Way under $10: LaRocco Pizza, Culver City

Awhile back, a lil bloggin’ birdie dropped some poop which led to this craptastic pie at Coop. Still love you Ronnie, tho BARELY.

This is one of the better slices in the Westside, beyond Joe’s in Santa Monica. The gentleman, Mr. La Rocco, can be seen grubbin on his own product, doing the crossword puzzle(?) on a random early evening. He likes fresh roma tomatoes with garlic knots. That’s respectable.

Not sure where the actual pie slingers are from, but this is what makes this joint great: the puttanesca slice. Sugo alla puttanesca has been falsely portrayed as sauce in the style of a whore in Italian. While the blogger/writer Steve Parzen clearly dispeled any notion the puttanesca sauces are whorish, it is no doubt tasty. Traditionally, puttanesca has involved olive, salted anchovies, tomatoes and chili flakes, LaRocco’s version utilizes artichokes, basil and pecorino romano to give the sense of a kitchen sink spilling over onto the pizza. Recipes evocative of kitchen sink are often some of the finest assemblages of ethnic cuisine: think bi bimp bap.

What makes LaRocco a viable “Broke Ass Dining” entry is the daily special of 2 slices & a soft drink for $6. In the traditions of a NY pizzeria, nearly all the special pies at LaRocco are available by the slice, from the puttanesca to the Brooklyn to the Spinach & Pomodoro. There is no where in LA where you’ll find a slice of white pie (Delicious ricotta cheese, mozzarella, Parmesan & fresh garlic.) of this caliber for only $3 (assuming fountain drink is $1). The crust is half decent, you can get the slices reheated to extra crispy in their Baker’s Pride(?) deck office, or you can get it regular (still pipin’, mouth roof burning hot) which yields just a bit of foldability.

A final note: LaRocco’s is NOT Rocco’s Pizza. Mr. Paul LaRocco is from Manhattan’s Lil Italy; the Rocco family is from Staten Island, aka, Manhattan’s garbage dump.

LaRocco’s Pizzeria
3819 Main St.
Culver City, CA 90232
(310) 837-8345

via SinoSoul.com