Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

The King of Pizza Piazza

Piazza Basilone. Little Italy. Dusk. Romantic.

You kind of long for some Italian tenor to be singing "E Sole Mio…"

I'm also desperate to just sit down at Zia’s Bistro right here on the piazza and sip a cerveza or a caress a cocktail, and then launch into a 15-course meal with wines to match… Sigh.

But there’s hope. For starters, do what I did. Go down a couple of doors to Landini’s (Landini’s Pizza, 1827 India Street, Little Italy, 619-238-3502), pick up a pizza slice ($3 each, and they’re good) and at least a soda.

Landini's Pizzeria

Or better, go for one of their daily specials. Like, two pizza slices and a soda for $6. Or one slice with house salad and a soda, $6.50. Where else on India? The best deal: two slices and a draft beer — and that includes local beers such as Stone IPA — for $8.50. Tax included!

Or one slice and a glass of wine. Same price. I bet you’d pay $8.50 just for the beer or wine on the rest of this street.

Then you can come up and use one of the public tables for your feast (but not with liquor).

And tonight we have music. Live. Okay, not the Great Caruso, but Tommy Vitabili is busking right in front of the little monument to Sergeant John Basilone, Little Italy's own war hero.

Tommy Vitabili

And Tommy can sing a mean ballad, like "The Wonder of You." And Elvis?

“I was inspired by him when I was six, in Jeffersonville, Pennsylvania,” he says. “Saw him on the Ed Sullivan Show. 'Blue Suede Shoes.' Got my daddy to buy me a guitar. Singing ever since.”

And he launches into "Blue Suede Shoes."

Guy’s got the King down, and he doesn’t yell it. Nice and mellow.

“This is the best spot in town,” he says afterward. "My buddy Dave told me about it. Heck, I’ve got $10 in the hat just for the last two songs.”

Ah, life is sweet. I chow into — talk about singing — my "Soprano." That’s the name of this slice of pepperoni, sausage, and meatball heaven.

The meatball, ricotta, and marinara (left) and the Soprano

I take a drag of Pepsi and watch the sun sink over the harbor behind Tommy...

...and Sergeant Basilone.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Angry Pete’s goes from pop-up to drive-thru

Detroit Pizza sidles into the husk of a shuttered Taco Bell

Piazza Basilone. Little Italy. Dusk. Romantic.

You kind of long for some Italian tenor to be singing "E Sole Mio…"

I'm also desperate to just sit down at Zia’s Bistro right here on the piazza and sip a cerveza or a caress a cocktail, and then launch into a 15-course meal with wines to match… Sigh.

But there’s hope. For starters, do what I did. Go down a couple of doors to Landini’s (Landini’s Pizza, 1827 India Street, Little Italy, 619-238-3502), pick up a pizza slice ($3 each, and they’re good) and at least a soda.

Landini's Pizzeria

Or better, go for one of their daily specials. Like, two pizza slices and a soda for $6. Or one slice with house salad and a soda, $6.50. Where else on India? The best deal: two slices and a draft beer — and that includes local beers such as Stone IPA — for $8.50. Tax included!

Or one slice and a glass of wine. Same price. I bet you’d pay $8.50 just for the beer or wine on the rest of this street.

Then you can come up and use one of the public tables for your feast (but not with liquor).

And tonight we have music. Live. Okay, not the Great Caruso, but Tommy Vitabili is busking right in front of the little monument to Sergeant John Basilone, Little Italy's own war hero.

Tommy Vitabili

And Tommy can sing a mean ballad, like "The Wonder of You." And Elvis?

“I was inspired by him when I was six, in Jeffersonville, Pennsylvania,” he says. “Saw him on the Ed Sullivan Show. 'Blue Suede Shoes.' Got my daddy to buy me a guitar. Singing ever since.”

And he launches into "Blue Suede Shoes."

Guy’s got the King down, and he doesn’t yell it. Nice and mellow.

“This is the best spot in town,” he says afterward. "My buddy Dave told me about it. Heck, I’ve got $10 in the hat just for the last two songs.”

Ah, life is sweet. I chow into — talk about singing — my "Soprano." That’s the name of this slice of pepperoni, sausage, and meatball heaven.

The meatball, ricotta, and marinara (left) and the Soprano

I take a drag of Pepsi and watch the sun sink over the harbor behind Tommy...

...and Sergeant Basilone.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

$5 Pizza - The Seinfeld Way

Next Article

Who is/was Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone?

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.