tony's pizza, 4130 california ave, bakersfield

price: $; food: 5/5.
as kids, we'd go visit our grandparents in delano. they lived across the street from the grape orchards, where grandpa, who rarely left his recliner, his TV baseball, and his iced tea, would steal over and rustle grapes (the little sweet green thompsons seedless you can't get in stores anymore)... if we were lucky, we'd get a dollar to walk over to thrifty's and the three of us could get an ice cream. if we were REAL lucky, our extravagant aunt would give us a fiver and we'd go to tony's pizza for a slice and a coke. i don't remember much at all of my life, but i remember the pizza - thin-crust, topped with big big circles of ham, not too greasy, delicious.
yesterday, we walked into a newly-opened tony's pizza in bakersfield, located in the mervyn's shopping center on california (east end of mall). the place is new, very clean (unusual for local pizza parlors), not decorated with sports teams (also unusual)... the theme is firefighting: the comfy blue walls and historical pictures feature old fire engines and houses; the most interesting picture (to me) shows firefighters' uniforms, how they've changed over the past century-plus. fancy brews include amber bock (involuntary drool) and firehouse ale, with proceeds from the last going to firefighter causes. beautiful poinsettias and other deep-red plants really spruced the place up further. i couldn't believe it; a beautiful pizza parlor! "give it time," my hubby said, but i'd like to think that tony's will stay clean...
they sell slices! three different sliced pizzas rotated in a warmed glass compartment... slices started at just $1.50! that's much better than the three-bucks-plus you'd pay at the mall... i noticed, too, small cokes were just 75 cents. drinks are usually where restaurants will gouge you - particularly at bar-restaurants, which'll charge up to three bucks for a soda, if you don't watch it... these prices seemed reasonable.
excited, as a semi-joke, i called my delano cousin (now in texas), sister, and aunt. "guess where i am?" i said. "TONY'S PIZZA!"
the man behind the counter smiled... did he look familiar?
the pizza arrived. how can a pizza look familiar? yet, it did. i went to the counter. "i remember there was a tony's in delano," i said to the young woman now there. "yes," she replied. "it's the same family."
wow! thought i... what a nice coincidence! 25 years later, here we were, back at tony's.
the pizza was just terrific, as i knew it'd be just by looking at it: not greasy, covered with giant, thin slices of sweet ham and plentiful pineapple (we always order this, if it's available. we're from california, you know)... even though sports played on the flat screens, the volume was low enough that it sounded a bit like calming surf... i was not even disturbed by the 10 video game machines, all with hunting and killing themes, rationalizing that somehow maybe that was related to peace officer training... the small pizza with two toppings, $8, was just right for the two of us gluttons; we even brought home a slice. it was still delicious later as i scarfed it from in front of the refrigerator. when we go back, we might try some of tony's specialty pizzas, like mexicana (with chorizo and spices) or chile verde... or maybe we'll just stick with the delicious ham/pineapple (their offical hawaiian pizza is topped with bell pepper, too)... also on the menu are bread and pizza sticks, salad bar, and sandwiches, as well as the beer bar i mentioned.
instead of china buffet next door, visit tony's pizza for good prices, delicious pizzas ranging in price from just $6.50 (small cheese) to $22 (x-large with four toppings), and very pleasant and clean atmosphere.