Final 12 months, I used to be lucky sufficient to journey to Naples, Italy for the primary time.
One of many many causes to go to this historic and culinary diamond is to expertise the famed Margherita pizza, invented there within the late nineteenth century.
My spouse, a gaggle of vacationers and I caught a break when a desk opened at 50 Kalò, a pizzeria lauded in Italy’s Michelin information and recognized for its wonderful doughs.
We ordered a wide range of Neapolitan pizzas, together with a pair of the tomato, mozzarella and basil-based Margheritas. How lucky we had been.
One particular person at our desk, nevertheless, refused to attempt them. Her identify is Jan and he or she’s from New Jersey.
“It’s not higher than New York type,” she informed a shocked desk. “I’m certain it’s fantastic, however my man is best.”
Everyone knows a Jan in our lives — or typically, it’s us. All of us have our favorites, whether or not it’s pizza, tacos, draft beers or wines. However that shouldn’t cease us from attempting one thing totally different.
And also you don’t must journey to Italy for an important slice. My colleague, Meals columnist Jenn Harris, compiled a listing of seven new favourite pizzas to attempt in Los Angeles.
Harris takes readers from Hermosa Seashore to Eagle Rock, and from Santa Monica to Los Feliz in quest of a beautiful pie.
Let’s bounce into just a few picks from Harris’ listing — and bear in mind, don’t be a Jan.
Sonny’s (Hollywood)
I’ve seen all of the social media influencers proclaiming Sonny’s to be the most effective new pizza in Los Angeles. It’s a large pizza, with a diameter that looks as if the dimensions of a semi-truck tire. The crust is so crisp, the crackles are audible in each video of individuals munching on it.
A layer of bronze oil sits atop the pizza and settles within the many cups of pepperoni. It creates a sheen over the cheese. My fingers had been shiny. The oil dripped down my chin. The cheese, sauce and crust coalesce right into a slender slice that’s sturdy sufficient, however flops on the tip.
A few of the crust was cracker-like and golden. A few of it was burnt. It’s not an ideal pizza, however I appreciated the skinny crust and the flavour of the grease-streaked mottled cheese. And if another person is providing to undergo the difficulty of ordering the pizza, I’ll fortunately eat it.
The D-Recent pizza from Redwood Pie in Hermosa Seashore. The pizza is topped with pickled serrano chiles and spicy sausage.
(Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Instances)
Redwood Pie (Hermosa Seashore)
I first encountered Erik Vose’s pizza when he was working Vivace Pizzeria, a meals truck that housed a 5,500-pound Acunto Mario oven. He made a few of the greatest bubble-flecked Neapolitan pies within the metropolis. Now he’s creating his personal class of pizza at Redwood Pie in Hermosa Seashore.
He’s making a sourdough crust with a mix of 5 flours from Central Milling. It’s bready and splendidly chewy, a sheath of amber orbs and tight, tiny bubbles that create the best crunch.
The slice of pepperoni is textbook good from Redwood Pie, with a well-balanced sauce, a blanket of cheese and pepperoni cups that remodel into blistered meat sweet within the oven. For the white pie followers, there’s the “D-Recent.” A rugged panorama of sizzling Italian sausage crumbles, frizzled basil and pickled Serrano chiles tops the mozzarella base — and leaves your lips buzzing with warmth.
Pork-and-beef bolognese pizza at Bub and Grandma’s Pizza in Highland Park.
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Instances)
Bub and Grandma’s Pizza (Highland Park)
In case you’ve been following Andy Kadin’s profession, that his breads may be discovered at eating places across the metropolis. So it ought to come as no shock that his sourdough pizzas possess an exquisite tang and a sturdy crust that cracks with every fold and chew.
Kadin developed his pizza dough alongside chef Jeff Whittaker, who beforehand cooked at Hippo and Bar Monette. For the Bolognese pizza at Bub and Grandma’s Pizza, they slather the crust in a strong, meaty pork and beef ragu, with huge boulders of meat protruding from the melted mozzarella.
The porchetta pie is painted with a decadent garlic cream and cloaked in ribbons of porchetta, charred broccolini and loads of pepperoncini. It’s completed with a drizzle of garlic oil and a sprinkle of fennel salt. Think about all of the makings of a stellar porchetta sandwich in pizza kind.
For extra pizza wonderment, try this hyperlink for the whole listing.
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