Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma

On Rainbow Valley Grange Pizza Nights let them do the cooking!

Since March of 2009, on the first and third Fridays of the month, there have been some delicious scents wafting from the Rainbow Valley Grange Hall. That is when a dedicated band of volunteers are busy making pizzas to sell to the community.

There is a two-fold purpose for this – the first is to provide the community some great pizzas since there is no pizza restaurant in Rainbow and the Fallbrook pizza restaurants do not deliver that far.

The second is to raise funds for improvement of the Grange Hall, which was built in 1947 – with indoor plumbing installed in 1948. In the mid-2000s, the inside of the hall was painted and the fans and ceiling tiles were replaced. The 66-year old building has also received a new floor as well as a kitchen renovation, but still needs air conditioning, since they depend on fans for cooling and Rainbow can get hot in the summer.

The Grange members and friends who make the pizza were all required to take a “food handlers” class before they began to make pizzas for the public.

Most of the pizza orders are “to go,” but occasionally someone will stay and eat in the Grange Hall. Paper plates and napkins are provided, but it gets a bit warm with the pizza oven heating up the room and only fans for cooling the air.

The pizza comes in one size and it’s a big one – 15 ½ inches – which is good because this Grange crew knows how to make great pizzas! There are a variety of pizzas from which to choose and the prices are all very reasonable.

“The Kitchen Sink” is a curious pizza made with, “A little bit of everything we have…” That is understandably the most expensive pizza on the menu and it’s only twenty dollars.

Lucette Moramarco, who has been a pizza volunteer since the beginning, said that their record was thirty-five pizzas in one night. There were only three volunteers working that night, but they were able to complete all of the orders.

She related, “It was about two years ago in January and we ran out of crust or we might have made more pizzas!”

The vegetables that they use on the pizzas are courtesy of Rainbow Market. The crust is light, slightly crisp and flavorful. I thought the “Veggie Lover” pizza was very good and loaded with green bell peppers, red onions, black olives, mushrooms and avocado. The fresh avo was added after the pizza was cooked.

The “Pepperoni” pizza was also tasty; and sprinkled with oregano and basil, which lend a sweet flavor.

Diners can also design their own pizzas from a selection of fifteen toppings.

The volunteers have it down – just the right amount of everything on the pizza – not too much sauce – and loads of toppings.

Cheri Teague of Rainbow raved about the entire experience, “Coming here is just wonderful, the people are outstanding and the pizza is even better…it makes my whole day.” She added, “It benefits the Grange and I think that if you live in a community you need to support it.”

Rainbow Valley Grange is located at 2160 Rainbow Valley Blvd. in Rainbow. Order pizzas by calling (760) 468-3612 between the hours of 4:30 and 7 p.m. on the first and third Fridays of the month.

 

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