Being a fan of New York pizza (and New York, generally) I wanted to try Mama and Papa’s New York Pizza the moment I saw the yellow and black sign appear cater-cornered to the Paseo Colorado Starbucks.

I saw, I went, I ate and one thing is absolutely certain – it’s not a New York-style pizzeria.

It works as a sports bar or corner pub hangout for very casual afterwork relaxing, and the food isn’t bad. But pizzeria? Tri-staters would say, “Fuhgedaboutit.”

The pizza is sold by the slice or pie and is not bad. The sauce has a nice taste of garlic and is savory instead of sweet. The cheese is not over done, just enough to give a nice string when you take a bite. The crust is thin and crispy. It is worthy of ordering for take-out or delivery.

They have a very nice antipasto salad. A nice bed of baby greens is topped with julienned salami, pepperoni, roasted red bell pepper, tomatoes and shredded cheese. This is served with a somewhat flavorless Italian dressing.

Then there was the ball of meat wedge. Now that is not the real name of the sandwich but I find it hard to call what was served in that sandwich a meatball. Meatballs are tasty concoctions of meat, herbs, spices and garlic. These were literally balls of meat and not very flavorful meat at that. I will not speak of the sauce because my mother always taught me if you don’t have anything nice to say don’t say anything at all. The only remotely redeeming quality of this sandwich was the clever way in which it was served. The balls of meat were wedged inside the bread which was cut like a boat with the ends in tact and topped with a layer of melted cheese. This design allowed for eating without wearing.

The shining star of the meal was the honey barbecue wings. They were sweet, with a slightly smoky taste. The wings were moist and tender. Not dried out as so many wings can be. These are served with ranch dressing, but the honey barbecue sauce is so good why would you want to cover it up.

As with most Italian restaurants, Mamas and Papas serves pastas and calzones. The portions are large, they don’t skimp; and the presentation is attractive. But this does not atone for their inherent flaw: the food is just not anything remarkable.

M&PNYP has a full bar separate area from the dining room with happy hour beers-by-the-bottle offers ($1.50 Bud Lights, $2.50 Newcastle, Guiness, Heineken, Corona and all the usual suspects). But to my chagrin not on wine (I paid $6.00 a glass for a very mediocre white zinfandel, they were "out" of red).

TV sets adorn the walls all competing for ones attention while music plays in the background all vying to be heard. The noise level was the only remotely New York feature of the restaurant.

Mama & Papa's New York Pizza, 443 E Colorado Boulevard, Phone: (626) 578-9017 Fax: (626) 578-9071