Review - Surfrider Pizza Cafe

when people ask me about pizza, i tell them Newport Pizza is the bizzness. but that doesnt mean i wont try other places, especially if they are in Ocean Beach. so i never went to this place when it used to be Casanovas, mainly because anytime i went by there, it was closed. so it closed down and reopened as Surfrider Pizza Cafe. offereing pizza by the slice, whole pies, sandwiches, baked goods, and of course, smiles. a few of my comrades have praised this place so it was only a certain amount of time that i could put off going in. so memorial day i rolled over there with Adam The Giant and i wanted to take advantage of their lunch special, which is two slices of any pie and a 16oz fountain drink for 6 bucks. its a pretty damn good deal honestly, so i figured i couldnt be let down. walking in you are greeted with a fatties wet dream

all baked in house, or so im told. so upon perusal of all the pies in the case i decided upon a slice of the Signature "Surfrider Pizza"(right), and a slice of the Roasted Chicken Barbeque(left).

the surfrider consists of roasted garlic, white sauce, gorgonzola, tomatoes and basil. then the BBQ Chicken consists of roasted chicken, gorgonzola, bbq sauce, red onion, and cilantro. so heres the thing, i like my thin crust pizza to be crispy. thats how thin crust should be, if you dont want it crispy, dont get THIN crust. this thin crust wasnt very crispy. it was decent, but it was fairly chewy. so i feel like they tend to overwork their dough. the other thing that bothered me was the sparsity of the toppings. the bbq chicken had maybe 6 or 7 small pieces of chicken on it? and all the toppings were small. so if youre gonna not put alot of topping on something, at least make them bigger toppings. which they werent. over all it wasnt bad pizza, but im very critical when it comes to such things, due to the fact that pizza is very near to my heart and as a pizza cook for almost 3 years back home in the bay, id like to feel like i know a thing or two. now something about Adam The Giant is that he is going one year without eating pizza. so as he goes into Surfrider alot, he has established a relationship with its employees and because of that, they always make him a custom "wrap" everytime. he always requests that whoever makes it, make whatever they want to eat. on this occasion, they made him this.

gorgonzola, chicken, basil pesto, and avocado i believe. now it sounds decent, but damn. picking it up and having pesto oil basically tattoo your entire forearm was definatly a downside. it was just ok. after all that i decided to try the baked goods.

i got a Carrot Cake Cookie, and a Rasberry Cupcake. MEH. yea. i said it. meh. just, meh. they were ok. not the best cookie cupcake combo ive ever had. the cupcake was fairly dry and didnt seem to rise much. it was pretty dense. and the cookie was just ok. so, whatever. overall, it wasnt bad, but im highly critical, so take it how you will. i still prefer Newport Pizza until someone conquers them. but honestly for 6 bucks for two big slices and a soda with free refills, its a good deal, if youre in the area and dont feel like walking to newport.

Surfrider Pizza Cafe
2163 Abbott Street
San Diego, CA, 92107

www.surfriderpizzacafe.com