Sometimes, I wonder, how many more ways can I describe pizza? Or a burger? Or pasta? What can I possibly say about cheese and meat that I haven’t said before? But every time I think about these things, a little phrase enters my mind, and I try to remember that every endeavor, every restaurant, every handmade pizza, is the result of someone’s hard-earned passion, of a significant investment, often at a significant personal risk.
“Maybe you don’t like your job, maybe you didn’t get enough sleep. Well, nobody likes their job, nobody got enough sleep. Maybe you just had the worst day of your life, but, you know, there’s no escape, and there’s no excuse, so just suck up and be nice.” –Ani Difranco
That is not to say that I am needlessly nice (as the Weekly commenters often point out). However, I try to use this little brain tic that happens as a reminder to take a fresh, unbiased look at things. I think in this day and age, we all find ourselves behind computer screens, willing to berate or laud with heedlessness, saying things that would never be said were we face-to-face, sharing a friendly (or unfriendly) beer (*ahem*, Weekly commenters).
So began my visit to Los Olivos. The tiny—and I mean seriously tiny—artisan pizza and pasta shop is just west of Interstate 10 on Congress, a bit past the expensive Mercado San Agustin plaza that the city decided would be the gentrification firework for the neighborhood. It doesn’t exactly have a lot of exterior panache. There is very little parking, and the small restaurant has maybe six seats inside, and four more if you’re brave enough to weather the smoldering, sweltering heat outdoors. Luckily, the food doesn’t take long, and it’s worth the wait, whether staying or going.
Los Olivos isn’t much to look at, inside or out, and while the service (it was a one-man operation from front-of-house to back, both times I visited) is not exactly five-star, it’s efficient and friendly enough. Order, pay, get food, transaction complete. The menu mainly features various pies, which come in both 14″ and 18″; and a selection of pastas. There are generally also a few salads and a soup of the day, but the menu changes on a regular basis.
The pizza? It’s hot. And crispy. And just the right amount of cheesy. And you know what? As many adjectives as there are out there … it’s just, damn good. Especially for the price. The crust is bubbly and simultaneously crispy and doughy. The sauce isn’t too sweet. The cheese isn’t too cheesy. The toppings are fresh and heavy-handed, although not detrimentally so. The charcuterie pizza ($10.95 for a 14″, $12.95 for an 18″), with ACTUAL ham (not sliced, pre-packaged crap), capicola, pepperoni and salami? It was awesome, meaty, salty and tasty. The capicola pizza ($8.95 for a 14″, $11.25 for an 18″), with capicola, pineapple, and crushed red peppers, would have matched or possibly surpassed the tastiness of the charcuterie pizza were it not for the absolute explosion of crushed red peppers on the middle of the pizza. Ouch.
Los Olivos also excels in the pasta department, especially (seriously, especially) for the price. The lasagna ($6.25) is a hefty slice of meaty lasagna, al dente noodles, not too much cheese, with the appropriate amount of sauce, for a very reasonable price. The chicken Parmesan ($6.95) over fettuccini, is also excellent. Crispy breaded chicken, lots of cheese and red sauce. Excellent.
I’m not typically a salad fanatic, but both the antipasto, with capicola, ham, pepperoni, salami, and olives ($4.95—are you kidding me?); and the chicken Caesar salad ($6.50), were generously portioned, made with fresh ingredients, and just, simply, delicious. So, while I seem to yet again have found new words to describe meat, cheese and dough—just go try it for yourself. You won’t be disappointed.
This article appears in Jul 24-30, 2014.
Thanks, that’s a close bike ride from work, I’ve been wondering about it.
Thanks for your review of a westside eatery. The taco shop next door to the pizza place is the best in town especially the birria de cabrito on Sundays. However, your snide comment that “the expensive Mercado San Agustin plaza that the city decided would be the gentrification firework for the neighborhood” is not only incorrect, it’s offensive. There are minority and women owned small businesses offering value for money at the Mercado such as La Estrella Bakery, Sonoran Sno Cones and Dolce Pastello. Not to mention the Food Bank’s Farmers’ Market on Thursday which takes WIC and EBT (food stamps), etc. The Menlo Park neighborhood fought to have local businesses located in our new commercial spaces and we are proud to have the Mercado San Augustine as our neighbor. It has become the location of and sponsor for local events such as the Dia de San Juan and the All Souls Procession. Watch yourself on the Westside chica we don’t take kindly to uninformed slanderous stupidity.
Tasty, good quality pizza & pasta AND inexpensive?? I’ll be there ASAP!
@mmh The Westside condones men threatening women on the internet? Hardly. You might want to watch yourself on the W, seeing as you pretend to speak on the whole hood’s behalf.
It’s too bad the Mercado couldn’t keep Taqueria El Pueblito, it was the only reason I stopped by, good, inexpensive food. Why they kicked them out will forever be a mystery to me. I enjoyed stopping by for an early breakfast burrito and saw other workers doing the same. Now i’ll never know, i am at work when the new place is just thinking about opening for breakfast. Oh well. Los Olivas is good!
@ BURNIE MAK I stand corrected. Upon review of my comment, I withdraw the “watch yourself” and apologize to Jacqueline Kuder for a statement that was better off not being said.
I do stand by the rest of my comment and I will continue to take exception to the damage done to small local businesses by reporters, like Jacqueline Kuder, who make blanket statements without looking into the actual situation.
Go take a look for yourself Jaqui, meet some of the business owners and employees at La Estrella Bakery, Sonoran Sno Cones and Dolce Pastello. Or ask the Food Bank about their Thursday Farmers’ Market and the diversity of demographic it serves and then if you feel you can make that blanket statement again perhaps I’ll stand corrected twice.
@mmh – fair enough
Mac: Jacqueline certainly has the right to her opinion, even if you disagree, but if you don’t think there’s some gentrification moves happening with the Mercado, I’m not sure what to tell you.
Moves and firewalls? Dan, you and JK are speaking some kind of journalistic lingo that is hard to decipher. Here is what I am saying: The Mercado is as diverse a destination demographically as any retail center I know of in Tucson. Our neighborhood worked to achieve a vision of small local businesses that provide neighborhood oriented retail including a genuine farmers’ market. The Mercado is not just some “expensive firewall” it is a neighborhood focal point for celebrations as personal as birthdays and ethnic as the Dia de San Juan. It is as close to what hundreds of neighbors spent years discussing and petitioning for as I can imagine possible. It has high end and it has economical just like our neighborhood. Nattering naybobs like you have been threatening the G word ever since Rio Nuevo was passed by the voters in 1999. But we just want an empanda to go with our cup of coffee in the morning and a raspado to cool off on a hot summer night. And we are grateful that minority and women owned and local businesses are providing this to us at the Mercado. We want to walk and ride our bikes to support local farmers at the Food Bank’s market at the Mercado. We want to celebrate our diversity and culture as the birthplace of Tucson at festivals at the Mercado. If you can’t understand that I don’t know what to tell you.
MMH: I have no issue with the Mercado. I like it. I shop and eat there relatively frequently (want to threaten me about what’s going to happen when I’m on the Westside?) but you might be one of the few politically-active Westside residents crying about the creep of gentrification. The area is likely to change, especially with the streetcar, it’s just a matter of how it’s managed.
Also, slow your roll a little bit. Name-calling does your opinion basically zero favors.
This guy bangs westside harder than Tupac did.