I got the same feeling as well. Also, it may suggest that the food media has become used to or expect better examples of food not coming from non-“hipster” places. In this case, an “international chain.”
I get that - it’s so easy to write off a pizza joint that has no established food cred. I’m guilty of having biases as well. But I’m just me. A publication that focuses on the food industry needs to perform due diligence for many reasons. But I also give Eater credit for righting theirtinitial brush off.
Do both! Last time I went, Boba Lab had a fantastic taro milk, with actual fresh taro chunks. Delicious. The owner really go out of their way to please the customers.
FWIW, Reds is ok, but don’t expect much fireworks. The SaMoHi foot traffic keeps them afloat.
My son almost always gets taro at the Boba places - same assessment. And ditto on Reds - that’s why I always get voted down. They think it’s student-level fare. I tell them that I wish I had this kind of student food around when I was their age. Spoiled kids.
Interesting… does Reds do a sandwich version or just the pizza? As I say, the thing to get at Mega is the gyro pizza SANDWICH. The name is a little misleading as the main thing “pizza” about it is the crust they use for bread.
Come to think of it, these guys do have some issues with naming lol.
Did you mention Boba Lab awhile back? Sounds familiar. I’m actually near the area for jury duty but tore a calf muscle (meaning that I am indeed on crutches while serving!!!) and can’t quite make it during the (very generous) lunch break. Might just try both after I’m done w/ serve. Love places that use fresh taro (and pizza place looks interesting, too)…
I finally hit Mega Pizza Grille up. The people running th place are generally pretty nice and even gave me some free meatball osh with my pizza gyro sandwich which was really nicely flavored and quite toothsome compared to the osh I’ve had at Attari.
The Pizza Gyro Sandwich itself is massive and delicious. The pizza crust is warm fluffy and crisped. It is kind of standard pizzeria dough but it really does work oddly well in the context of Gyro. However, the gyro meat is certainly not crisped on the grill. The sandwich could be great instead of just good fit he gyro meat was crispy. The flavor was still above average for gyro meat here inLA though. Noticeably more meaty and spiced while being free of gristle. I also really liked that the hot sauce actually has some heat here, and though I needed to order extra, they were happy to provide it.
I left with some Saffron Ice Cream which was extraordinary. So creamy and perfumed, with lots of pistachios. Expensive at $6.52 for a little cup but well worth it.
All in all, it’s Ann interesting place to eat. Also seems like a very pleasant place to sit down and eat with a group. I will probably return to try the khachapuri.
Like this place a lot and up until recently it was one of the best places to get Pide. However, we recently went to the new Momed is Atwater and theirs was amazing. The only better I have had was in DC at Compass Rose.
