Originally Posted by
trailangel
Going north on PCH I would cut-off and go out to Newport Beach and then cross to Balboa Island on the ferry, continue on Bayside, ride up Fernleaf, ride around to Little Corona, and then pickup PCH going south and continue on to Laguna. Would miss some traffic and was a nice break in the ride.
I don't know about the fennel seeds.. but Gina's always had a good salad. Haven't been there for years.
Very few Italian pizzas out there in Southern California. They all claim to be, but there is a big misconnect.
If you ever go to Manhattan, near New York University, on Carmine Street, there's a "Joe's Pizza". Students would go there to get a slice, right from the window. Try that one, not the cheese pizza, but the sausage pizza.
Here in the O.C. I tried Sabatino's in Lido Isle, Newport Beach. The guy is from Chicago and he used his mom's recipe. The sausage is close and he does use fennel. I met him recently; he's getting old and the restaurant just isn't what it used to be. Maybe because of the Pandemic.
But if you go to Sabatino's the customers are the same. There are plenty of restaurants in Newport Beach, but this one? It's in a private little place, not where you would want to do a restaurant. I think that's the attraction for the hoi polloi.