Whether it's the Ghostface Killah (or Doug E. Fresh) at Empire, or the Jabee at Eastside Pizza House, it seems like the best way to honor a rapper nowadays is to name a pizza after them.
Heavy D’s Pizzeria, 8001 S. Western Ave., takes that to a new extreme by naming the entire restaraunt after one!
Well, at least that's what I thought.
Located in the southwestern part of town, the spot catches my eye every time I roll by it while on the way to the doctor, each time putting Heavy D's greatest hit – "Now That We Found Love" – squarely inside my head.
Recently, though, I found myself replacing the lyrics with my own saucy version:
“Now that we found pizza what are we gonna do…with it?”
Interpreting this as a sign, I finally stopped by the place last week.
Located in an old shopping center, Heavy D stands upfront in the corner, with both new eaters and old friends routinely stopping by for some fresh pizza pie. Small and compact and built for delivery and carryout, only two or three tables are found inside.
After taking in my surroundings, I quickly – and somewhat dissapointedly –learned the place goes with more of a race car and automotive motif than a 90s rap theme.
Instead of posters of long-lost rappers like MC Hammer and Sir Mix-A-Lot adorning its walls, Heavy D's feature a wide variety of hubcaps, checkered flags and NASCAS posters that can be found in the bedroom of any Street Outlaws fan.
I guess that's why my breadsticks were called the “Dip Stick.”
Featuring a sleeve of crazy bread-style breadsticks with some marinara dipping sauce – they should call the sauce "transmission fluid" – they were fine for breadsticks, with doughy bread and hot butter reaching every corner of my drooling mouth. But, to be fair, I should have ordered the cheese bread for an additional dollar, or the pepperoni bread for $7.99, to add some extra taste.
Going down the appetizers row of the menu, something stuck out its lips to me and gave me sweet nothings: Sweet Corn Nuggets ($7.99).
Similar to what I discovered at King's Custom Smoked Meats, this blissful treat of corn nuggets – mixed with mayo, parmesan cheese and chili powder – was served elote-style, and was truly a bomb selection.
After checking my mirrors and the rearview, I ordered what I came for – the pizza pie!
Forgoing selections such as the Hot Lap, Alfa Romeo, and Nuts and Bolts, I settled on the reliable and fuel-efficient Gas Saver ($17.00 for a large). Beep-beep!
With baby portabella mushrooms, mixed green peppers, red onions, black olives, tomatoes, and banana peppers, it was a stop-and-go ride, checking all the right points for me! At my 10 and 2, it was some pole-positioned pizza!
Dabbing my crust for the excessive grease—there was none—the taste was very organic, with the portobello mushrooms and banana peppers giving it true road appeal. This baby is on board!
So…is Heavy D’s Pizzeria more of a smoothed-out rap-based eat or high-octane premium-gas treat? We will probably never know, but, at least in the end, all that really matters is some beat-boxing, hard-charging pizza for all. Cómpralo ya!
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