Daily Slice: The Pizza Press, Anaheim, CA

Daily Slice gives a quick snapshot each weekday of a different slice or pie that the folks at the Serious Eats empire have enjoyed lately.

[Photographs: Kelly Bone]

Stranded at a seminar in Anaheim, I bypassed the hotel buffet and walked down Harbor Blvd to The Pizza Press. Situated directly across the street from Disneyland, the former Quiznos was converted into a(nother) fast causal pizzeria. Opened in June 2012, the name references the newspaper theme of the shop—which looks nothing like, but reminds me of a 90's Subway—and the press used to par-bake the crust.

Owner/manager Dara Maleki keeps a keen eye on the shop, chatting with customers and taking his turn on the pizza assembly line. The menu offers 5 newspaper themed combinations—designed by Disneyland chefs—or unlimited topping for $10 ($8 for a cheese). The selection is standard, with a few standouts like Gouda, chorizo, artichoke hearts, and cherry tomatoes. Once the 10-inch crust is loaded, it rolls through a conveyer belt oven into the finishing area where you can get your pie drizzled in sauces like balsamic, BBQ, or hot sauce.

With a crisp non-dimensional crust, the pies are on par with the other major fastcasualpizza players. Where The Pizza Press shines is not in their pizza, but in their craft beer taps and Virgil's root beer floats. Or better yet, beer floats! That is not reason enough to go out of your way to visit, but the freshness and value of The Pizza Press surpasses any pizza sold inside Disneyland Park.

The Pizza Press

1534 S Harbor Blvd. Anaheim, CA 92802 (map)
714-323-7134; pizzapressoc.com

About the author: After nearly a decade in Brooklyn, Kelly Bone landed back in Los Angeles where she writes The Vegetarian Foodie. She spends the rest of her time designing office cubicles... you might be sitting in one right now! Follow her on Twitter at @TheVegFoodie