Orange County's Most Creative Pizza Places
Pizza is something that is easily enjoyed by lots of people. Most of us usually start liking pizza when we're just little kids. The thing is, a lot of us can get into ruts with what toppings we get on our pizza. If you're looking for something other than the standard pizza with tomato sauce and your usual selection of toppings, here are some of the best places in the county to visit
Prego Ristorante
18420 Von Karman Ave.
Irvine, CA 92612
(949) 553-1333
www.pregoristoranti.com
Prego has a couple different pizza options that are truly enjoyable, especially for a date night. The quattro formaggi pizza is perfect if you like foods that tend toward salty. The gorgonzola is the prominent cheese flavor and it is an excellent complement to the prosciutto that tops the pizza. Another excellent and unusual option is the pizza gamberi topped with fresh tomatoes, arugula and shrimp. It is truly like no pizza you've ever had.
Related: Best Pasta Places In Orange County
Brick Pizzeria
216 N. El Camino Real
San Clemente, CA 92672
(949) 429-1199
www.brickpizzeria.com
If you want to go beyond the usual toppings on your pizza, Brick is the place to visit. This place has one pizza that is topped with salsa verde, pork and tapenade. It has another one that is a foodie's dream topped with duck confit, pear, pancetta and egg, among other things. It's not exactly like the pizza place you used to visit when you were a kid. As if that weren't enough, Brick also has a pizza with fennel, and another with prosciutto and fig jam.
Pizza Port
301 N. El Camino Real
San Clemente, CA 92672
(949) 940-0005
www.pizzaport.com
At first glance, it may not look like Pizza Port offers a lot of unique options, but from the crust to the toppings, you can make something different than the standard pizza. If you want something other than the traditional crust, you can order the wholegrain beer crust. To take it even further, you can choose barbecue sauce or pesto sauce over the traditional marinara. Since San Clemente is a coastal town, it only makes sense that clams and shrimp are two of the toppings you can choose for your pizza. While you're there, sample the remarkable beer selection. After all, nothing goes better with pizza than beer.
Zito's New York Style Pizza
2036 N. Tustin St.
Orange, CA 92865
(714) 974-6191
www.zitospizza.com
A barbecued chicken pizza is not an uncommon thing. You can get something like that even at the big chain places here in southern California. However, not many places offer a Thai chicken pizza. That is one of the many creative pizzas you can get at Zito's. Another one that you won't find just anywhere is the pizza topped with alfredo sauce and sausage. That sounds like the sort of pizza you tell your friends about.
Related: The Best Orange County Restaurants That Opened In 2012
Vegan Pizza
12022 Chapman Ave.
Garden Grove, CA 92840
(714) 750-8686
www.veganpizzaoc.com
If you have a vegan in your group, you probably have to put some effort into finding a suitable place. That is particularly true if you're in the mood for pizza and you have a vegan in your group. That being said, this is a place where you can satisfy your craving for pizza and meet the requirements of the vegan you're eating with. Vegan Pizza offers some standard options, but also some unusual options like an Indian pizza with vegetables and curry as well as a "meat" lovers pizza with vegan ham, pepperoni and sausage.
