La Pizza Rina on King St is the local version of Italian food. I don�t think its American Italian, though no one would ever call it authentic Italian food. The restaurant is run by a Vietnamese family, and my dad swore he could taste nuoc nam in the tomato sauce. Maybe he was joking. Maybe he was not. I do not know and never bothered to ask. But I like this place. Why? Because it�s comfortable, it�s cheap, it�s casual, it�s just so darn local. And it always seems to be busy, which we will take to be a positive sign.
I�ve been here a few times, on nights when no one was up for cooking dinner, no time for fine cooking, too tired to clean up takeout mess, and just wanted a place to relax with hearty food.
Hence this enormous mushroom cheese pizza. Granted, it�s the large size, but still, it was like size large, inflated! It�s got a thick, bread like crust, with an equally hefty layer of toppings, the requisite tomato sauce, and then a fair round of sliced mushrooms with a most excessive hand of cheese.
Too much cheese. And not so awesome quality, actually the cheese doesn�t even taste like anything and it becomes gummy a little too fast, but it will do for this evening.
All the pasta dishes come with a side of garlic bread. I believe the bread comes Daily Bread, a bakery further up King St. A few slices, a dabble of butter, garlic and some herbs, and you�ve got the perfect tool to soak up all that sauce that comes in the lasagna.
And that�s a lot of sauce that comes in the lasagna. It�s seriously swimming in sauce, which is good for me cause I like saucy things, but it might be downright blasphemy for others. You�ll need to get an extra order of garlic bread if you plan on using up all the sauce. The lasagna is nothing out of the ordinary, a warming dish with too much cheese like the pizza, more sweet than savory which sometimes bothers me. But I like the non-intrusive service that manages to keep your water glass constantly full.
Wait! You say, why are you showing me yet another shot of the lasagna? And I will say, hahaha, no, this is not lasagna, even though I asked the same question when this order of cheese ravioli was sent in front of my sister. I believe there are six or so good-sized raviolis hiding beneath the blanket of cheese and bucket of sauce. Again, don�t feel obligated to finish all that sauce, cause chee, it�s a lot.
Sometimes I get the 8-inch pizza, which comes with your choice of three toppings. On one occasion I had the mushrooms, spinach and anchovies. Anchovies are insanely good, and it took a great deal of strength to withhold from requesting an extra dish of anchovies on the side.
A different time I had it with sausages, garlic and mushrooms. I regret not ordering the anchovies. Next time I�m just going to get anchovies three times. You�d be silly not to love anchovies!
But on the next visit I thought I should try something different before placing a triple anchovy order, so I had the pepperoni, spinach and mushroom combo. I missed the anchovies. Lesson learned. Next time: ANCHOVIES X 3.
Sometimes I like to pretend that I'm healthy, hence this order of salad. I like salads, but it's just that I never feel very 'complete' after 'just' a salad. I'm not a bunny. And I think I'm addicted to starch - no meal is complete without starch! Despite the many prosciutto and mozzarella rolls, salami and olives, I felt the need for a hunk of crusty bread to tie this all in. Which is why I ate the garlic bread from my sister's ravioli.
My dad has extreme affection for meatball sandwiches, and I guess he must have been rather hungry that one night, cause he wolfed the entire sandwich in 2-minute silence. I think I�ll have to try that the next time I return :)
La Pizza Rina
1425 South King Street
Honolulu, Hawaii 96814
(808) 941-6634
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