Who remembers La Barbera's pizza in West L.A.?
Back in the 70's, I used to frequent a nice Italian restaurant called La Barbera's. It was on the north side of Wilshire Blvd. about a mile west of the 405. I was young and naive (now I'm old and naive) but I always thought of that as really great, tasty pizza. Probably, to my way of thinking, the best of my life (so far!).
Anybody who remembers it know where I might duplicate the experience?
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re: BSW6490
we get little toni's takeout pizza every now and again. a lot of people on chowhound seem to dislike it; me, i think it's probably the best pizza in that part of the valley. it is inconsistent, however. sometimes they don't bake it enough. but when they do, the crust is crunchy and crisp and chewy, and the sauce has a rich, tangy flavour.
i will say, from the description of la barbera's pizza (thick crust), little toni's is nothing like it. it's a thin crust pizza.
can't vouch for anything else they serve there.-
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re: BSW6490
wienermobile
Apr 28, 2012 11:16 PM
In all these years I have yet to find anything close to the taste of La Barbara's pizza. Very unique pizza. I loved their sausage. In the 70's I lived on Goshen Avenue at Westgate, right behind the restaurant and believe it or not I would eat there as many as 4 times a week. You could smell them cooking pizzas through out the entire neighborhood. To this day I still miss La Barbara's Pizza.
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re: wienermobile
It was the highlight pizza of my youth. Remember the sausage too. In fact that's what I got at Little Toni's. While not close, I must say I watched them making the pizza and they put a ton of thick toppings on their pies. FYI I asked the hostess about La Barbaras and she had never heard of it. Told her I was there because of this post and she said she would give it a look. I took the box to the car so excited that I opened it and ate the first piece before turning the ignition. Like I said, it was not bad, just not la Barbaras. An impossible standard to meet.
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I'm a West L.A. Native and remember La Barbera's vividly. When I wasn't eating pizza there with my pals, I was there with my folks. It was far and away my favorite pizza and i was terribly sad when the family decided to close shop. Since that day, I've compared every pizza I've eaten to La Barbera's and everything pales in comparison.
But I think I may have some excellent news for lovers of La Barbera's pizza...
A dear friend of mine, a hardcore pizza-loving Chicago native who's been here since the early 70s and fondly remembers La Barbera's as well, recently called me and said he had something exciting to share. He said he discovered a place that is as close to La Barbera's as he's ever had -- Little Toni's on Lankershim in North Hollywood. Knowing the pizza snob that he is, I took his suggestion very seriously. So, we gathered our wives and headed to Litttle Toni's.
When we walked in the front door, my heart leapt. The tables, chairs, ambience, looked exactly the way I remembered La Barbera's to be. Even the waitresses looked the same, like they had been transported from Westwood to North Hollywood, from the past to the present. Now to the important part -- the pizzas.
I watched as the pizzas were served to tables around me. I could not believe what I was seeing. Beautiful cheesy pies that looked exactly like La Barbera's. And the aroma took me back 40 years. I ordered an individual pizza, pepperoni and meatball -- just like the ones I loved at La Barbera's. After a short time, it was delivered to our table. I just stared at it for a couple of minutes in disbelief. There it was -- seemingly a La Barbera's pizza. And when I took that first bite, it almost brought me to tears. Yes, this was far and away the closest I'd ever had to those great pizza pies in Westwood. And I mean CLOSE! The crust, flavor, meats, sauce -- even the weight of the slice as I lifted it to my mouth all screamed that I had finally found the reincarnation of La Barbera's pizza. It was perfect!
I had conversations with the staff, telling them about La Barbera's and was surprised they had never heard of it. Little Toni's looks like it has been there since the 60s as well -- La Barbera's North!
Anyway, I urge all you La Barbera's lovers to try it. Let me know what you think. I think you'll love it!
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re: BSW6490
Servorg
Apr 24, 2012 10:10 AM
I note that there have been "Little Toni's" (or Tony's) reviews on the L.A. board as far back as 2002 (at least) but I didn't notice any current board names attached to that one. Here is a later thread by "known hounds" http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/80908
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re: Servorg
Just go to Little Toni's for the pizza! If you all recall, the other dishes at La Barbera's were not worth mentioning. I remember trying a few of them and they just weren't very good -- very pedestrian preparations at best. But the pizzas! And it sounds like Little Toni's is very similar in that category also.
One other thing I loved at La Barbera's -- the spumoni!
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re: BSW6490
wienermobile
Apr 28, 2012 07:38 PM
I thought that might be the case or us La Barabarains would of been out there years ago. Still wishing that someone buys their original recipe. The search continues. A boy can dream.
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re: E Eto
Villa Italian in Culver City makes a pretty good thin crust sausage and cheeze pizza. You kind of have to REALLY stress thin crust for them to make it that way. Good pizza for a sleepy little neighborhood place. We mostly get take out.
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Villa Italian Restaurant
3973 Sepulveda Blvd, Culver City, CA 90230
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Interesting, my first post was deleted. I just said that I remembered it fondly as a place used to go with friends. Loved the combination dinner they had with spaghetti and pizza.
I am glad that there have been several comments on Villa Italian. I love their pizza, and have been going there for over twenty years. Their pizza in rectangle and a little thicker but delicious. I also like their spaghetti sauce.It's funny, I have recommended several times on this board, and been criticized for it. Enjoy.
Even though it has changed hands from the original Italian family, they still keep the quality. One of the granddaughters from the family still works there.
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Villa Italian Restaurant
3973 Sepulveda Blvd, Culver City, CA 90230›1 Reply-
re: paprkutr
Hughlipton
Oct 4, 2010 01:47 PM
You can always find someone who will criticize but I agree that Villa Italian is still a go to place. I like the thickness of the crust, double cheese, double sausage, onions, olives, bell peppers sprinkle with parmesan and red pepper flakes and it is a true delight.
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Villa Italian Restaurant
3973 Sepulveda Blvd, Culver City, CA 90230
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Another one who remembers La Barbera's fondly.
Recently I tried the Petrillo's in Glendora, ordering a pepperoni and mushroom, something I would have ordered at LB's. Wow, it took me back; it was the great blend of ingredients with the mozzarella that reminded me of LB's. No, it wasn't as good, but it was still pretty good.
I remember LB's having the best pepperoni ever to this day. P's pepperoni isn't quite so good. There's also a Petrillo's in San Gabriel.
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Yes I remember La Barbera's back in the 70's, the best pizza I have ever had. When I was a kid around 1960 and did not know any better, my mom used to take me to Piece O Pizza also on Wilshire blvd. west of Bundy and used to get an anchovie pizza which I thought was great then, but nothing will ever beat La Barbera's. I will keep an eye on this post to see if we can come close to it.
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Fuhgeddaboutit! Pizza is dead in LA now that La Barbera's is gone. Because I love a really good pizza I will try Villa Italian in Culver City and the places in San Pedro & Wilmington. As for Barone's, the other poster was right. I wouldn't send my worst enemy there to eat that slop-and I don't just mean the pizza...YUCK!
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For some reason this childhood favorite popped to mind, quick search of Google brought this up:
http://maps.google.com/maps?sourceid=...
Does anyone know if theres any relation to the original? Do I dare even hope that the pizza of my dreams is available again?! I'm 30 miles from there otherwise I'd make the drive to find out myself. (fingers crossed :L)
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re: stephle
Hughlipton
Jun 4, 2008 02:06 PM
Further research on Google shows La Barbera's On Wilshire located on Goshen to be an elevator company.
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Yes, I well remember how great their pizza was and how they placed their toppings underneath the cheese instead of on top!
If you are ever in the South Bay area, I can think of 2 places that come close. Sorrento's in San Pedro and Domenick's in Wilmington. The Sorrento's Special is a serious pizza! I promise you will not be disappointed.
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justanotherpenguin
Apr 15, 2008 07:26 PM
i spent a lot of time there in the mid 70's. the closest for that kind of pizza is barone's on oxnard near woodman in van nuys.
i think that some of you may enjoy the following photographs:
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re: justanotherpenguin
Hughlipton
Apr 16, 2008 06:36 PM
I tried Barone's in the hope that there move to a new loation would revive what once was a decent Pizza house. I have now gone twice. In one trip. My first and my last trip. Absolutely horrible. Bellavista in Burbank is head and shoulders over Barone's.
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re: Hughlipton
justanotherpenguin
Apr 16, 2008 11:49 PM
we will just have to agree to disagree. i have been going to barone's for over 20 years, have watched them move, and still keep going back, as do many others. i guess this is why there is more than one color.
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re: foodiemahoodie
justanotherpenguin
May 5, 2012 09:37 AM
At one time they had at least two locations, one where you mention, the other in Toluca Lake. Both were closed down and the family purchased an old German restaurant (?Matterhorn?) on Oxnard, just west of Woodman. I still go there when in the area.
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Hughlipton
Apr 15, 2008 05:54 PM
Anybody who went to UCLA knew La Barbera's and finding a replacement is difficult. The closest I can think of is Villa Italia on Sepulveda near Washington. It's a square pizza, thick dough and if you order double cheese you might find yourself pleasantly surprised. It isjust a neighborhood restaurant that I will still travel from the valley to Culver City to have.
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re: Hughlipton
BeenThereAteThat
Apr 29, 2008 12:47 AM
I think Villa Italia is close, pizza-wise, but not in atmosphere. I didn't go to UCLA, but I went to La Barbera's more than a few times with friends who did.
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Villa Italian Restaurant
3973 Sepulveda Blvd, Culver City, CA 90230 -
re: Hughlipton
Thanks for the tip re: Villa Italia. I stopped in there today and really enjoyed a pepperoni and mushroom. It actually reminded me more of Petrillo's in San Gabriel and Glendora, which in turn reminded me of La Barbera's. Both places are excellent, and I'm happy to find a place on the Westside. The lady there told me her lasagne was to die for: I suppose that's next.
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The Chowhound Team
Apr 15, 2008 05:39 PM
Hi everyone,
Chowhound's mission is to help everybody eat better right now, today. Nostalgia threads are fun, but they usually end up chatty, taking a lot of space and diluting Chowhound's effectiveness. We remove the responses that just stroll down memory lane for this reason.
Thanks in advance to everyone that can reach into the wayback machine and help answer jerry200's question, "Anybody who remembers it know where I might duplicate the experience?"
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Chowpatty
Apr 15, 2008 05:27 PM
Here's a few threads to reminiscence, but I think the answer was basically no. It was thick crust, kind of oily and sweet but quite tasty as I recall. Personally I was a DaVita's fan.
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/54774
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/77084
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/52938
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/369047
