Without Papers

Without Papers

Upstairs, 1216 9th Ave SE

Having heard good things about a small pizza joint in Inglewood, we thought we'd meet up and try what the hype might be about.   As gourmet pizzerias lately have been springing up all over the city, we wondered what might make this one different.   Prior to showing up, I'd called asking about a reservation, as their website says they take some, but I'd found out they only do so for lunch (unlike what the website says).   In the end, we just risked it being busy, and were lucky enough to get the last table before having to sit at a communal bar.



First thing you'll see is that the restaurant is at the top of a long skinny flight of stairs - and not really wide enough for people to go down at the same time as people to head on up - so it's just a matter of waiting until it's clear.   We'd gone at dinner, so the lighting was pretty dark as well, but partially that effect was to help show off the projected movies going on the walls, similar to what Tubby Dog does.   As I arrived, Ratatouille was the feature movie being played.


Those of you that know me know I love iced teas, especially brewed - and the one I received at Without Papers was extremely tasty, just sweetened enough, and very similar in flavour to the sweet teas I've had across the southern US.   We quickly decided on ordering a couple of appetizers and to share a pizza, namely, the pork and beef meatballs, a buffalo mozza and tomato salad, along with the 'Shroom' pizza.   The pizza's description on the menu included wild mushrooms, arugula, truffle oil, and roasted garlic truffle panna.   

We received the appetizers very quickly, and dug in.   Unfortunately, we felt the beef/pork meatballs were dry - either they were overcooked, or just didn't have enough fat content to be proper meatballs.   They were small spheres as well, not large juicy italian style, but more the size of the swedish ones you'd find at Ikea.   The buffalo mozza and tomato salad was good, though I'd have preferred a bit more of it, for $12.   

The star of the show arrived, and we marveled at just how thin the crust was.   Holding it up, it was definitely no more than a few mm in thickness.   Interestingly enough, it wasn't soggy, but nicely crisp, and holding up the toppings fairly well.   Unlike many other pizzas, however, the mushroom and truffle flavour felt a bit muted - and we thought it might need a bit more salt content to really pronounce the truffle oil.   I did like the amount of arugula on it, as many other places have just overloaded pizzas with this ingredient lately.   

In the end - to be honest, I don't know that this place deserved the hype it's received, but perhaps we just picked the wrong pizza, or just prefer different types.   Would I go back?   Probably, but not before trying the many other options in the city.   

Taste:  7.5 - simply put, could have been better

Presentation:  9.5 - very nicely assembled salads and impressively thin crust

Ambiance:   8.0 - a bit dark for my taste, but it might have been just due to it being a Saturday evening

Service:   9.5 - attentive and fast service, never was out of water, or was kept waiting for anything

Prices:   $10-12 per salad/appetizer, $18-21 per pizza

(Please forgive the picture quality, the darkness combined with taking them on my phone didn't work all that well)