Food Review: Uncle Ernies

It’s a pizzeria that offers not only traditional options, but also a pastrami sandwich on a pizza. Yes, with mustard and everything.

Don’t imagine an actual sandwich just thrown onto a cheese pizza. It’s a pizza that comes with grilled pastrami, onions, mushrooms, mustard, cheese, jalapeños and diced pickles.

If the toppings don’t convince you, let the menu do the job, as it is the only item that has the word “amazing” capitalized, bolded and punctuated with an exclamation point next to it.

Uncle Ernie’s is located on Topanga Canyon Boulevard and Lassen Street in a corner shopping center just across the street from a Starbucks.

You walk in and you feel welcome and a sense of comfort. The way it’s decorated, with small tables and red cushioned benches tells you that the owners like to stick to their old school ways.  And they should. It’s refreshing and inviting.

The most interesting thing about Ernie’s, besides the unique pastrami pizza, is that you get to walk into the kitchen to pour yourself a drink, catching a glimpse of how your pizza is made.

Pizza isn’t the only thing on the menu. But get this, you have 22 toppings to choose from.

They offer calzones, hot wings, salads, pastas, subs, along with sides and dessert. They also offer catering and deliveries. Ernie’s isn’t a single threat establishment.

Along with their great options and delicious pizza, Ernie’s offers great customer service.

The employees are patient and friendly and greet every type of person that comes in. From young adults, to police officers that you can tell have been eating at Ernie’s for many years.

So they bring you your large pizza that feeds about five people, depending on how hungry each person is, and your excitement level rises.

Whoever was making the pizza’s was feeling generous with the toppings.

The cheese and the other toppings you can’t make out, is hidden within the perfect amount of pastrami.

You bite into your slice and remember that instead of pizza sauce, you get mustard. If you don’t like mustard, this isn’t the pizza for you. But for those who like mustard, order this pizza, and you won’t regret it.

When ordering a plain cheese pizza, you’d most likely eat more than two slices. But when you order a pastrami pizza at Ernie’s you get full after one and a half slices. Good thing they give you small pizza boxes for your leftovers.

“Serving the Valley since 1984” Uncle Ernie’s is the best alternative to what most people resort to.

Uncle Ernies is open Sunday-Thursday from 10:30 a.m. – 9:30 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 10:30 a.m. – 10 p.m.