Pizza! From Fragrant Fennel Sausage to Crisp Pepperoni, Roasted Garlic, Mushrooms, Peppers and Beyond, Square or Round. A Pizza Journey: Steel Pan, La Morra, Quarter Sheets, Gra, Little Coyote, Prince St., Mozza and More! [Thoughts + Pics]

@Chowseeker1999 and @BradFord, your posts remind me of this sweet bastard…

image

I can say that I’ve had the “pinsa” from Oste and it was “ok” - i like that they get crunch there with a minimum of char…the shape still reminds me of something that comes out of our home oven.

4 Likes

Thanks @drrayeye :slight_smile: I remember some Hounds mentioning this place on our old board back in the day. I’ll bookmark it. Do you have any favorite pies there?

Thanks @chienrouge ! :slight_smile: I really hope they straighten things out. If the Owner-Pizzaiolo William decides to make most of the pies, Pizzeria Sei is going to be pretty awesome (or if he can get better help). :slight_smile:

If you try it, let me know what you think (and see who’s making your pie that visit for comparison).

1 Like

Hi @BradFord ,

Thanks. And thanks for the great info and insights again. :slight_smile:

That Margherita from Pizza Studio Tamaki in Tokyo looks delicious and it has that similar “pinched” crust / shape that I saw at Pizzeria Sei. I’ll bookmark it for my next visit! :slight_smile:

Thanks for the tip on Oste.

1 Like

Yes, please! :slight_smile: I want to see what @ipsedixit thinks of Little Coyote’s version in comparison to your all-time favorites. :blush:

And in the other direction, if you find yourself on the Westside, don’t forget to try Gjusta’s Meatball Sub. It was incredible the 2 times we had it. Maybe I’ll make a return visit to verify it’s still consistent. :wink:

Hi @chienrouge ,

Hahaha! Iron Chef Italy! :grin:

Thanks for the report back on Oste. Besides the crunch, how was the Pinsa dough / crust itself? Was it on the dry side like a cracker? (That’s what the Pinsa at La Bella tasted like.) Thanks.

i would say yes on the drier and thinner side but not verging into “cracker crust” territory which I despise. Don’t even get me started on St. Louis pizza! I wouldn’t call this a destination pizza (pinsa) spot but the spot sure is popular and gets lively crowds and maybe a spot to check out if you’re near the farmer’s market.

1 Like

Sausage and mushrooms–like I had many years ago in my home town.

Always an interesting mix of patrons.

Ray

1 Like

Thanks @chienrouge . Good to know.

Wait, what is St. Louis-style Pizza?! :open_mouth: Are there places around here that serve a good version? :sweat_smile: Thanks.

With Forest Park and more St. Louis is a lovely city. The pizza seems to be a sick joke on Chicago tho with cracker crust and “provel” cheese. I was there for work recently and went to the the Hill area and had this one with with eggplant and sausage. We asked for regular mozzarella not provel but I’m not sure really what happened. The toasted ravioli and giant beers in fish tank goblets were better.

I don’t think there’s any place here that has that and I’m not looking for it. Maybe casa bianca comes close - it’s not my bag either but I see folks like it.

2 Likes

PST is a good spot, especially if you’re in a bind and don’t have a reservation around Roppongi. I’ve walked in no problem, and it’s a good place to take guests (friendly to travelers). I don’t know if Tamaki-san is always at the Roppongi (they have another location in Higashiazabu), but Tamaki-san was cooking the pizzas at Roppongi when I’ve been.

They have a good menu - check out this fried fish appetizer, better than one may otherwise expect from a pizza restaurant:

fried sawara “escabeche” - in this case, actually like a nanbanzuke. Fried Spanish mackerel (served tepid, as is the style of nanbazuke), olive oil, dill, pink peppercorn, balsamic vinegar, and pickled onions, belle peppers, and celery.

I haven’t been yet and would defer to @chienrouge 's picture and notes. I will try Oste, but yes the pinsa pictured has a peculiar shape; perhaps that’s the style, I’m not sure! Perhaps my tip is premature, but the acquaintance seemed to be into real Italian restaurants quite a bit. I’ll have to check it out myself sometime to confirm.

Now I feel like I should contribute some more pizza to this thread. In the context of Sei, here’s some of my photos of Neapolitan pizza in Italy:

Frutti di mare pizza in the style of Franco Pepe (a famous Neapolitan pizzaiolo from Caiazzo). At a nice hotel in Ravello, atop the Amalfi coast. I had many pizzas in my stay at the hotel - maybe 5 or so - but only have pictures of this one and maybe one with special tomatoes (but I can’t find that picture now). Crust’s cornichione was consistently quite puffed with a very pillowy chew.

and


Margherita pizza at 50 Kalo in Naples, by Ciro Salvo. My favorite pizza of the trip. My driver recommended 50 Kalo over Michele. 50 Kalo’s crust apparently has a very high hydration. Less leoparding and puffy cornichione. The ingredients were also very good: Casa Marrazzo tomatoes, Fior di latte cheese, DOP 24 mo Parmigiano-Reggiano, local olive oil by Colline Salernitane. Excellent balanc

I know they have their own take on Italian food, such as the toasted raviolis (“t-ravs,” as the locals told me)…but perhaps it’s better for ribs than for pizza!

2 Likes

Great pizza porn well done Brad.

Your squid clam and shrimp and whatever other cockle and mussel number looks amazing. The Napoli stuff too.

Been many years since I’ve been that way. Bravo !

2 Likes

Thanks for the pic and clarification @chienrouge . :slight_smile: Wow, St. Louis-style Pizza looks quite distinct. A little gloppy and that crust looks like a cracker / dry bottom? Good to know! :slight_smile:

Hi @BradFord ,

Thanks for the tip on PST! That appetizer definitely looks like something from a more elevated / fancy restaurant! I think it’d be great to have that as an opening at a Pizzeria and then enjoy the Pizza itself. :wink:

That Frutti di Mare Pizza definitely looks like it’s got some fresh Seafood on top! (A rarity - locally around here, you’re lucky to find fresh Clams at the most.)

50 Kalo: Wow, I like the very light (barely there) leoparding on the crust! Much more to my tastes than the heavy charring (or totally burnt crusts) from local places at times. It’s great to hear the hydration is also high, and you enjoyed the Pizza overall. Bookmarked! :slight_smile: Thanks!

1 Like

that frutti di mare pizza might be your next white whale to find in la, or to encourage someone to make maybe easier…ive seen shrimp on pizza here, clams too, but that one looks spectacular, but maybe also doable?

I’m seeing this spot has it, looks far from napoli to me at first glace (I have a friend in that area and I actually think I’ve had pie from that spot before, but not that one; it wasn’t memorable for whatever reason).

All’Angolo Pizza & Pasta - Los Angeles - Menu & Hours - Order Delivery (allangolopizzamenu.com)

But seeing as you know the head pizzaman himself at that sei spot, hope springs eternal? Personally I don’t think the shells enhance the pizza and a nice napoli kinda pie doesn’t take long to cook – the proof is in @BradFord photo.

@BradFord and @Chowseeker1999 have you tried L’antica Pizzeria da Michele | Since 1870 (damicheleusa.com) in hollywood? I rather enjoy it - haven’t been super recently.

photo from their menu

No mare pizza there, but maybe some high level shmoozing …?

1 Like

Hi @chienrouge ,

All’Angolo - Never heard of that spot. Thanks for the info. It’s in the heart of Koreatown. Interesting! I agree with you, that pic of theirs doesn’t look very close at all to the spot from @BradFord in Italy. :sweat:

Great point. If someone could pull it off, perhaps the chef-owner of Pizzeria Sei if he were open to new ideas? :slight_smile:

L’antica Pizzeria da Michele: Ah yes, I’ve tried the Hollywood location. I wrote about it a few years ago on our old board. I haven’t been back since before the pandemic (we went 3 times I think?). I liked some of the pies and some of the flavors were good. There was one or two pies that didn’t do much for me, but I’d be happy to go back and try more. Thanks for the reminder. :slight_smile:

I think the atmosphere at Antica is great too. Keep up your pizza recon I like it !

1 Like

I would not go to All’Angolo for pizza, or really anything.

If I’m at All’Angolo I would walk across the street to Jinsol Gukbap and get some Pork Gukbap or Dwaeji Gukbap.

1 Like

Hi @ipsedixit ,

Thanks for the warning. :slight_smile: Oh! It’s right across from Jinsol Gukbap? I was just there.

Yes, that’s one of the many beautiful things about the Amalfi coast - excellent local ingredients (the tomatoes, olive oil, cheese, etc. and even the daily seafood). I think that importantly, Neapolitan style is a good style for a frutti di mare pizza because

  1. it’s cooked at high heat and very quickly (maybe 60-90 seconds), so the seafood and toppings in general are still moist, not overdone (granted, some specific types of seafood may be precooked, such as the cockles and mussels, which are shelled); and
  2. the high hydration and long fermentation plus high heat leads to a very puffy, pillowy crust. Texture wise it’s a great match to seafood. A thinner, crunchier crust (perhaps like pinsa) is not as good a match for seafood toppings, in my opinion.

Note the very light crust - not charred on the bottom:

A “clam pie” from the northeast US is quite a different style but good in its own right. I do enjoy the clam and oregano pie at Pizzeria Delfina in the Bay Area, but it’s less of a destination more of a local haunt I can pop in to on any given afternoon. If one is topping a pizza with fresh, snappy seafood, I think that the Neapolitan pizza texture and cooking method are better.

I’m told this is a sign of good handwork and temperature control when kneading and stretching the dough. Touching it too much and unevenly leads to more bubbles and char spots. They say a good Neapolitan pizzaiolo can stretch a pizza quickly in about 3-4 turns or so, and it’s a quick process so the dough doesn’t get too worked and aired out. Leoparding itself isn’t necessarily a defect (cooking at that high heat will naturally result in some blackening of the crust), but its evenness is a sign of good handworking.

50 Kalò is excellent! Our driver recommended it (over Michele) and got us a table - it seemed like everyone else was local, but I do believe they have a London branch now. A short drive to Grand Hotel Vesuvio for a rooftop drink to wait out some of the traffic, or just to relax. Now, whether Naples is itself worth a trip while in Italy is perhaps another discussion, even though there are quite a few local foods to try (vongole, cuoppo, pizza, pizza fritta even, sfogliatella, baba and some espresso, etc.). La Notizia (by master pizzaiolo Enzo Coccia) was also recommended, but 50 Kalò was closer to our appointments.

Yes, shells on pizza are a no-go for me!

Not yet, but that will be rectified next month when my folks visit!

2 Likes