for much longer than that. |
