Pizzanista (Los Angeles, CA)

December 10, 2011 2 Comments

Huge huge huge slices! Double the size I expected...

After 8 years in Brooklyn (Bed Stuy! Do or Die!), I kissed my favorite pizza good-bye and flew home to Los Angeles. A few months later I was hired at Slice. I didn’t know much more about pizza then the average NYC foodie. But that’s considerably more than the average LA foodie… and probably how I got the job. This past year I’ve devoured the Los Angeles pizza scene, learning a simple truth: There is awesome pizza in LA!

That’s not to say I haven’t had horrid pies along the way. But I’d gladly eat 10 bad slices (it’s not like pizza is ever really that bad) for every marvelously cheesy discovery. Pizzanista is a perfect example. In the modern dereliction of the downtown Arts District there is little competition when it comes to feeding the masses, so a popular pizza spot may not necessarily be good. But after just ones taste of Pizzanista’s insanely generous slices of vegan cheese and Sicilian pizza, this is a joint I will be going out of my way for.

Thin floppy crust with a glittering brown underside

I’ve eaten far more NYC style pizza then I would ever tell my doctor. And though this looks like a NYC slice, it is a completely different beast. Stretched big and thin like an east coast pie, the thoroughly crisp crust has an unexpected element: Sourdough! NYC style crusts have little more flavor then flour and tap water, but Pizzanista’s pies are complexly layered with fermented sourness. Matched with the unsweetened tomato sauce, it might be too sour for some palates. But, hot damn, I’m a girl who appreciates this kind of attention to crust.

A perfectly cooked Sicilian slice!

The thick base of the Sicilian truly shines in my eye (mouth). The crust crunches like a fresh from the oven boule, the kind of finish you knock on and hear the hollow tone of a finely baked bread. Supple and moist with a bubbly underside that can only be described as gorgeous, the top is muddled with deep pools of Alta Cucina “Naturale” Style Plum Tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. As I neared the end of this monstrous slice, I had to make a choice: Eat the outer crust and leave the middle behind, or eat the glistening tomatoey center and leave the bones behind. In all other situations, tomatoes and cheese wins. But the just-shy-of-burnt mozzarella cheese on the crackling edge demanded my attention. The tomatoey center was left on the plate.

Maybe I’m just overly excited. This was only my first visit. But Pizzanista’s recipes were developed by pizza idol Steve Samson of Sotto, so I have faith that consistent quality is coming out of their deck oven. I intend to find out… probably next Mac and Cheese Sunday!

Pizzanista
2019 E 7th St
Los Angeles, CA 90021
(213) 627-1430
www.pizzanista.com

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Milo + Olive (Santa Monica, CA)

December 2, 2011 2 Comments

The First Pie

I eat a lot of pizza. So, when the internet gushes praise on a brand new pizza place, how cannot I not chime in? Today, Foursquare and Twitter blew up with love and attention for Milo + Olive’s pizza (most notable by The Unemployed Eater) so I got my butt over there ASAP. Thinking I could successfully avoid the lunch rush, I was still met with a completely packed restaurant. So I placed my to-go order—got an estimated 30 minute wait time—and hopped over to Sonny McLean’s Irish Pub where I nursed a Affligem Abbey Ale in anticipation.

Boom!

The dough clearly has a bakery vibe. The crisp shell is reminiscent of Stella Rosa and Mozza while the soft bready inners are like Olio. There is nothing shy about the toppings. The rich sauce rolls heavily across the tongue with stewed tomato pulp. Salty islands of mozzarella and coarsely chopped basil float on top. The sauce clearly overpowers the other elements, but considering the relative dryness of the crust, this works in its favor.

With such a pretty pretty top, this is the underside... bummer...

The beautifully tall crisp edge gives way to a sadly saggy center. With so many exciting elements on top of this pizza, the almost pure white underside was such a disappointment. But then again, they just opened and it can take a while to learn the ways of a new oven. The turquoise wood-burning Mugnaini looks promising and Milo+Olive clearly has a great grip on their toppings. Once they get some consistent crisp color on the underside of the crust, this could be a prime Santa Monica pizza spot.

Milo and Olive
2723 Wilshire Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90403
(310) 453-6776
miloandolive.com

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Areal (Los Angeles, CA)

October 27, 2011 Leave a Comment


Eggs and veggies, yum yum!

It’s great to have friend in high places… or hot kitchens! I got an invite to the preview brunch at Santa Monica’s Areal, a breezy white washed patio with a farm to table menu. Through clenched teeth, the kitchen brags that everything is made from scratch and you can taste it in every dish they put out.

Though I longed for the ricotta with honey, I went straight for the slightly healthy option: Moroccan Stew. A deeply spiced broth flutters around fresh cannellini and garbanzo beans, carrots, cauliflower and leafy greens. Crispy-edged fried egg whites hold two still runny yolks. Warm and wholesome, this could have easily been my entire meal.

The patience of my friend's hands dissipated the second I put down my camera... chomp!

The menu description of the Soccas sounded like flat breads, so the waiter explained these are based on a French street food. It’s sort of like a crepe made of garbanzo flour that is traditionally served plain. At Areal, they bake it in the wood fire oven with a light scattering of toppings. My friend and I both gravitated towards the heirloom tomato and arugula and the waiter hardly agreed. I preferred the crisp edge of the socca over the eggy tasting (there is no egg) center. But I don’t imagine I’ll be ordering this again in light of the phenomenal pizzas coming out of this same oven!

Heaven in Santa Monica

Choosing just one pizza proved a daunting task—there was only us two girls and no take out boxes to tackle the meal—so I conceded the choice to my guest. When I first began reviewing pizza for Slice I did A LOT of reading about the scene here. One of the tidbits that really stuck with me was the observation that Angeleno’s are obsessed with burrata. At first I was offended by the stereotype, but this past year I’ve silently watched as every native Angeleno automatically orders anything with burrata on it… and so, that is how we arrived at the Radicchio, Cherry Tomato and Burrata Pizza. I’ve had radicchio on many pizzas and have concluded that its bitter crunch has no place on my pies. Toppings aside, the crust is the star and the reason everyone should get their tukis here now!

Areal
2820 Main Street
Santa Monica CA, 90405
arealrestaurant.com

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Bella Vista Brazilian Gourmet Pizza (Los Angeles, CA)

October 10, 2011 1 Comment

Now, I know people hate chicken pizza... (outside of California)

So, what is Brazilian pizza? If Bella Vista Brazilian Pizza is a good representation, then it is a thin crispy crust with delicate, but a piecemeal collection of toppings. Bella Vista is an homage to the Bexiga neighborhood —AKA the “Little Italy” of São Paulo, Brazil— one of the biggest hubs of Italian culture outside of Italy. I invited the Serious Eats LA MeetUp group to this little spot. Though it doesn’t sound like a particularly excellent example of pizza, the abundance positive reviews intrigue.

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Motorino (Brooklyn, NY)

February 26, 2010 Leave a Comment

Oh the tragic beauty of wating for a table

If you have ears you’ve probably heard that the New York Times recently called Motorino the BEST PIZZA IN NEW YORK! Is it true? Well, the long answer is that like yetis, Shangri-La and poo that don’t stink, there is no such thing as the best because blah blah blah… but the short answer is: Yes.

Like a Japanese Zen garden of happiness

The tragedy of all this is that for all the strength of the pizza, the restaurant itself has always been a struggle. The over extended waitstaff and pizza paddle wranglers manage to get pies on the table with impeccable fresh from the oven timing, but the wine/water/salad service and politeness suffer for it. Upon entering the Grand St location you hit the first row of tables as waitresses frantically wiggle though the isles as the clump of hungry hungry hipsters wearily scan for the elusive host with there hips literally pressed into the faces of diners. Since the NYT review, this scene of mass consumable hysteria has quickly spiraled into a full blown melee of middle aged Manhattanites sucking in our youthful Brooklyn charm while sucking up all the available tables at Motorino. But hey, I was sucked in by the hype too, last year when Grub Street took Mario Batali on an inter-borough new pizzeria tour and he declared Motorion superior to all, I was running after his bandwagon… but back then this was still a neighborhood joint; with NYT’s declaration, this place now belongs to anyone with a metrocard, cab fair, or driver.

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