NYPD Pizza

In the last couple of years, Burbank has stepped up and tried to make the downtown area more hip. They put in a bunch of condos, they revamped the mall and movie theaters and they added a bunch of new restaurants all in a close knit downtown stretch of walking. One such restaurant is NYPD Pizza. I didn't realize this place was a chain, so I apologize in advance. NYPD Pizza is located just at the edge of the hip part of town.

We went tonight, and it was the most crowded I've ever seen it--but then again, it is Friday night. Even though it was crowded, we got the last table for four. Another large group came in while we were eating and only had to wait about 5-10 minutes. After we were seated the waiters came by right away asking us for drink orders. The servers were very attentive throughout the night--even though there were only two and the place was packed.

We figured we couldn't easily decide on a pizza that everyone likes, so we just ordered individual meals. We started off with a double order of the garlic knots. I didn't realize they were going to be the size of dinner rolls, had I known, four would have been plenty. The garlic knots tasted a lot more like Parmesan knots than garlic knots to me. I added a little crushed red pepper to mine but it still had that dry taste of grated Parmesan. The knots were piping hot and stayed hot so that was an added bonus.

I ordered the meatball parmigiana sandwich. I was surprised at how small it seemed when it came. In the end, I could only eat half, but compared to other Italian restaurant meatball sandwiches it was tiny. It was filled with about four meatballs and topped with cheese and marinara sauce. The sandwich had all the right textures but was lacking in flavor. I needed a little Italian seasoning to go with it. I ended up stealing some pepperocinis from another diners salad and using those to add to the sandwich--it made a BIG difference, but not enough to satisfy the flavor.

Another diner ordered the antipasto salad. The salad came with cold-cut and cheese spirals, tomatoes, onions and olives. I finished the salad off when she finished and found it to be a little short on dressing but otherwise very delicious and refreshing. Another diner ordered the cheese calzone. He said it was chock-full of cheese and rather bland and boring otherwise. The pizza sauce came on the side but seemed a little too thin for dipping and a tad bit too acidic. The final person at our table had the SWAT Team Stromboli. It looked good on the plate and had a couple of different meats inside.

Probably if I were to go to NYPD Pizza again (which I don't doubt that I will since it is so close by), I would order either that salad or the pizza and stray away from any of the ancillary items. I have had the pizza before and it is your typical greasy NY style pizza. The pizza definitely has more flavor than the sandwich I had.

***Update*** Since this review, we have been to NYPD several times. It has become one of our new favorite pizza places. Joey and I love the Manhattan Meat Lovers pizza. The best deal here is the pizza, the other items just don't compare. The service is also pretty good and the atmosphere is really relaxed. And, if you're into it, they have a ton of beers on tap.





NYPD Pizza
150 South San Fernando Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91502
Map