Luigi Ortega's

Luigi Ortega's is a pizza and taco spot located on East Colorado Blvd in Pasadena, California. Basically, I came here for a spicy pizza and some exotic meat tacos.

As many of you know, I love spicy food and trying new foods. I killed two birds with one stone on this visit.

The inside feels like a part pizza place and part sports bar. A few TVs are set up so you can watch the games.

I wasted little time in ordering the 12" Dr. Death Suicide Pie ($12.99), a thin-crust pizza with "suicide pizza sauce," mozzarella, white onions, elephant garlic, buffalo chicken chunks, sausage, and jalapenos. And there's a few slivers of habanero in there, too. The suicide sauce reportedly includes habaneros and ghost peppers.

Ingredients in the Dr. Death Suicide Pie
(Sorry for the camera flash in the middle of the pic!)

Dr. Death Suicide Pie
(Luigi Ortega's)

A decent pizza with some tasty toppings. Wolfed it down in about three minutes (yes, really). Frankly, I was hoping for a spicier pizza. I'm a huge fan of thin-crusted pizzas in general.

Here's the video of me eating the pizza (sped up the eating portion):

Perhaps I shoulda gotten the 16-inch extra large Dr. Death Suicide Pie ($18,99), but I wouldn't have had as much room for more food that day. Considering my friend and I had just stopped by the Kogi truck right before, I was feeling a tad fluffy by this point.

Panda logic dictates that I keep eating even when not hungry. I saw some exotic meats on the menu, so I also tried a Kangaroo Taco ($4.99). Yeah, I said kangaroo. The meat is grilled, then placed inside two small corn tortillas, topped with shredded lettuce and pico de gallo.

Kangaroo Taco
(Luigi Ortega's)

To say the least, kangaroo is interesting. It tasted dry here, but probably because it's just a leaner meat. The aftertaste puzzled me; it reminded me of the ocean. The first thought that came to mind was a fishy sensation. I didn't find it off-putting, just unique.

And yup, I got video of me trying this as well!

According to their website, the popular items include Ortega Nachos ($6.99), Ortega Fries ($5.99), Steak Fries ($3.99), Tortilla Chips and Guacamole ($4.99), and Chocolate Cake ($4.99). Not sure how updated the website prices are, though.

I spoke with Stephanie, one of the workers there. She liked a couple of sandwiches on the menu: the "Open Fire Chicken Breast Sandwich" ($7.49) and "The Sandwich" ($8.99).

"The Sandwich" sounds like one of those gut-busters that college kids would flock towards. Cheesesteak meat, sausage, mushrooms, white onions, pizza sauce, and steak fries in a sandwich? Yes!

Overall, I give this place a thumbs up. I hope to be back in the future. 7/10