NICK'S PIZZA

PICTURED (top to bottom): Restaurant, Garlic Bread, Split Pea with Ham Soup, Sausage and Pepperoni Pizza, Pizza Slice, Eggplant Parmigiana, Meat Ball Side, Italian Sausage Side, Dessert Card, "Spumoni Wedge" (?). (Photo credits: Sweetie Pie)

Nick's Pizza

2300 Harbor Blvd.

Costa Mesa, CA 92626

(949) 722-7566

www.nickspizzapasta.com

We were all in a mood for pizza and decided to head over to Nick's Pizza in Costa Mesa. Nick's is one of our all-time favorite places for pizza. Orange Coast magazine recently named Nick's one of the 20 best pizzas in The OC; so we decided on an early dinner to beat the crowds. The place was a lot busier than usual, but we were able to be seated right away at a very nice table. Understandably, they seemed to be a bit understaffed and we had to wait longer than usual to have our order taken. We were brought a basket of hot fresh Garlic Bread while we waited.

Sweetie Pie's mother ordered the Eggplant Parmigiana Entree, which comes with soup or salad. She opted for the Soup of the Day- Split Pea with Ham. It was thick, rich and flavorful. The Eggplant Parmigiana is layers of breaded and fried eggplant baked in marinara sauce with basil, parmigiana and mozzarella. Sounds good and tastes great, because Nick's knows how to cook it.

Sweetie Pie and I decided to share a large pizza with double cheese, sausage and pepperoni. The pizza was fantastic, as usual; and served piping hot, fresh from the oven. Sweetie Pie also ordered a Meat Ball Side and I had a Side of Italian Sausage. Both were wonderful and almost a meal in themselves. Needless to say, we had enough leftovers to take home for lunch the next day.

However, we decided to order the Spumoni Wedge from the dessert card on the table. When asked about the "Spumoni Surprise" that she bought to the table, our server replied "That's how it comes". When we asked where the pistachio ice cream was, she replied "it's in there". She seemed a bit harried and we felt like scolded children. The dessert was good, just not what we were expecting.

Today's Nick's Pizza dinner gets three thumbs up from the 3 Tubby Tummys!