Casa Bianca Pizza

Eagle Rock, CA. A friend of mine, aware of my interest in pizza particulars, kept repeating "I have to take you to this place I grew up with..." until the day we actually had a free day to venture.  Yes, venture; for anyone who understands the detail called traffic in this city, traveling even within 5 miles of a locale can take an hour. After setting up a time to avoid any rush, we went on our away, all while he excitedly described what I was about to savor.

Casa Bianca Pizza Pie has been passed down through the generations - from father to son and daughter to be more precise. Even the servers have stuck around, with many friendly and familiar, smiling faces having worked there for years. Ideal times for a bite seem to be from opening time to 7pm and then much later in the evening - the restaurant keeps pretty late hours in the weekday and weekend nights. If coming at a peak dinner time, there will be a pretty significant wait, but it becomes worth it once the seat is taken and the devouring begins. That being said, this is another cash only venue I am happily adding to the list, but there is an ATM available to withdraw the necessary food funds. 

Meatballs - seem to be a rather common Italian staple for pizza joints, and were served piping hot, resting in their house made sweet marinara, but were not a standout. It had the basic spices to qualify as 'Italian' but were fairly marginal compared to their famed pizzas. Browsing the menu, I saw a few appetizers that seemed a bit more up my alley, particularly their sausage, also made in-house. My friend glowed at the prospect of adding sausage to our pizza, so it had to be done.

Sausage and Eggplant Pizza

Sausage and Eggplant Cheese Pizza - I came specifically for the pizza, so I made sure to gorge out on a medium cheese pizza with sausage and eggplant. The sausage was similarly spiced to the meatballs but had an extra bite and a mildly sweet flavor.  The eggplant, was the very eggplant served in their parmesan dishes: thin, breaded and seasoned, then lightly fried. The sauce was on the sweeter side and spread evenly. The cheese was gooey, steamy, and a'plenty. The crust was thin-crust style, but not thin to the point of absurdity. It was not over-powering in any specific flavor to take away from the toppings. Together everything paired nicely to be quite satisfying on the tongue and (...ultimately the stomach). I am an avid pizza lover and the pizza, and the place, had the home-style feel to it that separates it from popular franchises. For crust and non-crust lovers, the larger sizes accommodate a unique cut for all lovers of pizza!

I have since returned to Casa Bianca to expose others to the experience such a place has to offer. I originally came, with a friend who was raised nearby and I have to say, I too, have become a fan. Parking is readily available on neighboring streets if it cannot be found immediately in front of the restaurant.  A few thoughts to consider: the pizza is cooked with fresh ingredients sometimes resulting in more oil, sometimes it can come out 'burnt' or 'crisp' and other times 'perfect', the toppings can also be a bit heavier-handed than one may expect. However, the overall quality of taste, bringing it together is worth the the little 'venture' from traditional pizza staples.