“Menchie’s CEO to debut fast-casual pizza concept”
Yeah, that headline didn’t catch my attention either. Another businessman entering the quick service assembly line pizza game is old hat these days. Executive Chef Peppe Miele is another name I glossed over. Then I saw Senior Chef, Mario Vollera, and immediately booked my visit to MidiCi Neapolitan Pizza.
… MidiCi Neapolitan Pizza (Los Angeles, CA)
I rue the day I assumed SunCafé was a commonplace sandwich/salad/smoothie joint. It is so, so, so much more. The converted 1920’s ranch home (formally Zach’s Café) on Ventura Blvd extrudes warmth and comfort while the menu promotes whole food in comforting and familiar forms.
… SunCafé (Los Angeles,CA)
From the very beginning, the food truck moment has seemed silly to me. Chasing meals-on-wheels which never seem to be anywhere close when you crave them. We mutually burn fuel in a roundabout run that rarely leaves my belly or either of our wallets satisfied. And nothing is as frustrating as trolling through twitter and poorly kept Facebook pages just to find out the truck was on your corner… yesterday. I avoid them all together, except in an exceptional case.
Del Popolo is an exceptional case.
… Del Popolo (San Francisco, CA)
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!
UPDATE: There is anchovy in the tomato sauce! What a bummer!
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.
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.
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.
On a perfectly sunny summer evening the (cool) ladies of my offices hopped a cab to the airy patio of the Maritime Hotel. We quickly sank into a scene where the clientele sashay around the nautical piazza as though they are gracing an uber cool red carpet. They mingle with the hot dads, beautiful children, and monotonous models in scant breezy skirts that flashed bare ass with every butterfly flap.
Our waitress was beautiful but looked barely 17, and so I refused to take wine recommendations from her. I jealously admired her tight short shorts that looked like they hugged her perfectly, but then I saw her picking wedgies multiple times and felt better as I lounged in my summer dress.
On my side of the table, we order the cheapest bottle of white and it was one of the worst wines I’ve ever consumed. Thinking our lesson had been learned, the next round we ordered a pricier bottle, but it was only a hairline better. So we enviously watched our friends sipping on their lovely (although non alcoholic) cocktail across the table. The virgin cocktail menu assembles distinctive drinks that sounded more and more alluring as I drank my 2 bottles of crappy wine.
I found the palm sized rounds of warm pizza doughy bread and the salads to be the highlight of the dinner. Although we didn’t order pizza (until dessert ) the “bread” quietly establishes their pizza oven pride… which I’m sure is perfectly good for the tourist…
The Veg Foodie 