REVIEW: Mama Trino's Pizzeria

A few months ago, when local longtime New York-slice slinger Mama Trino's Pizzeria - one of the region's better pizza joints - moved to the gentrified SoDo block of South Tejon Street, someone must have decided the place needed to be more hip.

After all, it was opening on one of the coolest blocks in town, a stretch with happening bars and coffee shops, nightclubs and a scooter boutique. To fit in with the young, urban vibe, Mama Trino's Pizzeria set up in a sleek, industrial-looking shop and shortened its name to Trino's.

The menu remains unchanged. Anyone who loved Trino's pizza, sandwiches and pasta at its old South Nevada location will find the same good stuff waiting in the new, hipper atmosphere.

Call it post-industrial, bourgeois chic: Inviting glass garage doors at the front of the shop open onto the sidewalk. Inside, stylish raw brick walls shelter long, wood benches and a scattering of tables on raw concrete floors. The huge garage doors and a New York City subway map on the wall serve as a subtle reminder that this century-old brick building was originally the garage for the city's streetcars.

Behind the counter stands the brick oven that bakes Trino's pizzas. Through its open mouth, you can see big gas flames dance as pies glisten in the heat.

Order by the slice ($2.39) or a whole pie ($13.89-$20.69).

Ask for a slice and, in true New York fashion, a wedge of a recently cooked pizza is tossed back in the oven for a few minutes.

What comes out is also true to the Big Apple: a thin, floppy slice.

"Maybe a little too floppy," a friend said at a recent lunch. Even after he folded one of the big, hot slices lengthwise, the tip sagged, spilling cheese, toppings and sauce all over his plate. This pizza is best kept simple. Get too many toppings and it could fail entirely.

Trino's takes pains to make a good pie. Sauce and dough are made from scratch every day. Most of the toppings are up to par, but some details of the operation need updating with the name.

I ordered a lunch slice that came with one topping. From a list of goodies ranging from anchovies to grilled chicken, I chose basil. I assumed, since it counted as a topping, it was sweet, fresh, anisey basil leaves. The slice arrived, instead, covered in the dried stuff.

The toppings list could use some renovation.

The nonpizza menu relies heavily on pizza stock. An antipasto salad ($6.49) capable of feeding four, was bolstered by lettuce with black olives, ham, pepperoni, cheese and other pizza toppings. The good pastas, made when you order, seem to use sauces (white or
red) found on the pizzas, too. This works because the pizzas have a good sauce.

Trino's meatballs, whether with pasta or in a gooey sub ($5.99), are homemade, full of oregano, and more meaty than many sandwich-grade meatballs, which use fillers such as bread crumbs.

Trino's SoDo makeover is a hit. The cool new space is welcoming, the service is good, and the place is open until the bars close on weekends, so it makes a perfect past-midnight snack.

Pizza connoisseurs will likely never stop arguing over who makes the best New York slice in town, but Trino's is a worthwhile stop in that ongoing debate.


Trino's Brick oven Pizza
***
(Good, fast pizza, open late)
Locations: 512 S. Tejon St,, 328-1122;
5069 N. Academy, 592-1122
Web site: trinospizzeria.com
Hours: 11 a.m. - 9 p.m, Mondays through Thursdays; 11 a.m. -2 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays; and noon-9 p.m. Sundays
Entrees: $2.39 - $20
Vegetarian: Yes
Liquor: Beer
Plastic: Yes