Short review: really good pizza. Really friendly staff.
Long review: this is a new place, just opened less than a month ago. They’re right next to the movie theater, in the spot that used to be Ray’s pizza. Ray’s was enjoyable and I was sad when they closed, but UPC is an upgrade, and brings something unique to the IE pizza scene, in a good way.
I ordered the 2 slices + fountain drink special. Pepperoni on both slices, as that is my “go to” topping.
First thing I noticed was that despite arriving at nearly 8pm, and there being no slices ready, they had no problem throwing a new pie in the oven to give me two slices. A lot of places at that hour would tell me that only whole pies are available. And that’s a reasonable stance in the thin margin world of restaurants.
Next I watched the guy make the pie, and saw him sprinkling the cheese on properly, from about 18-24 inches above the table, giving the cheese enough time to spread out naturally and limiting clumping.
They have a conveyor belt oven, which often makes undercooked pies. Not here though! The cheese was perfectly toasted without the crust being burnt. That oven is dialed in, beautifully.
When they were cutting it, the guy asked me if I wanted the individual slices cut in half, cause they give big slices. I said sure, and looked over to see that my “2 slices” totaled out to half of the whole pie! So for $8, I got 4 regular sized slices (about 150-160 grams each), a half of a large pizza, and a fountain drink. Dinner for tonight and lunch for tomorrow too, and some for my wife who was working at the time.
There’s a saying in pizza, big slices are usually not good. But that’s usually referring to big long 1/8th of a 24” pie slices, and they’re not good cause they don’t cook right, being a 24” pie. But this is big because it’s a high percentage of a normal sized pie.
So seeing what I got, I waited a bit so I wouldn’t burn my face off, and lifted it, folded it, and took my first bite.
The crust crunched loudly. Great sign. The tip of the slice had a slight flop to it, not too bad, mostly due to the weight of the generous but not excessive cheese. But even the flopping portion had a crispness to the crust.
The first thing I tasted was a different flavor to the sauce that I was used to in a pizza. Couldn’t place my finger on it at first until I talked to the guy who runs the place and asked him about it (I already forgot his name). They use a unique sauce, it’s tomato sauce, like normal, but the flavor is definitely their own, I won’t spoil the secret of what it is, though. But in that first bite I didn’t get any pepperoni cause it was still so hot, and I was really eager to get the thick cut, cup shaped pepperoni. This pepperoni was what caused me to drive 15 miles across town to give it a shot. Any place that selects the cup-shaped pepperoni is showing that they’ve put thought and care into their ingredients, and are not just following the “pizza by numbers” playbook. (Not that flat pepperoni is bad, mind you, it’s just a good indicator). When I finally got that bite of pepperoni, it was worth it. Thick, crispy and flavorful.
The crust is super thin, and crispy, but still somehow has a softness to the top side. They brushed the outer edge with garlic butter, which is funny because I saw them do, but then forgot about, and surprised myself when I bit into it and tasted the garlic butter. Is it the best in the IE? Not quite, but nothing in the nearby area comes close. You’d have to go to all the way to Loma Linda or chino to get better than this, from what I’ve tasted in the region.
That’s the pizza review.
But there’s more. They sell fudge too, home made. And that fudge is spectacular. Honestly rivals stuff you would pay twice as much for. I have to ration the fudge I have out cause I want, very much to eat it all. It’s delicious.
The one negative I saw was the drink selection. At the time of writing, it’s Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Dr Pepper, pink lemonade and a bunch of stubborn brand drinks(also some prepackaged drinks in a fridge unit). Personally, I’m not a fan of stubborn root beer, and it was too late in the day for caffeinated beverages, so I had to settle for the lemonade. Normally I would have chosen Sierra Mist. If you’re a fan of stubborn, or can enjoy caffeinated drinks at all hours, that’s not an issue. I love Pepsi and Dr Pepper, just not at night.
The staff: first was the friendliness of the guy who took my order and made the pizza. He was great. Not sure if he’s just an employee or one of the owners, didn’t talk with him too much but what I did was super friendly.
Second was the guy who I presume to be the owner, a younger guy, asked me how the pizza was, and we ended up chatting for maybe 20 minutes about pizza, and restaurants and business in general. I told him everything I ended up writing here and just talked pizza. Super nice guy and friendly.
Give this place a chance when you’re in the area, or even if you have to drive a bit to get there.
