Lunch with Loretta: Loretta is not a restaurant critic, and many of her posts are based on a single visit or company lunch order, thus not necessarily representative of everyone’s experience. She does regard herself as a foodie and local food purveyor. She believes that we should bring European lunch hours to the U.S., strives to be a “Lady who Lunches” and acknowledges that the best work sessions occur over the lunch hour, martini optional.  Things that make for a good lunch spot include locally-owned and operated, fast + efficient, tasty, friendly, inexpensive options and unique atmosphere.

La Rocca’s Pizza

“American-Italian food at its Finest”
Featuring: Pizza, Pasta, Subs and Salads

La Rocca’s is nestled in the shops located at 21st and Urish, next to Tailgators. Seating around 45 people, the smaller restaurant doesn’t feel crowded with booths aligning the North wall, four-tops on the South and two high-top tables by the counter. The efficiency of the method – order at the counter and they’ll deliver your food to you – worked well as we entered this lunch spot.

Ordering to share, the only way to try new restaurants IMHO, we got Lunch Special #1: Any sandwich with two garlic rolls for $6 and Lunch Special #3: 6’’ Personal pizza with up to three toppings and house salad. We both added on a soda for $1 – and got them in to-go cups for a continued caffeine fix back at the office.

Seated in our booth, our salad quickly arrived. It was the perfect side salad proportion but I was quickly disappointed with the non-exciting iceberg base.  Its saving graces were the fresh cucumbers, black olives, grape tomatoes and generous amount of feta cheese on top.  It worked.  Next came our two garlic rolls, which were more like Thanksgiving day rolls drenched in garlic butter and rolled in parmesan cheese.  I loved them. The rest of the table thought there were just okay – which just means more for me.

Next came our personal pizza with pepperoni, ham and sausage.  The crust is a hybrid of traditional and deep dish walls with a flakiness and homemade touch that made it phenomenal. The diced ham was a hit for us, and being pretty particular about my sauce-to-toppings ratio on pizza, this one hit the mark.

“This is [insert expletive] good,” said a lunch companion after taking a bite of the pizza.

The sandwich was a 6’’ submarine-style filled with ham, cheese, salami and topped with the perfect ratio of lettuce, tomatoes tossed in oregano, onions, Italian dressing and seasoning.

A person who I presumed was the owner stopped by our table to make sure we enjoyed our lunch and to see if we needed anything else.  I’m partial to knowing that my lunch came from the owner’s creation, kitchen and heart.  Bonus for me.

We took a to-go menu and planned our return visit, when we will have the LaRocca’s Italian Salad and the Chicago Style Italian Link Sausage, and went back to the daily grind – at least it was Friday.

Time [from entering to exiting]: 35 minutes
Avg. cost per person: $7.50
Stomach report: Delish and full (but not too full)
Leftovers: No
Is there a return visit / order: Yes. Looking forward to ordering the LaRocca’s Italian Salad (Italian style chef salad) and a large create-your-own pizza for carryout dinner sometime for the family
Seen + Noted items: Clean, friendly staff, quick, good lunch portions
If I could change one thing or had a suggestion: Delivery

Hours: Tues – Sat 11 am – 9 pm / Sunday noon – 6 pm
 / Closed on Mondays
2025 SW Urish Suite 107   P: 
861.7141
www.laroccaspizza.net

[photos provided by La Rocca's via website]