Pizza party results!

The ultimate conclusion was that we need to have another, bigger, more thought-in-advance party with more pizzas! The Coop won by a landslide but it wasn't quite the fair contest. Here's what happened:

Ryan got a large cheese pizza from Victor Junior's (~$16) and I got a large cheese pizza from The Coop. ($9.75)

My dad was going to bring "some pizza from that place downtown where we always get them for work" only his admin assistant got it for him and didn't check the box. It turns out she got the "everything" pizza. So he and Kristian ate it. The rest of us didn't eat meat or didn't like one of the many toppings.

Rob couldn't come last minute due to a huge project dumped on him at work. Vejune was also sick with the flu at home and he'd have to leave her alone to be here. He would have stopped by anyway, but late, but I told him not to worry about it. As I said, this was meant to be a small *fun* gathering, and if you're having a stressful day then I would not want to add to his tensions by having him come here with all of that going on.

Mona and Kristian had a shitty day too, because a repair person was supposed to come "between 1 and 6" to repair their washing machine, and then the guy never showed up. I told Mona not to worry about the pizza they were going to bring, because with the 3 pizzas we already had, it would be plenty for 5 adults and 3 very small children.

So, they came and we ate. Here are the observations: The Coop's "large" is cheaper but smaller than Victor Junior's. I found that Victor's uses provolone cheese which gives it a sharper taste (which I slightly preferred, but I was the only one). The other people liked The Coop best of all. Ryan was surprised that he did, he thought he preferred VJ's. Also, by the time everyone had assembled, the pizzas were only slightly warm. Due to the day being in the high 90's, no one wanted theirs warmed up. So the tastes could be different if the pizzas were piping hot.

I conclude that more research is needed. :) I think since it's almost time for him to move, that we should have a "welcome back to LA Steve, and let's help you find the best pizza" party. Or pizza for Ryan's birthday party. Or for Father's Day. Or Arbor Day. Or just because it's Tuesday...

Oh, I should mention that unfortunately, Victor Junior's is closed on weekends and The Coop is closed on Mondays. Absence makes the heart grow fonder!

Oh, and more about The Coop: It's *not* in any way affiliated with The Coop at UCLA (which was there for years and had pizza that was so-so at best, but is now a Taco Bell). More than 1 person has asked me to clarify, and in fact we avoided the place for years because I made the mistaken assumption. The owners are really nice, at least, I think they are the owners because there are 2 people who are there almost every hour the place is open, and it seems like they own the place. Anyway, they let me bring Jake in and fuss over him and Lauren. When I told the woman about our little party, she got really nervous and said something like "oh, I wish I knew. I didn't think the sauce had enough basil in it today" and started getting nervous about it until I explained that this was a small gathering of friends, not the Times food critic or anything. :)

The only bad thing about Coop is that you have to bring cash, they don't take credit card. Also, if you wanted to eat there, you can't. It's just a pickup/takeout place, no counters or tables to eat. Very low overhead--do one thing and do it well!