Pizzeria Avanti — Restaurant in Santa Cruz

Wow. We used to like this place, it had been a couple years since we live in Scotts Valley, so we decided to get takeout on our way home. We were disappointed by the food, but hungry and had a movie to get to so we were eating it. Hubby's meatballs on dry fettuccine noodles were lackluster, my veggie lasagna was a little worse since it had no cheese (not listed as vegan, just vegetarian) and the veggies were really overcooked, in a bland tomato sauce, nothing good about the dish... but the real worst part was the bite that included a PIECE OF TOOTHPICK which jammed into my gum. Yes, a piece of presumably USED toothpick, a broken part of a toothpick, in my food. I've shown it here in the photos. And the best part? When I called to tell them and the woman on the phone HUNG UP ON ME. Yes, they showed their customer appreciation by hanging up on someone who just found dangerous garbage in their food. Needless to say we'll never be back and we hope you...

This was literally heaven to me. Being from the Boston area, I miss my North End Italian pizza and East Boston pizza. I hadn't had what I call "good pizza" since last time I flew back to Boston, took the train to aquarium, and walked with my suitcase to Regina's on Thatcher. This was the best pizza I've had in California. I got the margherita but asked for fresh sliced tomatoes on top. The sauce is incredible. It is true vine-ripened plum tomato with just the right amount of garlic. The sliced tomatoes on top were also vine-ripened and reminded me of garden tomatoes I used to grow. The wine list was excellent and perfect pairing. So glad...

The pizza was delicious. Something about the crust... It actually has a flavor that's delicious and it's cooked well too. We had the sausage special, which was awesome and the kids had a cheese and pepperoni pizza that was also quite good. The Ceasar salad had a good dressing but seemed a bit on the small side. The free bread with olive oil and vinegar was warm and toasty which was a nice touch. They also gave the kids some paper and crayons to color with. Service was pretty good and the food came out quickly. The one modest complaint is that the chianti wasn't very good, not that I'm a wine snob, but thought it'd be a bit better...