House of Pizza
Garlic Knots with Marinara
New York Slice with Pepperoni
Sicilian Slice
Grandma Slice
Tiramisu
Cannoli
Recently brought up in conversation as one of the “Top 10” pizzas in the city, House of Pizza – New York Style on West Lake Meade Boulevard clearly warranted a look considering its proximity to home and the assertion of transplants that a “good slice” was nowhere locally to be found, the results far from justifying any such accolades while the scene itself was undeniably one of the most bizarre in town.
Located in the same small shopping plaza as the amusingly named New York Chinese Restaurant, House of Pizza is immediately identifiable due to the blaring voice of Frank Sinatra emitted from an outdoor speaker and not-so-subtle window painted signage, entry just past 11:15am seeing music give way to equally loud CNN political discourse as wall-to-wall Yankees memorabilia quickly flooded the visual field.
Just opened at 11am, a few pies already cooling on racks as a small menu hangs overhead, it was with greetings from the lone clerk that the ordering process was sorted, the owner and a friend sitting idly at a table, talking over the television before pulling out a wad of money and counting it in the dining room as though there was no one but the two of them to be bothered.
Offering several “deals” for slices plus beverages, none of which applied to a $1.59 bottle of water that was offered as the only option in the face of a request for a cup from the tap, further financial insult was added when the clerk neglected to add a 10% Social Media discount before running the credit card despite fully acknowledging it twenty seconds earlier, an offer to cancel and reprocess refused as $2.54 hardly seemed worth the hassle and potential double charge.
Taking a seat amidst the ongoing Mob-like scene of bills being filed into white envelopes it was at most five minutes before the two plastic clamshells were delivered tableside, a $4 filled-to-order Cannoli joining Tiramisu from the refrigerator with each pleasant, though nothing worth writing home about, the rest of the order emerging from the kitchen after just a few more moments.
At this point frankly amused by the fact that one person was acting as cashier, clerk, prep-cook and server the scene grew even more perplexing when the young lady was charged with the task of driving down to Starbucks to buy the owner “a Caramel Macchiato – the biggest one they got,” the four-part order quickly discovered to be vastly underheated as relates to the Grandma Square and Sicilian while the Knots and Pepperoni Slice were both hot.
Now left with just the owner and his counting, a question of “you good?” offered before he returned to the back, first bites of the slice showed a complete lack of char but generally good crust structure and Tomato Sauce, the Garlic Knots featuring a pleasant bit of “chew” compared to most while the aforementioned lack of heat significantly compromised both of the thicker wedges, though even if well-cooked they’d have fallen far short of the quality at Metro Pizza, Cugino’s, Pizza Rock and many more.
ONE AND A HALF STARS: Perhaps not their best showing, though not really excusable as I was not only the first customer of the day but also the only one present throughout my stay, House of Pizza falls far short in almost every way possible, particularly in a city with so much great Pizza to be found at a variety of price ranges.
RECOMMENDED: Garlic Knots.
AVOID: Grandma Slice.
TIP: Look for coupons in various mailers and publications, or try your luck with the 10%-off Yelp! coupon if you like.
WHAT THE STARS MEAN: 5 World Class, 4 Excellent, 3 Good, 2 Fair, 1 Poor.
http://www.newyorkpizzalv.com/restaurants/nv/las-vegas/89134/new-york-house-of-pizza/menu
