Tortuga's Pizza

Situated in a strip mall that contains a vape store beside a laundromat, Tortuga’s is a niche pizza shop with all kinds of sports paraphernalia on every wall. Perfect for dates, whether friendly or romantic, their wait times and staff are facilitative of a great night out.

Atmosphere:

On any night the place is bound to be full of people. On the outside, Tortuga’s has an open, inviting atmosphere that is exposed to the moon and cool night wind. There are a few tables outside, as well as two additional sections of the restaurant inside. The lights are yellowed and warm, and the air inside is warm and windy, carrying the smell of pizza being baked by people who might also baked. I have heard that people working in a restaurant become disgusted by the smell of their food due to long-term exposure, but I doubt this for truly delicious food like pizza, or odorless but still delicious food like sushi.

Their red, cushiony booth’s backs were low, preventing us from feeling trapped in. The sports theme made me glad to be an American, but the variety was staggering. There were cars, golf, football (of course), and more. They didn’t include polo, but then again that tends to be a Latin America centered sport. The TV placement, which determines the level of conversation possible, was bad. It was placed in line with the booths, meaning I couldn’t look at the person I was talking to without being distracted by some random talk show. Abysmal idea.

Wait disclaimer: 30 minutes. Pros: fun talk with fun friends if you’re good at that. Cons: loooong silence if you’re awkwardly antisocial. I fluctuate between the two with no warning, but I still had a good time waiting for the pizza. We were beside the smell vent for the kitchen or something, so we got to bask in pizza-heated air. Glorious. A good idea would be to run weekly trivia there, considering their wait times. I used to participate weekly at a place called Brixx, but their trivia was shut down for seemingly no reason. Anyway. Onto the food.

Actual Food:

I ordered pineapple and ham pizza (call me a heathen) on thin crust. I enjoy pineapple on pizza, but not as a main flavor that gets paired with cheese. It has to be a minor flavor that accentuates and contrasts with the saltier ham. This gives the best of both flavors. It was really unfortunate that square cut is default at Tortuga’s, no matter how small your party. I forgot to ask for regular cut, but my eating partner was small as well so squares turned out better in terms of portioning. The ham was sliced (good!), the pineapple small and not sour (very appropriate level of sweetness), and the rest was a bit oily. The crust gave a nice hardness that yielded easily to teeth, and everything paired together to hide any slightly burnt portions of the crust. The small square crust was a bit overloaded with toppings, usually a good thing, but to the point of being hard to pick up neatly.

Rating:

A homely yet stuffy environment keeps Tortuga’s square cut pizza and customers' friendships warm. 12/13 square pieces of pizza.