As many of you know I love 4th street. It is a great way to traverse the route between my place and Downtown. Over the last few months I have noticed a pizza place along my route that always seems to be busy, so today I slowed down and decided I needed to check this place out. I didn’t know it at the time but Milana’s New York Pizza was about to change my life.
As I walked in the door I first noticed that Milana’s is immaculately clean and tidy. The place was buzzing with good tunes, midday work conversations, and great energy from every one of the people working there. The walls are adorned with pictures, signs, and mementos from the Big Apple. So after taking it all in and looking at the menu I just asked the owner to give me whatever he liked best, and he exclaimed “I like it all”. So after a few more bits of banter back and forth he recommended one slice of the Hell’s Kitchen and one slice of the White Pizza. So I sat on down and started to read a copy of the July print edition of the Long Beach Post that was on the table. Before I was able to make it through one article a dish with two meatballs covered in sauce and a Ceasar salad were delivered to my table. The meatballs were the best I have ever had in a restaurant, period! The Ceasar was also very tasty with crunchy fresh romaine, garlicky croutons, and the perfect amount of dressing. Then as if it were meant to be, two hot slices where put in front of me.
The two pieces of pizza looked and smelled fantastic. I know that they came right out of the custom pizza oven because the first bite gave my tongue a wakeup call. So I took a big swig of cola and waited a second for the slices to cool. The Hell’s Kitchen was calling to me, with a perfectly cooked sunnyside-up egg staring at me from atop a slice of cheese pizza. At first I was not sure if there was a system to eat this, but then decided to break the yolk and spread it around. The first bite was eye opening. The mix of the egg yolk, pizza sauce, cheese, and thin crust gave me goose bumps. Just as I thought that I had hit the pinnacle of New York style pizza, I took a bite of the White Pizza. With olive oil, garlic, big globs of ricotta, mozzarella, and spinach, this was a whole different experience. The warm ricotta melted and mixed with the garlic and oil for a creamy consistency, while the spinach offered a pleasing texture. All I could say was WOW!
It took me longer to write the paragraph about the pizza then it did to actually eat it all. At this point I was stuffed, but when the cannoli hit the table there was no question about taking it down. The crust was flakey, buttery goodness stuffed with a cream that was mixed with little chocolate chips. It hit the spot. As I sat and rested, I had to call my wife and tell her all about it, and now have a feeling that I will be making another trip very soon.
Until Next Time, Keep Eating Long Beach,
Cliv
Milana’s New York Pizzeria
250 E 4th Street
Long Beach, CA 90802
562-901-1111