I will be the first to admit that I had a West Side bias when I made the move to Pasadena. I figured I would spend a whole lot of time on that side of town for meals out, but over and over again Pasadena has impressed me. Perhaps most impressive of all is the pizza scene, with The Luggage Room and Pizza of Venice already tackled by yours truly, I finally set my sights on Pie Life Pizza.
The place is literally a window to place an order with a pizza oven in the back. Outside there are a few picnic-esque seats in an area only slightly wider than a hallway, which is shared by a coffee spot to one side and, strangely enough, a crossfit spot on the other. They offer pizza by the slice, but we wanted to get a couple of full pies. And, since one of those pies was topped with veggies I won’t even cover it here except to say that it went over well with the others.
As for me, I went all in on the “Meaty” pizza. This was topped with pepperoni, sausage and meatballs. I liked that the meats were limited to three so as to enjoy the distinct flavors better. The result was an immense New York-style pizza with huge slices and a perfect dispersement of meats (plus those delicious little pepperonis that you only find at places like this). I dug in and was immediately impressed. It was packed with flavor, and each bite tasted like it had been meticulously planned by the guys in the back to ensure I would find happiness in it.
Now, if you’re in New York and thinking places like this are a dime a dozen you may be right. On the other hand, I was eating with a New Yorker who said, “the pizza was much better than it needed to be.” If that’s not a glowing recommendation, I don’t know what is.
