Pedroza's Place

Fridays is the our traditional pizza day for our family. Many of you are undoubtedly confused by the title. For those of you not in the know Taco Bell is a “sort of” Mexican food place. Taco Bell is definately not known for their authenticity, but I think they really ”jumped the shark” on this one (see wikipedia for further details on the phrase).  Now as a Mexican American I can definitively tell you that pizza is NOT a Mexican. As an American however I can tell you that the mere conventionality of tradition has never stopped us from inventing yet another crazy way to make ourselves fatter. So behold, Taco Bell’s Mexican Pizza:

 
A strange concoction it is made of two flour tortillas that have been fried to the point at which they are stiff. Inside the two tortillas are re-fried beans and ground beef. On top is red sauce and a blend of American and cheddar cheese. Surprisingly, the taste is not that bad. It is kind of like a deranged quesadilla. I think if I had to give this creation a new name I would call it the Pocho Pizza. Not only is that name catchier, it would much better describes what is going on here. Anyhow, if you want to try it yourself it is available across the nation for the low, low price of only $2.99.

My past experiences with Dominos have not been good. My general opinion of Dominos has been it has been slightly above Chuckie Cheese’s which is one step above cardboard with pizza sauce. Not very good. As you might of heard Dominos has been heavily advertising that they have recognized this opinion (it’s about time) and are introducing a new crust. I was skeptical about this claim, but being the capitalist I am in you give me a good deal and toss in a coupon for a free side of cinnamon bread and you get a second chance. Going to the dominos website I was able to find a coupon for a large American Legend pizza for $12.99, searching on the internet I was also able to find the coupon code for a free side of cinnamon bread (the code I used was 9054, should work for anyone buying a large pizza online). The online ordering process was something new for me. They have this feature where you can build your pizza online. In our case we ordered a Cali Chicken Bacon Ranch took off the tomatoes and added onions. When you are done ordering online they have this little tracker app in which you can see your pizza being made online. It’s pretty cool because you can tell exactly at what stage your pizza is being prepared and plan accordingly. For us it meant we knew exactly what time to be at our local Dominos so that are pizza was still hot, but yet we didn’t have to wait for it. The pizza itself was definitely better. I am still more of a fan of Round Table as far as large chain type pizza goes, but Dominos is a lot cheaper than Round Table. I would have to say that Dominos is about par with Pizza Hut now. The crust is a lot more spongier and you can tell that they are no longer cheaping out on the cheese and sauce, which is really important in my opinion. Overall I am bumping up my pizza rating for Dominos from a 1.5 to 3.5 out 5. Not the best ever, but definitely worth checking out.
So, do you have a favorite pizza chain? If so, which one and why?

BTW, I was not paid nor endorsed by any of the companies I have mentioned in any way. My opinions are solely my own and do not reflect in any way the opinions of the companies I have mentioned.

Every few months or so we make a trip up to Bakersfield, California to visit Denise’s parents. We always have a good time with Denise’s parents, but the highlight for me is to visit one of Bakersfield’s many ice cream shops. A dying breed, the ice cream shop is still alive and well in Bakersfield. The oldest and arguably the best of these shops is Dewars.
Dewars started in 1909 when James Dewar moved his candy making business from Ventura to Bakersfield. James Dewar’s claim to fame is the peanut butter chew. Unlike normal taffy, these chews have actual peanut butter inside of them (no artificial stuff at this place). The chews cost about .25 cents apiece (less if you buy in bulk). In addition to peanut butter there is peppermint, caramel, almond, and chocolate almond (peanut butter is still my favorite). If you want to try to make them at home you can, the recipe is no secret. They even offer tours of how they do it:

Although I have to say I doubt yours will taste the same…
In addition to the famous chews there is the ice cream. The star of the show is the Dewars Black and White:

The Black and White will set you back about $5.75, expensive but it is really big and really good. In addition to the black and white they sell all the popular flavors, plus something called ice milk. Ice milk is basically ice cream, but without the cream (think low-fat milk). I wouldn’t call it healthy, but it is not as fattening as regular ice cream. Here is a small video of our experience with Dewar’s ice cream. As you can see in the video I went with the legendary Black and White:

Anyhow, if you happen to be in Bakersfield I would highly recommend you go to this California original. They have two locations in Bakersfield but you have to go to the original one across from the high school at 1120 Eye St. Yes, there is only one table and you will probably have to pry yourself out of your barstool when you are done; but you will leave with a smile.

This Friday we went to BoBo’s Pizza on 40th in San Bernardino, California. I found out about this place on the back of a receipt from Stater Brothers. They were offering a medium cheese pizza for $3.49. Extra toppings were one dollar, we got mushrooms. The pizza place wasn’t that great. It lacked decor and you can only take out your pizza (no delivery service). The pizza however was really good, I really liked the sauce and the crust was just the right thickness. With tax it came out to $4.89. A really good deal for the price.

Bobo's pizza box

We got cheese and mushrooms.

“This is some video of a recent trip we went to in Upland. We went and looked for a restaurant called Tango Baires. We had sausage sandwiches, empanadas, and alfajores: