Topolino's Offends Me as a New Yorker

Any expatriate New Yorker who lives in the Seattle area has probably had someone recommend Topolino's for New York Pizza. I understand why, it is on one of the busiest through streets in downtown Bellevue and the sign says "The True Taste of Brooklyn". However I am here to tell you that your friends have led you astray and that perhaps the sign is really trying to imply that it is the "True Taste" of Brooklyn, Ohio.

I have previously eaten at Topolino's and I was disappointed back then but I thought I should give it a try again before I go writing a disparaging blog post. The good news is that Topolino's looks and feels a lot like a New York Pizza place. It is a small restaurant with a counter and a few tables and chairs. It is nothing fancy and reminds me somewhat of the the nondescript pizza places I grew up going to. However that is where the similarities with New York pizza end.

On my most recent visit I ordered a small plain cheese pizza so I could evaluate the quality of the food. When I opened the box I was severely disappointed because it didn't even look like New York pizza. The outer crust had almost no rise to it and there was way to much oregano on the pizza. As for the taste, well, that was even more disappointing. The dough tasted like dense, stale bread, the sauce was overpowered by the flavor of Oregano and the cheese was bland. As I sit and look on other sites like Yelp or Citysearch I am actually blown away that anybody would call this New York pizza.

So as I stated in the title Topolino's offends me. It offends me as a pizza lover because the pizza is awful and it offends me as a New Yorker because they actually go as far as having a sign saying this is the "true taste of Brooklyn". So if you are thinking about going to Topolino's to find New York pizza, In the words of my Brooklyn comrades, FUH-GET ABOUT IT.