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Business & Tech

Pitfire Pizza Restaurant Seduces with Stylish Selections

This addition to the renaissance on West Washington has a new fan—me.

Usually, when I think of pizza joints, they bring to mind visions of grease, glut and gastro-clogging. So when my pal suggested we try Pitfire Pizza, I admit I was a bit reluctant. She mentioned that Pitfire was formerly occupied by Shakey's and that the arrival of this groovy joint is a welcomed facelift to the area.

With restaurant madness continuing west in Culver City, this place has become an instant hit. Unlike the throngs that flock to downtown, more and more restaurants are finding a happy home as they head west.

Why? There's less competition, and there's lots of free parking.

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I liked this place from the start. It's clean, it's trendy, and the two old-school turntables in the corner warmed my boomer heart.  The food is healthy and not too expensive, and for me, that's a wonderful combination.

I've been to Pitfire twice, once for lunch and again for dinner. Both times induced pure pleasure.

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For lunch, I opted for their lively Pitfire Chicken Salad ($10.95) with grilled chicken, wild arugula, butter lettuce, torn croutons, pickled currants, shaved scallions and toasted pine nuts. I would have liked a bit more chicken in the salad, but for my first stab at this place, the portion was fairly ample. A roll or some bread on the side would have been a nice touch, as the salad is a bit on the Spartan side. I'm a swimmer, and I need some heavy artillery to fuel my laps.

My dining companion selected the Roasted Vegetable Panini ($8.95), and from the looks of it, the sandwich and side salad looked like the clear winner at our table. Piled high with eggplant, zucchini, peppers, red onion, fresh mozzarella, pesto and olive mayo, it was large enough to warrant a doggie bag. To drink, I had their cucumber mint lemonade. It was quite the treat, cooling my palate on this blistering summer day.

Pizza was also a must for our dinner trek, and my friend and I opted for the Field Mushrooms Pizza, with Fontina, crème fraiche, roasted shitakes and flat leaf parsley ($9.95). As expected, pizza is the way to go at this place. Distinctive, healthy, and virtually absent of grease, this was the winner.

We split Pitfire's Hand Chopped Salad ($8.75) with crunchy lettuces, garbanzo, cannellini, red onion, cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, roasted corn and pepperoncini, but the salad had too much bite for both of us.  My tumbler of Malbec helped, but couldn't quite tame the bitter flame on this one.

Their pastas are fine contenders here as well—I had the Sausage & Greens Pasta, rewarding me with sweet fennel sausage, bowtie noodles, kale, Parmesan and a touch of cream ($9.95). We took half of the pizza and pasta home, but said adios to the salad.

This place is great for casual dining, a good find for families, and has a welcoming patio scene.

As our fledgling governor says, "I'll be back."

 

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