Gourmet Pizza Shoppe

 

Virginia and I decided to take a ride up to Redlands and visit The Gourmet Pizza Shoppe. Though I have been here before, this time I am going to write about it. The Gourmet Pizza Shoppe is a pretty unassuming place that looks like the inside belongs outside. It is kind of strange with one wall looking like the front of a building from a TV set. What it lacks for décor is surly makes up for in food. It is really hard to find decent pizza in the Inland Empire so this restaurant with unique and inventive pizza options is a breath of fresh air.

This time around I ordered the Brando which is cream cheese, pesto sauce, pepperoni, sausage, cashews, angel hair pasta, green onions & mozzarella cheese. I know you’re thinking “Cashews, angel hair pasta, and pizza, no way”! That is exactly what I was thinking in addition to being a little nervous about the lack of tomato sauce. Past history has shown that I have a hard time with non-traditional pizzas but I was up for the challenge. Below you will see the pizza in all its might. 

Check out that cheese and pasta on the edges!

The cheese was perfectly cooked to a crispy finish and the crust looked nice and crunchy. At first bite I completely understood the addition of the angel hair pasta. Though it was pre-cooked, the edges were crunchy because it baked in the pizza oven. This was such an interesting texture to go along with the other toppings. The entire combination was interesting with the cream cheese and the pesto contrasting and the crunchiness of the cheese, crust, and pasta. The meat was completely necessary because it added that wonderful savory element with the fattiness that bound the whole pizza together.

The last piece of the pie that I need to talk about is the addition of cashews. When you look at their menu you will notice that cashews pop up on a lot of their pizzas so they must know something that we all don’t. On this pizza, the cashews were a little strange but I find it odd to say that if I ordered the Brando again I would leave them on. Somehow some way, the cashews worked and they may have been the best part of the entire pizza. Salty and a little sweet cashews belong on this pizza..crazy. The only thing I would change would be to crush up the cashews a bit so they distributed more across the pizza but besides that this pizza was ingenious. I will find it hard to order something else the next time we go.

Next onto dessert and yes, they do make dessert pizzas! Virginia made the decision and chose to order the Sarah’s Surprise. This wonderful dessert pizza included vanilla cream cheese whip, graham crackers, chocolate chips, brown sugar, melted butter & jack cheese. Though there was an unfortunate lack of cashews on this pizza (I kid) it was not only the best dessert pizza I ever had it was one of the best desserts I have ever had. Never has dessert made me forget about dinner so quickly but wow this pizza was amazing! Take a look.

Sarah's Surprise in all of its graham cracker glory

Crispy and sweet with cooked graham crackers added to gooey melted chocolate AND hand held. Not only all of that but it was piping hot right out of the oven so it was reminiscent of a s’more right out of the campfire. I was just sad that we only ordered a seven inch pie because I could have eaten three of them by myself. The best part was that they added cheese to the pie. It really added something special to the dish and gave it the last kick that pushed it over the top to something you could truly call gourmet.

I would definitely recommend Gourmet Pizza to my friends and have many times. I only wish that it was closer to Riverside so I could go once a week! Go there and try the Brando and the Sarah’s Surprise or the Kiss and the Apple Annie or the Malibu Madness and the Einstein’s Glue; you really can’t go wrong.

Overall Review 9/10