NY Pizza Tour

[rds246]

My mom, her New Jersey-raised boyfriend, and I have decided to undertake a "pizza tour" of LA. They live in the Valley and mainly go to Mulberry St., and are going to trek over the hill for a day of pizza fun in the city. I've been trolling the archives, but I would also like some helpful recommendations, with the following guidelines:

1. NY style only. While I've considered doing a more general tour with all different kinds of pizza, for this particular day we're sticking with NY style.

2. Single slices must be available. With all the pizza we're planning on consuming, we can't be ordering entire pies

3. Based on the places on my list already, I'm thinking we'll start near my (in WeHo) and move east. I'm not so interested in Westside pizza, just because the logistics are more complicated, but if there is somewhere absolutely outstanding that I am missing, please let me know.

Thank you in advance for all your help!

[stuffed]

If you make it to north OC, may I suggest:

Mammalucco's
2500 East Imperial Highway
Brea, CA 92821-6115
[phone]
http://www.mammaluccos.com

Bronx style, ala Arthur Ave. or Zerega Ave.

[film_score]

I've found that LaRocco's Pizza in Culver City has pretty good straight-ahead NYC pizza. It definitely seems to be the same as if you stopped in any random pizza joint in Manhattan. Also Lamonica's in Westwood is pretty good NYC style pizza (these are in addition to the other places everybody is recommending)

LaRocco’s Pizzeria
3819 Main Street
Culver City, CA 90232

LaMonica's
1066 Gayley Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90024

[gadflier]

Well, if you do go Westside - Coop
http://justsmog.com/coop.html

[orythedog]

VITO's - White slice with pesto

[JPomer]

Vito's for sure

[LuluTheMagnificent]

village pizza - larchmont

[HBfoodie]

Damianos! (across the street from Canters)

[Mr Taster]

Has everyone forgotten that Joe's also has a location around the corner from Vito's? Or has the sunset branch closed since I last checked? With the one-two punch, there's no reason to leave West Hollywood if you want NY style pizza.

Mr Taster

[rds246]

According to their website they are still there. They are definitely on my list (as well as Two Boots, I figure we have to try all the NYC folks) but perhaps I should call them to make sure they still are on Sunset?

[a_and_w]

You can probably skip Two Boots if you're looking strictly for NY-style pizza. I think the places to try are Vito's, Joe's, and Mulberry Street. I can't vouch for Tomato Pie, but it's on my list of places to try.

[mdpilam]

Agree with this. I've also had some good pizza at LaRocco's in CC, though generally, the above are better.

[Mattapoisett in LA]

I agree with this

[rds246]

really? I'm a fan of the Two Boots in New York, is the LA version quite different? I think we'll leave it on our list just so we can compare to all the NYC Two Boots slices we've eaten, but thanks for the warning!

[Mr Taster]

I think the warning again Two Boots is that even at the pizzeria in New York City, it's not exactly representational of what is widely regarded as pizza in New York. (In other communities, the definition of pizza is more fluid than it is in the city).

Of course if you've tried Two Boots in NYC and liked it, then by all means give it a shot.

Mr Taster

[rds246]

yeah, I guess I am not as stringent in my requirements compared to some others. When I lived in New York I ate a variety of pizza that I would consider NY Pizza, as opposed to, say Chicago Style or Neapolitan style.

I'm hoping to try at least 6 or 7 places when we do this. I've had some recommendations of places I haven't yet been to, but I don't know how reliable they are. What do people think of Garage Pizza, Nicky D's, Pitfire, and Lucifers? I'm not even sure that some of these places offer slices, but maybe other know...

[Servorg]

Pitfire reminds me to some extent of the classic Neapolitan style that is served at Antica Pizzeria in Marina Del Rey. We like both those and both would be worth adding to your taste test.

Pitfire has even opened up a new location on Washington Blvd in Mar Vista, which is very close to Antica in Marina Del Rey, so it would be easy to do both.

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

Pitfire Pizza Company
2018 Westwood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025

[Dommy]

I can only speak for Pit Fire, and they do not offer slices. I find their style more similar to Mozza/Pizzeria Antica than NY Style...

--Dommy!

[Servorg]

No slices, but they have the personal sized pizzas that are somewhat akin to having a slice.

[Mattapoisett in LA]

But not akin to NYC style which the OP is looking for.

[Servorg]

Once they said they weren't married to the strict definition of NY style, and added that they were thinking about adding Pitfire to the mix, it seemed like a natural to tack on Antica (for comparison purposes only!).

Never a bad thing to eat good pizza.

[sillygoosedown]

Garage Pizza: 3.5/5 stars
Nicky D's: 4/5 stars
Pitfire: 3/5 stars
Two Boots. 2/5 stars
Tomato Pie: 4.5-5/5 stars

[a_and_w]

What Mr. T said. I like Two Boots just fine, but it's not NY-style by a long shot.

[Dommy]

IME, The Santa Monica Branch serves a superior slice...

--Dommy!

[TomSwift]

Brooklyn Pizzeria on Tampa in Reseda (next door to Fab Hot Dogs, at least for the present). D'Amore Pizza Connection, multiple locations several in SFV. Brooklyn has slices, I believe D'Amore does as well.

[J.L.]

Joe's on Bleecker (Santa Monica), LaMonica's (Westwood), Vito's (La Cienega), then Tomato Pie.

Skip D'Amore.

[Mr Taster]

Agreed, I wasn't very impressed with D'Amore. Larchmont Pizza is decent as well. But a warning... their clam pie is no Frank Pepe of New Haven.

Mr Taster

[ns1]

Joe's - SM
La Cienega - Vito's
Melrose or Silverlake - Tomato Pie (grandma slice > *)