Antonio’s New York Pizzeria

Ok… My husband and I ordered something from Antonio’s sometime last year. I remember ordering a mini white pizza — forgot which one, but all I remember is that it was really good. I remember feeling nostalgic because it reminded me of a white pizza that we used to eat at Emilio’s on Kalakaua — right around the corner from the old Cinerama theater. I don’t think it’s there anymore? Anyways…
We ordered there last night because I was feeling the foldover NYC style pizza. My husband is a meaty type of pizza guy and for the life of me, even though I love red bloody meat — like medium rare steak and prime rib, I like my pizza simple. Cheese. I know, fucking weird, maybe as I get older, I just don’t want all those toppings getting in the way with me and my love affair with cheese, lol. If I’m going to indulge on a pizza with alot of toppings — it’s gonna be something from Cali Pizza Kitchen and/​or Big Kahunas. Anyways, we just ordered 2 separate mini 9 inch pizzas, garlic rolls, a cannoli and cheesecake. We decided to do the FF (Fat F*ck) move since we were good all week.
Pizzaola:
Too much basil. I knew that if I didn’t check my teeth after every bite, I would have some kind of basil stuck in my teeth — that’s how much basil was on it. I like basil, sweet basil when its fresh but when its the dried stuff, hmm. you can go easy on that stuff. In fact, when I opened my pizza box, I thought the mofo was burnt! It was just a layer of basil on it. oh yeah — the 9 incher doesn’t have the capability to do the foldover action, fyi. Lots of cheese — it was really thick, can’t complain about that. The sauce, really mellow, not sweet nor salty. The crust was decent but wasn’t feeling the yeast in it. I mean, I don’t think it had none or maybe it didn’t rise? –so 2.5 stars — not ordering this again only because it gave me an OCD complex about checking my teeth in the mirror every 5 seconds.
Husband ordered the City Favorite — well I can’t review that because he ate it within 5 minutes. AGAIN, without sharing a piece. If he was a chick, I’d be calling him heifer.
Garlic Bread Rolls:
hmm. We went there around 8pm. I guess we were expecting the garlic rolls from Kahuna’s — but man, all I can say is if we go back to Big Kahunas and the garlic rolls were in front of our face, my husband and I would go on our hands and knees and do the «we’re not worthy» bow job. Serious. It’s served in the same aluminum container that Kahuna’s serves their rolls in but the container is the only thing that they have in common. Antonio’s rolls (theres a dozen in there, I think) were 3 balls (I don’t think they waited for the yeast to rise — trust me, I own a bread machine so I know my yeast business) stuck together — almost reminded me of a white bread version of Mr. Hanky Poo (I know gross, but that was the first thing that came to mind) and chewy and flat as hell. The garlic and butter was on the bottom, would say about ¹⁄₈ cup, of the container and I was thinking why wasn’t it sticking to the rolls? And maybe it’s me, I haven’t eaten butter like that at all, but for some reason, I’m wondering if it was butter or margarine because, it didn’t taste like butter to me. Remember people, margarine is only 1 molecule away from plastic, per my old fitness trainer. And I know these are hard times, but come on, skimp out on the butter and yeast? I don’t think they are, I have no proof of that, but just an opinion. I know it wasn’t supposed to have cheese on it — but at least let those rolls rise so it would taste fluffy. The reason I mentioned the time that we went there — I was thinking maybe we got the old stuff from the day? ??? This is a 1 star.
Cheesecake:
Again — can’t write about it. husband wolfed it down in a minute without sharing a piece. Heifer.
Cannoli:
The choco chip cream filling is delish. I love me some cannoli. Makes me miss the East Coast. I felt stuffed after eating 2 pieces of my mini pizza and a couple of the rolls (I had to make sure that after the first one I wasn’t eating crap) and just had a couple bites of my cannoli. I knew I should have eaten that first!
Well, I know I will be revisiting this place again in the WAY future to try other things on the menu because I remember my first experience there with the white pizza was good. The service was good. Parking is easy. Let me know what you tried there that was good. Maybe I’m missing out on something?
Happy New Year peeps!

«Leave the gun, take the Cannoli»
–Clemenza, The Godfather
Great little New York style Pizza, Pasta, and Hoagie take-​out place. Awesome lunch specials and delicious CANNOLI!!!
I’d eaten at the Kahala site several times (check out Matthew Gray’s awesome review
) and was stoked to find out they set up a new shop in the Pearl City area. Immediately this got added to our list of favorite area lunch spots.
So what should you expect, well it’s a takeout counter with exactly two tables (each with two seats, see picture) outside so plan most likely on eating elsewhere. Here you can expect food made to order, it’s best to call in if you don’t want to wait, and friendly service.
The pizza pies here really are good and can be had several different ways.
Size: 9″, 14″, or 18″
Crust: Hand Tossed Thin Crust or Ultra Thin Crust upon request
Sauce: Traditional (Red), Olive Oil & Sweet Basil (White), Pesto, or Hot & Spicy
Veggies: Spinach, Mushrooms, Onions, Green Peppers, Tomatoes, Jalapenos, Black Olives, Garlic
Meats: Pepperoni, Italian Sausage, Ham, Meatball
Special Toppings: Sun Dried Tomatoes, Anchioves, Ricotta, Genoa Salami, Grilled Chicken Breast, Pineapple
Or if you’re not up to building your own you can pick from a list of creatively named pies (e.g. Twin Towers, Bronx Bomber, The Hamptons, etc). The White Pizza choices are ideal options for those who aren’t big fans of tomato sauce. Items like Grilled Chicken Ceasar Pizza (Creamy White Sauce, Grilled Chicken, Spinach, Tomato & Parmesan) are delicious (see picture). If ordering 14″ or 18″ pies be sure to ask them what the daily special is. The 9″ can be made of any pizza and are just right for lunch.
The Cheese Steaks and Hoagies (Stickball, the meatball sandwich seems to be popular) are always tasty, as is the hearty servings of Pasta. While they’re more than big enough to be eaten as a full meal, I actually think the Pastas served here would best be utilized as side dishes for the excellent pizza. Having tried both the Baked Ziti AL Forno and the Chiciken Parmigiana I found them to be good, but not great (hence making them better sides, they’re not quite ready for stardom). Other pastas include Alfredo, Creamy Pesto, and Vegetable Pasta. The garlic bread that comes with them though is excellent.
If you’re going to order a Calzone or Pasta for lunch, be sure to ask for the lunch special. For just the price of the Calzone or Pasta you’ll also get a salad and 12oz. drink. Remarkably according to the guy working the counter, some people turn this offer down. Who turns down free food and drink???
The Cannoli, with their crisp shells (that get flown in) and sweet creamy filling (made fresh at the shop), are by far my favorite item sold here. Instead of soggy Cannoli that have sometimes sat for hours, here they don’t fill it until you order it. A nice touch is the addition of little chocolate chip morsels to both ends of the Cannoli. They’re not huge, but they’re delicious. Also have heard a few people rave about the cheesecake here.
This place is worth trying out, especially if you like Pizza and live or work in the area. And while you’re there don’t forget the Cannoli.
Random Note:
It was only a few minutes ago that I found out «Cannoli» was actually the plural of «Cannolo». Doh, atleast once I must of asked for Cannolis. Oh well, now I know.

The cannoli is what saved this place with 3 stars. You can’t beat Jersey/​NYC italian food. I know, I always say this but I can’t help it! I ordered their 9″ Twin Towers (garlic & spinach) mini pizza and my hubby was craving for a Guido Hoagie (Salami, Pepperoni, shredded Lettuce, Tomato, cheese, & Italian dressing. I like burnt food but my mini pizza was a little too burnt. And there seemed to be somewhat of a struggle with the hoagie, not sure who won.
I wasn’t quite satisfied with my dinner and needed something to calm my craving for something better. Then I remembered Joshua C’s review of the cannoli! My spouse was hesitant but we ordered one anyway — it was one of the better ones we’ve had. Definitely the best one we had on the island so far. Freshly made to order.
I would not recommend eating inside if you don’t like plastic seating and dirty walls with wrestling pictures. I’m assuming that was the owner. I asked him if he was from NY or NJ (he had such a heavy accent) and he said «no, I’m actually from Connecticut.» His final line confirmed this weird eating experience.