I will take another slice with pepperoni.

A Pizza Story.
I first began to visit this place when I was in junior high in the late 1950s. I would ride with my friend and his parents. They called it pizza. The restaurant was called Deluca’s. But they mostly had pizza and some other ordinary pastas and salads. The pizza was in a squarish rectangular pan. About the size of a cookie sheet.
This pizzeria was located in eastern suburb next to East Los Angeles in a dining room about the size of a double car garage. Maybe a triple car.
But anyway, success was easily measured in remodeling increments. First came the red and gold flocked wallpaper. Velvety and looked expensive. Next came the impressive ornately framed oil paintings of the owner and his family. Himself, his wife, and his two lovely daughters dressed in their best formal wear. Spaced out evenly on all four red and gold walls.
And again, I must mention, mostly rectangular pans of cheese and tomato sauce were being ordered and served to hungry patrons and all in plain sight beneath the oiled portraits. An incongruent sight to behold. You could almost see the DeLucas twitch their noses in response to the magnificent pasta aroma.
Then coming a bit later as business grew, to this modest dining room was an enormous crystal chandelier Possibly weighing about a ton. . A fixture with seemingly thousands of hanging crystal bobbles hung in the room’s center ceiling. There must have been hundreds of tiny clear candle-looking lights. This mass of crystal seemed to overwhelm the smallish dining room and possibly make the room look smaller. However, this ornate light fixture was to impress and hopefully delight the pizza eating customer.
None the less, the entire inside was elegantly decorated as if Don Corleone the Godfather himself had it done. But as mentioned in a relatively small eating space.
But wait, out back under a modest sized car port was parked a Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud. An automobile worth more than any ten new cars on the street. It was parked just steps from the employee entrance. Either the owner was doing quite well or some other operation was going on at this place. Don’t really know. Oh yes, pizza was good. The little family’s business was almost always busy. Hold the anchovies and Pass the Parmesan cheese please. This unique dining experience was just a delight by the slice.

Published by OkieMan

I come from a family who migrated from the parched red dirt Plaines of southern rural Oklahoma. Migrating to blue collar working class community of East Los Angeles. There is where I was born. I am Mr. Writermelon. I can only write what my grammar and spell checker allows. I am neither profound nor profane. Boy howdy! Send comment to: Mr.writermelon@gmail.com

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