Reviews #52 & 53
I’m not going to lie. I didn’t really know exactly what an “abbey” was. (Or a “cloister”. Or a “gall bladder”.) But I looked it up, and now know that an abbey is a building occupied by monks or nuns. I knew it was something like that. Although I might have used words like “cathedral” or “tabernacle” mistakenly in there.
More on the Abbey in a minute…before spending any time at The Confessional you have to get through the line at the pizza joint next door. Had we known that every child living from Del Mar to Carlsbad between the ages of 1-12 would be at East Coast Pizza this Friday night, we would have opted for another night to go. East Coast Pizza is located in the northeast corner of a Melrose Place style quad for small businesses, with a grassy area in the middle. The line out the door was tremendous. I’m pretty sure a school bus or two just unloaded on this poor little pizza joint, and it was chaotic.
East Coast Pizza is another pizza-by-the-slice kinda place, and man, we have a lot of these!
Although you can create your own whole pizza, the slices in the case look really enticing.
No reason to reinvent the wheel, so we ordered one whole Artichoke Pesto to share, and one Meat Lover, for BP. Yep, the whole pizza for him. We also added some garlic knots because of all the garlic and buttery cheesy stuff on top. Since we knew it would take a while, we had a slice of Spicy Chicken cut up in small bites as an appetizer for our crew.
I thought the Spicy Chicken was ok, but it was very rich and skimpy on the chicken. Others disagreed with me and thought this pizza was dope! (Sorry not sorry boys!) Read last week’s blog on Sambazon for this reference.
We had to wait a long time to get the rest of our order due to the 5004 slices being ordered by the 9 and 10 year olds who showed up right before us. Our garlic knots finally came out. If I’m going to be honest, they looked a lot better than they tasted. They looked ooey-gooey and delectable. In reality, they were cold and a bit dry in the center. Nothing special.
Our Artichoke Pesto and BP’s Meat Lover pizzas were finally ready. We used our adultness to scare a bunch of little kids off of a few tables so we could sit. Grass is for kids. Tables are for adults.
The Artichoke Pizza was fantastic! Tender pieces of artichoke are nestled between dollops of creamy ricotta cheese combined with pesto and marinara. And this crust! Yes! This crispy crust was indeed something special! Great choice. Order this.
The Meat Lovers was also great, as far as I could tell from the little piece awarded to me from stingy BP. Seriously, this is one of the best pizza crusts I’ve had.
Totally worth the wait, these pizzas didn’t disappoint. Everyone in our group had different favorites and unanimously agreed the this pizza joint rocks!
As we were enjoying our pizzas at the Adult Tables, we were witnesses to a near miss crime. A large gang of hoodlums (4-5 girls, ages around 5) were trying to force their victims (2 boys, ages around 3) to go up in the elevator behind us. Without any adults! The terrified toddlers were about to go in when my mom, the voice of reason, stood up with her BIG ADULT voice and said, “This is not right! Do NOT go into this elevator without an adult!” “We weren’t really going to do anything” said the ringleader with her shady blond braids. Then they all screamed and scattered like mice. And where were all the parents you ask? Guess what is across the corner to East Coast Pizza?….
What I mean by across the corner looks like this:
While Lord of the Flies was happening out front on the grass, every parent was packed inside at The Lost Abbey. Their kids were right there. How much trouble could their darling little angels get into with their backs turned while chugging down IPAs?
The Lost Abbey Confessional is a place to “repent by the sea” but you won’t find any nuns here. Just a bunch of harried parents trying to forget about life for a while. But surprisingly, kids are allowed inside! We found this out when we went to sit down at our table and I gently kicked the chair in front of me. We heard a loud “Ow!” and pigtails went flying out from under our table. “Must come on a school night next time.” I muttered to myself.
The nice bartender offered me a few samples of beer with great names like “Gift of the Magi” and “Judgment Day”. I chose a rich, hoppy IPA called “Wipe Out”. Although strong, compared to the others I sampled, this one was the least likely to grow hair on my chest. These beers are NOT for beginners!
The Lost Abbey has a nice indoor/outdoor feel with places to stand or sit. Everyone is drinking beer. Everyone is having fun. The decor is “religious with a dark twist”. Take a look at the picture by our table. Cherubs on beer barrels with a large breasted woman under a cross. Not exactly what I would put in my dining room, but it definitely works here!
You can bring in your own food to The Lost Abbey, so that’s just what we did with BP’s remaining few slices. You need to eat something with these beers, they are strong and will kick your unholy butt!
Dogs are also welcomed inside The Abbey. That is, as long as you keep them on the patio. And if not, they will certainly get The Boot like poor Stewie did. It’s not the first bar Stu’s been kicked out of and it won’t be the last!
As we were leaving I did notice a few “responsible” parents sitting on the grass, casually glancing at the myriad of wild children running amuck. But why were these adults drinking out of their childrens’ sippy cups? That sure is some dark colored apple juice they have in there. Same color as my “Wipe Out” in fact.
And…a “cloiseter” is a covered walkway in a religious building (which is apropos), and your gall bladder is located under your liver and stores bile, which isn’t. Not so nice to discuss along with food, but an important organ in our body to know about!
Bottom Line:
East Coast Pizza is a fantastic hole in the wall. They have the best crust in town, and the prices are right on. Plus, they deliver. East Coast Pizza and The Lost Abbey beer are saintly together. In fact, I don’t think I could have one without the other. I will be back again soon for another religious experience.
And Joey, hands down, this is the nest abbey I’ve ever seen!
Next week’s blog will be on Sunday, Septemeber 2nd at 6:00pm
Rimel’s Rotisserie
Dining on the 101 
I just love reading all of your restaurant reviews. You have a gift for writing and are so very funny. I smile and laugh on every review. Keep it up and thanks!
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Kori:
You are quite a talented writer! Is “BP” bottomless pit Kellen or Griffin? I think Kellen but not certain. I love your reports, I hope others do too.
Love
Dad
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