A couple of weeks ago, I got a PR release about a new pizza spot opening up in the College area, right around the corner from where Jake lives. (Note: I did *not* get invited here, that’s just how I found out about this place!) They had just opened and we serving up Neapolitan style pizzas – something I’ve always wanted to try – so we scooted on over there to check it out.
The place was not very busy for a Friday evening, but they had just opened that week and I don’t think the word had really been spread about them yet. This pizza spot is a little bit different than other places I’ve been to, since they make the pizza on the spot right in front of you! It’s kind of like the Subway version for Pizza. It was cool to watch them put it all together!
They spread the dough out and then put on your sauce and take your pizza down the line.
Where you can choose any toppings you want. You can get a basic pizza (maghertia, blanco, or tomato pie without cheese) for a set price. A pizza with any additional toppings will cost you $7.50 flat. No extra charge for toppings (except for these premium toppings: goat cheese ($1), prosciutto ($3), or anchovies ($1) which is a really nice change of pace.
Once you give your nod of approval, your pizza slips into the Forno oven and cooks in about 90 seconds. Holy cow.
Pizzzzzzas!
[marghertia with ricotta cheese – san marzano tomato sauce, sea salt, olive oil, parmingian-reggiano, mozzarella, basil, oregano – $7.50]
Jake and I agreed to keep things simple to really taste the flavor of the pizza. We ordered a Marghertia with the addition of ricotta cheese, since I love ricotta so, so, so much on pizza. The simple flavors on here were really amazing – the tomato sauce tasted so fresh and the mozzarella just melted right in. The simple herbs complimented the pie really well, making for a truly flavorful pizza.
Here’s a peek at the crust – you can see the crusty semi-burnt bubbles all around the edge and in the middle. This crust was excellent with nice crispy spots and a good chew. It didn’t taste burnt or anything, just nice and crispy-crunchy. Just the bottom had that crunch while in the middle it was still soft and chewy.
[mozzarella salad pizza – with mini mozzarella balls, tomato, basil, oregano and olive oil – $7.50]
This turned out to be a really delicious choice! Jake and I had a salad pizza up in Julian once and we thought that was pretty good… until we ate this one and it blew the other one out of the water! The flavors here were so fresh and it’s the same pizza crust as our marghertia pizza, just without any sauce on it.
The salad is lightly seasoned and flavored with herbs and olive oil. I got all the little tomatoes (a mix of cherry and grape tomatoes) since Jake won’t eat those plus little fresh mozzarella balls. Really flavorful and delicious and a fun way to eat a salad – without a fork!
[cinn-o’ sweet pizza – blend of saigon cinnamon, brown and cane sugars, and vanilla bean sauce – $4]
We asked for this to be made for us later when we were finished with our meal. Jake went up and asked them to make it for us and it was out of the oven in just a few minutes.
Even if the other food wasn’t good (which it was), I would come back again just for this this! We had already had such a carb-fest, but one bite of this clearly made me not care since it was deliciously good! The blend of cinnamon and sugars was excellent, I’m pretty sure they melt butter all over this sucker, too, but the shining star is the vanilla bean sauce which brings it all together. Top it on their tasty crust and this was such a winner for me. YUM.
Here’s Jake, smiling because we just had an excellent meal!
They have crafty-looking beers on tap and they also have wines if you’re feeling like having a little wine with your pizza. There’s a few TV’s and some cozy looking booths so clearly they are hoping to be a new hangout for the College-area crowd. The reasonable prices, quick and efficient service, and the delicious food all combined to make this place a winner for us, a place we’ll definitely be visiting again in the near future!
Social Life Pizza
6011 El Cajon Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92115
619-265-2700
Hours:
Mon-Thu, Sun 11 am – 11 pm
Fri-Sat 11 am – 12 am
Wow… everything looks good. I’m so excited when I see a new restaurant pop up in the College area. I can’t wait to check them out and have a salad pizza.
It was all really good and very fresh. We really enjoyed it! I’ve been wanting to back for a second visit! They also have a cannoli dessert pizza that sound interesting.
Ooh, so cool! This reminds me of Project PIe – they have that assembly line thing going on then they fire up the pizzas in front of you. It’s pretty quick. I think Project PIe’s pizza crust is thinner than this, judging from the photos. I totally want to try this place! I like that there’s a flat rate for the pizzas too (for the most part).
Ooh, I still haven’t been to Project Pie. I think I inherently avoid Hillcrest but I’ve really been meaning to check it out. I like the assembly line thing so you can see how they do it. I like the flat rate, too. Not that I like a ton of toppings, but I always hate having to pay like $1+ for toppings.
that is freaking insane, what an interesting concept to a pizza. i could do whatever i want to a pizza and no one would look at me crazy. i will take a goat cheese anchovy and spinach. i like the way that sounds.
It’s a great way to get creative!
Hi! Wow all the food looks so good. Have you tried Urban Pi in Del Mar – it’s almost the same concept and I thought their pizzas were pretty good too.
Salad on a pizza?!! What??!! It’s nice that the crust didn’t look too soggy under that salad.
I’m a big churro FREAK so anything with cinnamon and sugar about makes me crazy happy. Was it the same crust they use for their pizzas?
I have not been to Urban Pi! Why do so many restaurants in San Diego use “Urban” in the name? haha! The crust for the pizza, the salad and the dessert pizzas are all the same crust – nice, crispy, slightly charred bottom! If you’re a cinnamon freak, I think you’ll like their cinnamon pizza! It was so so so good.
I was going to also say this is like Project Pie, which I love! When my son was born in May he spent 6 weeks in the NICU at Mercy in Hillcrest,so I had a lot of time to wander the neighborhood and try some of the restaurants. It’s a really cool place, and lots of good eats!
Cool, sounds like I definitely need to check it out! Thanks for the tip 🙂