L.A. Italian Kitchen in Santa Rosa, CA: A Review

L.A. Italian Kitchen is a small quick-serve chain, with seven locations in California and two in Nevada. Interestingly, none of them appear to be in Los Angeles (though they do have one in Orange.) I've never heard of L.A. being known for any sort of cuisine, except perhaps Mexican, so I guess this is all appropriate in a bizarre way.

The pizza, to be honest, borders on terribad. It's incredibly greasy, salty, and sits under a heat lamp apparently for upwards of two hours at a time. They do have a decent range of side options, however, and for the $8 or so they charge for the average complete meal, you can at least rest assured you're getting enough quantity to fill you up, if not so much the quality.

Aside from all your standard pizza slices, available in thin or deep dish varieties, you can get something called a "stuffed slice", which is halfway between a calzone and a pizza slice. There are two kinds - a "meat lovers" which has pepperoni, salami and sausage, or broccoli with spinach and tons of white cheese.

They also have a few options not normally found at quick-serve pizza joints. You can get a few varieties of calzone, lassagna, rigatone or chicken parmigiana. However, these cost a bit more, ranging up to $9-$10 per meal, and some take a little extra prep time.

Each meal comes with one side, and this is where the place actually does pretty well for itself. In fact, I wish I could just make a mini-meal composed of nothing but sides for a little less than the regular combo meals. You can get a few varieties of salad, Greek pasta, baked ziti, roasted potatoes, two meatballs, or garlic breadsticks with marinara.

I'm really not a fan of the pizza, but in a pinch, a calzone with some side salad or baked ziti works for lunch. I'm not a fan of the pricing either, but since every food vendor in Coddingtown jacks their prices through the roof, this place is actually one of the most reasonable by comparison (possibly THE most reasonable since Burger King moved out.)