ny pizza

[kpatick]

looking for ny pizza while in la in august, any suggestions?

[Hackenbush]

Another vote for Vito's.

I also wouldn't avoid Damiano's, Mulberry Street, Johnie's and also Frankie and Johnny's.

[argenti44]

Try Johnnies on Santa Monica across for the Westfield Mall in Century City. By far the best NY style pizza in the city. Small place just like a real pizzeria in NYC. I suggest the Mushroom and onion pizza. My family and I get it every time I visit LA.

[mdpilam]

Mulberry is my favorite, followed by Vito's, LaRocco's and Joe's.

[globalgourmet]

1. Vito's on LaCienega

2. Joe's in Santa Monica

3. Lamonica's and Mulberry

[JimmyC]

mr taster jersey shore i lived in pt pleasent damianos vitos joes lamonicas i consider decent

[Peripatetic]

Gotta say "me too" for Vito's. It's not quite up there with the best NYC coal-oven baked pizza like John's, Grimaldi's, and Lombardi's, but it's way better than anything from the dreary Ray's franchises.

Mozza isn't NYC-style, but if you love pizza you'd be doing yourself a disservice to overlook it.

[la tache burger]

Vito's Vito's Vito's. Also check out Mozza.

[latindancer]

I know why I like Mozza but please do tell me what is so earth-shattering at Vito's?
I really need to know.

[la tache burger]

quality.

[latindancer]

Quality does not always make great tasting food.
Lots of people I know use quality ingredients but great cooks, they're not.
It's like Sprinkles and the line around the corner and the obsessive compulsive cult following.

[Foodandwine]

check it out and tell us what you think. say hi to vito as well he will make your day when you spar with him as you are on this board..

[latindancer]

Check what out?
Vito's?
I have.
Is voicing an opinion about something subjective, like food, sparring?

[silence9]

Hello... Yes, I'd call referring to fans of Sprinkles as cultishly obbessed as 'sparring'. And (as regards "obsessive compulsive") to quote Inigo Montoya from the film The Princess Bride: " I do not think that word means what you think it means..". :-)

[latindancer]

Oh, so sorry.
It's the common opinion around my area to refer to Sprinkles customers, who fight to be first in line and then wrap that line around the corner on S. Santa Monica, in 90 degree heat paying through the nose for mediocre cupcakes, as cultishly obsessed.
Cultishly obsessed isn't a bad thing at all...especially for the owner(s).

[Das Ubergeek]

Simple -- it tastes like the pizza we grew up with (and I'm including Mr Taster and JimmyC, who, with me, are New Jerseyites). Thin crust, slightly sour crust, tangy sauce that isn't sweet, real mozzarella cheese (you'd be shocked how many places here use a blend), good toppings from a shorter, canonical list (i.e., you don't get BBQ chicken but you do get sliced meatball).

It's worth mentioning that NJ pizza is like two-cuts-sausage-anna-diet-to-stay type New York pizzerias, you know, the joints in every nabe. NJ pizza is NOT usually like the ilk of Totonno's, Lombardi's, etc.

The OP is looking for NY-style pizza in LA. There's nothing like Lombardi's or Totonno's, so the usual recommendation is Vito's. Vito is one of a few who actually got the crust right (he's from Elizabeth, New Jersey and makes pretty much the kind of pizza you can get on any major road in northern or central New Jersey).

If you don't like it, fine, don't eat there, but know that your opinion is reasonably unpopular. It is, however, yours to keep, though your assertion that it's like Domino's is not true -- Mulberry's pizza doesn't taste remotely like Domino's. Is it the best pie I ever had? No, of course it isn't, but the best pies are not here.

[a_and_w]

It's the pizza. They cook the crust correctly, use quality ingredients, and have the correct proportion of sauce to cheese. Can't vouch for the pasta, but the pizza is top notch. Doesn't mean you have to like it -- lots of Californians don't grok good NYpizza. But it's a little odd that you keep arguing this point based on the pasta. Do you have any specific criticisms of the pizza?

[JPomer]

Go to the Mulberry Street on Canon in Beverly Hills. You can even read the NY Post while you eat your slice

[latindancer]

I guess eating at Mulberry's is fine but having it delivered just a few blocks away is another story.
I find their pizza to be no different than, say, Domino's.

[JPomer]

totally disagree. Dominos is awful. Mulberry is not. Simple as that

[latindancer]

Dominos is crap and Mulberry is one notch above.

[Mr Taster]

Looks like the hounds-that-be have split to General Topics my rebuttal to latindancer's false assertion that Mulberry = Dominos.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/635622

Mr Taster

[bulavinaka]

One of my buddies who was born and raised on the (F)East Coast (Boston, Connecticut, NYC) - he's had some great East Coast pizzas in his life. He finds Mulberry more than acceptable for an LA-version of New York pizza. LIke others have mentioned, you're not going to get a New York pizza in LA, but I think saying Mulberry is no different than Domino's is just wrong. I've eaten slices at the tiny shop on Canon, and I've eaten Domino's at friends' just to be polite, but the two don't seem similar at all.

[a_and_w]

I've lived and eaten LOTS of pizza in all those places (Boston, CT, and NYC) and can assure you that Joe's, Vito's, and Mulberry Street all do decent NY street slices. The one thing we don't have is the coal oven places, which do what the Slice blog calls "NY-Neapolitan" pizza.

[a_and_w]

"I find their pizza to be no different than, say, Domino's."

Wow...you just lost all pizza credibility with that comment.

[manku]

Ditto...it's like saying morton's is no different than sizzler.

[ChinoWayne]

D'Amore's thin crust with corn meal on the bottom, simple toppings, exceedingly hot (burn the roof of your mouth) oven, bubbly, slighly black crust. Heaven.

-----
D'Amore's
12910 Magnolia Blvd, Van Nuys, CA 91423

[ohdaylay]

Joe's in Santa Monica. It's on Broadway near second street.

[HBfoodie]

Go to Damianos on Fairfax (just across the street from famous Canters Restaurant). Its a dark dingy dive that is open into the wee hours of the morning (if you go late you will see plenty of Hollywood's partying night creatures). Slices are alway available (see my attached photo) or order a whole pie. With its grungy interior and pizza slices that have a crunchy crust, thin foldable center and oily cheese you'll feel like you're eating somewhere in NYC.

[Arthur]

I like Damiano's pizza well enough, although the sauce always strikes me as a bit too cloyingly sweet for its own good. But as a born-and-bred ex-New Yorker weened on the city's pizza, the notion that Damiano's restaurant space is in any way physically representative of a typical NY pizza shop strikes me as some kind of mythologized grunge fantasy at best. Actually, "grungy" doesn't even begin to describe the interior. The place is seedy beyond words, with so little lighting that the dining area becomes virtually pitch black at night. As a restaurant dining experience, Damiano's far more closely brings to mind the pit in Silence of the Lambs than it does any true-to-life pizzeria in the five boroughs.

For an approximation of the genuine NYC experience, I'd say the LA winners are Lamonica's, Mulberry's, and Joe's.

For best tasting NY-style pizza, I'd run to Vito's.

[wienermobile]

I like Lamonica's NY Pizza in Westwood Village near UCLA, and you can get cookies at Diddy Riese right after.
http://www.diddyriese.com/home.php

[upstarter]

Valentino's in Manhattan Beach on Aviation Blvd. is fantastic. A sausage or/and garlic pies are my favs. White spinach is good too.

Not on topic, but their sausage rolls are IMO better than the pizza, especialy with ranch.

Tried Johnnie's?) on Sunset after some fanfare from a friend was totally disappointed...

[Foodandwine]

I stopped going to valentinos as much as i did in the past. Its always a greasy mess, but a good one at that. Actually like the place near the Hermosa Pier Pisianos (sp)
really good for the south bay. My go to spot is vitos and joes #2

[latindancer]

Paesano in Hermosa is excellent. Their pasta dishes and pizza is very memorable.
Haven't thought about that place in awhile.

[jotoll]

Two Boots Pizza, just opened in Echo Park
1818 W. Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90026
323-413-2668

[Joe Blowe]

It's true that Two Boots is *from* NYC, but I wouldn't say it was representative *of* NYC. As a matter of fact, when I lived there it was just about the last place where I would want to grab a slice...

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/441827

[a_and_w]

Joe Blowe is correct -- Two Boots is not even remotely NY style.

[kpatick]

if i wanted ny pizza i would go to ny.....perhaps i should have said thin crusted or neopalitan pizza, but thanks for your response

[hhewitt]

For Neapolitan pizza, try Pizza Antica in Marina del Rey. They're in a strip mall, but the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana has certified them, so they should be authentic. I've never eaten there, myself.

-----
Antica Pizzeria
13455 Maxella Ave, Marina Del Rey, CA 90292

[Servorg]

Antica is quite good if you like Neapolitan style. And when you say Antica is in a strip mall that is a bit misleading. It's really is in (maybe) a quarter sized "mall" that is 3 stories.

[Foodandwine]

But that is not NYC style. Antica is Not NYC Pizza as the op requests..

[AAQjr]

He did correct himself a couple posts up!

[westsidegal]

for neopolitan pizza, imho, antica pizzaria in marina del rey is the best.
second best would be THE GOOD PIZZA in westchester. dunno why, but the pizza margarita there tastes better than the veggie, but, in any case, they make a very good pizza.

since i was raised in brooklyn, i felt compelled to try vitos. imho, it's a fine pizza, but not worth the trip from playa del rey when two other just-as-good options are so much closer. yes, vito's i more brooklyn in style, but i am more than content with the neopolitan pie an ANTICA PIZZARIA and the pie served at THE GOOD PIZZA.

also, a pet peeve of mine: when the tap water in a restaurant tastes truly awful, i expect them to get a britta filter or find some other way to serve a free glass of decent water. (as an example, Mariscos Chente has even served me bottled water for free).
Vito's served me a truly distasteful glass of water. made me wonder if they were trying to increase sales of bottled water. . . .

[a_and_w]

I love the pizza with smoked mozzarella and eggplant at Antica. Also, they have ginormous arancini that are surprisingly tasty and could be meals in themselves.

[Obessed]

Go to NY...but if you can't then your best bet is Vito's -- if you search this board you will find tons of topics discussing this dilemma.

[ns1]

Vitos > *

Super expensive, but also super gratifying.

[latindancer]

Was there a few days ago and the place was empty.
Vito's is fine but I don't see the reason for people to say it's 'the best in LA'.
We ordered pizza and ravioli this last time and the pasta was embarassingly mediocre.
I find Antica's crust to be some of the best in the city.

[Ogawak]

I don't understand your post. You say Vito's pizza is not the best in LA because the pasta sucks? That's like criticizing the steak at a seafood restaurant. I was just there for lunch and the place was packed. We enjoyed our slices. This is after trying Pavich's excellent pizza in San Pedro. Vito's is still best for pizza, IMHO. Also good for calzone and great sandwiches, especially the eggplant parm.

[latindancer]

Okay.
The pasta was tasteless and mediocre. and the pizza's okay.
I was also there for lunch and we were the only ones there.

[ns1]

You went from pizza, to pasta, and back to pizza...

I have personally found them to be the best and most consistent in LA (their pastas and calzones too)

They are pretty busy at night.

[latindancer]

Pizza....okay.
Pasta mediocre.
The best?
Nah.

[ns1]

I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree :) Never took a person there who didn't love it.

[Schweinhaxen]

Antica is not NYC pizza......

[latindancer]

That's right and I like the crust on their pizza.

[a_and_w]

Love Antica, but I wouldn't send people there for NY pizza. Joe's or Vitos' are the places to go for NY pizza, with a slight edge to Vito's. I've also heard great things about the grandma slice at Tomato Pizza, but haven't had a chance to try it myself.

[Servorg]

Having perused the very nice website that Tomato Pizza Pie has put together, and looking at the excellent photos of their various selections that verge on the cusp of being food porn, I have to say that, just from a visual perspective, the Eggplant Parmigiana and the Joe P "Gourmet" pizza's (and maybe even the "Meat Lover") hold more interest for me than the Grandma.

http://www.tomatopiepizzajoint.com/Go...

[a_and_w]

Yes, but I'm a sucker for a good grandma slice. Also, someone mentioned it in one of the few reviews I could find on chowhound, and Alan Richman specifically cited the grandma in his piece naming Tomato Pizza one of the top ten places in the US.

PS: Thanks for the link!

[AAQjr]

To Quote the OP kpatick:

"if i wanted ny pizza i would go to ny.....perhaps i should have said thin crusted or neopalitan pizza, but thanks for your response"

In light of that what would everyone recommend. Any thin crust pizza's that are more uniquely Californian???

[a_and_w]

If Neapolitan is acceptable, then Antica hands down. There's also Bollini in Monterey Park, though I still haven't tried it personally. I would go to Mozza or Angeli Cafe for less traditional, more California-style pies.

Regardless, I think it's important to be clear about the difference in case others researching "NY pizza" come across this thread. I've been taking a a buddy of mine who craves NY pizza on a tour of places around LA, and his least favorite by far has been Antica.