These pics and reports are a great reminder that the LA pizza scene is a lot better and more advanced than people sometimes give it credit.
Fill-in-the-blank on the word pizza. Think back 10 years ago to now. SoCal has come a long way from being an also-ran that long-established food cities made fun of, to the city that those detractors are now in denial over.
I donât think weâre tops, but our strengths favorably compare to any other city, and many of our weaknesses get remediated one at a time. Itâs truly an exciting time to be food-nutty in SoCal.
you got nice dough balls i hope
edit: on the chestâŠ
like boobsâŠ
dammit⊠joke failed
You should see my undercarriage shots.
Whatâs better than a rose on a piano?
DeSano at SteelCraft in Long Beach was pretty good but not as great as the original. Menu is limited compared to the original.
Whatâs better than a rose on a piano?
Tulips??
You said it⊠.
Update 2:
After having tried Pizzana, we wanted to reaffirm how one of our favorites, DeSano Napoletana Pizza Bakery, tasted.
They had 2 of their wood-burning ovens working this evening.
San Gennaro Pizza (San Marzano Tomato Sauce, Sausage, Peppadews, Garlic, Caramelized Onions, Scamorza, Mozzarella di Bufala, Pecorino Romano):
Thanks for the reminder from @PorkyBelly, we ordered the San Gennaro. The San Gennaro was actually one of the first flavors we tried from DeSano on our first visit, but weâve been trying other flavors since then and hadnât revisited it in a long time.
This is just a great flavor combination: I loved the savory (but not overly salty) porkiness from the Sausage and the Garlic and Caramelized Onions. The Peppadew Peppers added a nice balance, and then you had the creaminess from the Buffalo Mozzarella.
And that crust and Pizza dough flavor! After having just tried Pizzana, and trying DeSano, itâs immediately clear the flavor difference. It just makes DeSanoâs pies sing.
Calzone Napoletana - Vesuvio (Soppressata, Prosciutto, Pepperoni, Garlic, Scamorza, Mozzarella di Bufala, Pecorino Romano):
Iâve avoided Calzones ever since I tried one at California Pizza Kitchen in college (not joking). I was so unimpressed and scarred from eating that âstuffed / folded baked thingâ that I thought that all Calzones were similar and just had no interest.
But since @ipsedixit was waxing poetic about DeSanoâs Calzones, we decided to give this a try (after all, DeSanoâs Pizzas were fantastic, so how bad could their Calzones be, right?).
The half-moon shaped wood-fired Calzone Napoletano appears. Taking a biteâŠ
@ipsedixit why were you holding out on us??!!!
Imagine an incredible porcine aroma, almost a deep meaty funk, followed by drool-worthy, crave-inducing meatiness, with a luscious trio of melted Cheese and you have the Vesuvio!
This was FANTASTIC!
@PorkyBelly @J_L @Ns1 @bulavinaka @Bookwich @TheCookie @lapizzamaven and all fellow FTCâers who love melted cheesy, baked things, donât miss out on this.
8th(?) visit:
Capricciosa Pizza (San Marzano Tomato Sauce, Mushrooms, Artichokes, Prosciutto, Garlic, Scamorza, Mozzarella di Bufala, Pecorino Romano):
This was pretty tasty, but probably our least favorite flavor so far: I loved the Mushrooms and Artichokes combination, and the Mozzarella di Bufala and crust were as great as ever, but I think it was the Prosciutto Cotto: It just didnât seem to balance as well with the rest of the ingredients as their other pies.
Calzone Napoletana - Gigiotto (Broccoli Rabe, Sausage, Scamorza, Mozzarella di Bufala, Pecorino Romano):
After having the amazing Vesuvio Calzone, we had to try another flavor this time around.
The Gigiotto still had that incredible toasty, light crunchy exterior and wonderful balance of melted cheesy goodness inside, but we didnât like this as much as the Vesuvio. The Vesuvio is hard to beat with its wave of triple porky goodness. Here, the Gigiotto has Sausage (great), but the Broccoli Rabe they used today was extremely bitter.
And I like bitter greens like Arugula, or even Chinese Bitter Melon (which my friends from Taipei claimed I would never like!) but the Broccoli Rabe in this was surprisingly bitter and threw off the balance in the Calzone. It mightâve been a bad batch (weâve had plenty of Broccoli Rabe that wasnât anywhere near this bitter), so if it was lessened, I think the Gigiotto would be excellent.
DeSano Pizza (San Marzano Tomato Sauce, Sausage, Pepperoni, Garlic, Scamorza, Mozzarella di Bufala, Pecorino Romano):
Just a great pie for fans of both Pepperoni and Sausage. There was a really nice meatiness here, and the pie crust and dough were still consistently great, thin, pliant, but with enough body and a nice light crunch on the edge.
Pizza Carnevale (Special) (â8 Points Pizzaâ filled with Ricotta Cheese, Margherita Pie with Sausage in the Center):
They are still serving the Carnevale from the Pop-Up with Master Pizzaiolo, Attilio Bachetti from Pizzeria Da Attilio in Naples, Italy. We were glad to see it was kept on the menu.
Thankfully, itâs still delicious. I love the Housemade Sausage with the Margherita base.
But itâs the 8 Point Star-shaped crust stuffed with Ricotta Cheese that makes it standout. Still as delicious as always and I like the Marinara Sauce they give on the side for dipping. So good!
DeSano Pizza Bakery
4959 Santa Monica Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90029
Tel: (323) 913-7000
Iâm glad you liked it. Some people find the filling a bit sparse, but I prefer my calzones balanced and not overstuffed.
Funny, but I was first introduced to Desanoâs calzones in their Nashville location where the line for Hattie Bâs was just too long.
Iâm guessing the kitchen didnât sautĂ© the broccoli rabe long enough in EVOO before mounting in the calzone dough.
Wish this place was open late night, damnnnnn
Thanks again @ipsedixit. BTW, have you tried their 4 cheese Calzone? Just wondering how that compares with the Vesuvio.
Well, you know how I feel about cheese. If I could have a cheeseless Vesuvio, I would.
Hi @ipsedixit,
Oh sorry, I missed that! For some reason I thought you were one of those that enjoyed stuff like Chef Laurentâs famous cheese cart, etc.
Got 12 pies from them yesterday for sonâs 7th. Big hit. Margie and the Napoletana (sausage, b rabe). No pick up issues this time
Nice @Nemroz!
Iâm thinking of all those random relativesâ kids birthday parties with Dominoes or Costco Pizza and thinking about what you just did @Nemroz. I wish I had DeSano!
Itâs not even that much more