Pizza as Close to New York as it Gets

Updated August 19, 2010

Ahh, that smell! Wood smoke, garlic, melted cheese. Your mouth starts watering and your thoughts take you back to that small New York pizzeria you simply must visit when you go back to “the city.” Walk into Pasadena’s Bella’s Gourmet Pizza and for a moment, you’ll think you’re suddenly back in the Big Apple.

Funny, that’s just the feel they’re going for! Bella’s serves traditional New York style thin crust pizza, but for those that get a hankering for a true Chicago deep dish, they’ve got that, too – along with an impressive salad selection, garlic bread, appetizers and fresh pasta dishes.

To start, we noshed on some awesome meatballs that Bella’s serves in an appetizer portion covered with thick sauce and mucho cheese. Meaty and moist with notes of garlic and spice, these are cooked in the pizza oven, lending them an almost grilled taste. The topping sauce is Bella’s signature pizza sauce: spicy-sweet with big tomato flavors. Add plenty of gooey melted cheese and a side of Michael’s herb garlic rolls (so you can be sure to sop all that luscious sauce) and you’re off to a very tasty start.

A hand-made foil bowl contained our next dish, Fettuccini Alfredo with chicken and broccoli. Traditional Alfredo generally has so much butter and cream it makes you feel a heart attack coming on. Bella’s version is very flavorful, really cheesy and not bashful about it. The pasta was also cooked in the pizza oven so the pieces next to the foil had browned, giving an overall crunchiness and smokiness to the dish. The kitchen didn’t skimp on the broccoli and chicken, either; this too came with herb garlic rolls.

The Big Kahuna was a deep dish pizza to make Gidget proud. Traditional square Chicago-style topped with barbecue sauce, ham, chicken, provolone cheese, onion, bacon, pineapple and cilantro, just one slice practically made for a meal. Kind of a “barbecue pizza hybrid,” I was told by Bellamy that this is one of their most requested pizzas.

The location of Bella’s may seem familiar, after all is used to be Manny’s, an Old Pasadena haunt for 16 years. Indeed, Bellamy told us that quite a few people have walked in and asked “what happened to Manny’s?” Well, Manny’s is gone, and as far as I’m concerned Bella’s is a better restaurant. For those of you who appreciated Manny’s for their delivery, Bella’s also delivers within a 3 mile radius.

Note: A great piece of news is that Bella’s has added beer and wine service for that finishing touch that adds soooo much to great pizza!

Bella’s Gourmet Pizza is located at 16 Fair Oaks, Pasadena. They are open Sunday – Wednesday, 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m. and Thursday – Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 a.m.