la.foodblogging

22994 Ventura Blvd, Woodland Hills - 818-222-4944

Friday night, my husband and I went to one of our favorite local restaurants, Topanga Pizza. The name’s a bit misleading, because they serve much more than that. Actuallly, I’ve never even tasted their pizza. The owner was once a chef at Spago, and offers a variety of pasta, salads, chicken and seafood along with pizza and calzone. West of Fallbrook, and tucked into a mini-mall on the south side of Ventura Boulevard, Topanga Pizza is an affordable, gastronomic find that’s easy to miss, but due to word of mouth has a growing clientele.

As soon as we sat down we were served their delicious garlic rolls. They’re light, fluffy, coated with olive oil, lots of garlic and basil - and hard to eat only one.

Usually I order their moist, yet browned salmon with ginger-lime sauce, topped with crisp, golden slivers of onion and served with sauteed asparagus and julienned carrots. But since I rarely stray from that dish, I wanted to try something else, so ordered penne with scallops, shrimp, mushrooms and asparagus in a cream sauce. My husband stayed with one of his favorite meals, the roasted half chicken in a cream sauce served with medallions of potatoes.

We nibbled on fresh (not at all chewy) and golden, crisp calamari fritto served with their tomatoe sauce - a simple, but flavorful, tomato puree - as we watched the tables begin to fill. We arrived just before six when only three or so tables were seated.

Right after eating the appetizer, our entrees arrived. My penne was extremely good: the shrimp and scallops were sweet and moist, the penne firm - tossed with crisp asparagus and golden mushrooms in a cream sauce. My husband, as always, was very happy with his chicken and potatoes. I’d describe them to you, but I forgot to try that entree, I was too busy enjoying mine.

We finished our fantastic meal with coffee and a shared slice of their key lime pie - tart yet sweet, creamy lime dreaminess in a buttery, graham cracker crust, atop drizzles of caramel.

All these years of dining there and we’re still amazed what a great place Topanga Pizza is: really good food, incredibly priced and great service, which is why we tend to go there a lot.

Our bill came to just $35 dollars and change, after ordering a glass of wine, a soda, calamari, two entrees, two coffees and a key lime pie. Incredible!

As we were ready to leave I noticed every table was filled, and many people were waiting to be seated. Apparently the word is out that Topanga Pizza is more than just a pizza joint.

*Our other favorite appetizer there is the mozzarella marinara: nicely crisp on the outside, without being too greasy; the cheese is creamy not chewy, and served with their simple, slightly sweet marinara sauce.

The atmosphere is casual and child friendly.