Our friend Lance in Los Angeles basically knows more about pizza than anybody we’ve ever met. As a matter of fact, he is a respected writer for the seminal pizza blog Slice — the first and last word in pizza on the net — where they do things like fly Lance to New York and have him sample fifteen different pizzas in two days and he gets paid for this. So as we landed in Italy, we shot Lance an email and asked simply “Where should we go to find the best pizza?” The answer came back within seconds: “Da Michele in Naples.” As he tapped the words into his smartphone, his mouth watered with envy because he in fact has not yet made the pilgrimage to Da Michele. So we went as his advance team to check out what makes this simple, saucy, purists’ pizza so legendary around the world. Lance, this one’s for you.It’s worth mentioning: The pizza is ridiculously delicious. Thin crispy crust, flavorful generous marinara, the perfect amount of mozzarella in bubbling white dollops, and fresh sprigs of basil. They make it seem so simple — but if was really all that easy, people wouldn’t be traveling across the planet just to eat here.
Yes we seem to have lost the art of simplicity and with it good taste, good tastes, simple lasting pleasures. What about the choreography of the guy swirling the pizza board into and out of the oven…thanks!
I’m literally booking my plane to Naples right now. Looks incredible. Thanks for the tip, Lance.
Neapolitan pizza is the BEST!
With New Jersey pizza a close second.
My mouth is now watering for one of those pizzas!
And I’m stuck in Sherman Oaks!!!! Yaaaaaargh!
xox,#1FANNY
Yum! It’s awl about the Swauce!
xo n
Brings back memories! I also had the best Cannoli of my life one early morning in Naples, which is close enough to the Cannoli birthplace (Sicily) to do it right. May all your meals in Italy be spectacular.
The Napoli tourist bureau should pay you for this video.
C’mon people…let’s give Dino a little credit for the success of this video here!
***
UPDATE: After being stimulated by this video, The Lurker and I drove all the way OVER THE HILL to Westwood to sample what we were told was the “best” napoli pizza @ a popular place called 800 DEGREES. What a disappointment! The worst part was that the crust was almost “soggy”….if that’s the opposite of “crisp”! Everything else about it was nondescript.
Just goes to show, you can’t beat Italy…and New Jersey…for pizza!
xox,#1FANNY
Karl,
The key at 800 Degrees is you must ask for the pizza to be crispy/well done. Next time you drive over the hill, check out Stella Rosa on Main Street in Santa Monica, our favorite LA pizza. Though Lance would say you should go to a place called Sotto on Pico.
Thank you AYTT for the tips! We will check out BOTH!
I am a man on a mission! A pizza mission, that is.
XOX,#1FANNY
Dear AYTT,
OK. We went to SOTTO on Pico. We’re next off to STELLA ROSA on Main in SM.
I don’t know what Lance was thinking when he recommended Sotto. We arrived to find absolutely NO street parking, since the entire neighborhood requires resident stickers after 6PM. The valet charge was $6.50. Yikes!
The Lurker wanted a basic small Margarita pizza with garlic added. “They won’t do that,” the friendly waitress said. “You can get a Marinara pizza with garlic, but without cheese. Are you OK with that?” I was about to channel Jack Nicholson in “Five Easy Pieces” (if you get the reference), when the Lurker suddenly agreed to her deal with the devil—a tomato sauce pizza with NO CHEESE.
I’m embarrassed to confess that I ordered a small sausage pizza with ripini and pecorino cheese. What came was a soggy piece of dough loaded with a spicy sausage that overpowered every other taste on the pie for $17. Ugh!
Has a somewhat “crispy crust” been lost to the pizza lexicon? Who are these restauranteurs ? Obviously, they’ve never been to New Jersey!
xox,#1FANNY
Hey, we didn’t say Sotto. We agree with you. But seriously, check put Stella Rosa and then we’ll talk.
Okay, I’ll bite.
Sotto is not everyone’s cup of tea (though the LA Weekly recently named it LA’s very best pizza). It’s a soft, sourdough crust with heavy char, and that’s an acquired taste. However, they’re also doing Neapolitan pizza, which should not be crispy. Some Neapolitan joints will have a thin, almost microscopic layer of crisp, but if you have one with any noticeable crunch they’re doing it horribly, horribly wrong. The most revered pizza in Italy is served with a knife and fork for a reason. I imagine your issue is with the style of pizza rather than the good folks at Sotto. I am sorry you didn’t enjoy the meal though. Incidentally, Zach from Sotto fell in love with pizza at Da Michele while studying architecture, then left school and apprenticed at a shop nearby.
I, too, am a Stella Rossa fan. They actually opened another location in Hollywood that is not as consistent though, so stick to the Santa Monica location. They actually changed the name to Stella Barra by the way. Here are the only 6 other places in LA that are (mostly) worth trying if you have any trust left:
http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2012/11/ten-favorite-los-angeles-pizzas-kelly-and-lance.html
As to why they don’t do substations at Sotto, I think you’ll find the same policies at most of the hot “new school” restaurants in Los Angeles (Gjelina, Bestia, Animal, etc.). Though it’s annoying, it’s more a sign of the times than the restaurant itself.
I’m a newbie to posting and accidentally wrote my reply in the comments section below, but hopefully Karl sees it…
magnificent! where do i get a good pizza now? i,m in Caracas, venezuela…
Are you driving the coast? Hopping up to Pompeii? Talk about home schooling…!
This was our post-Pompeii lunch as a matter of fact. How incredible that place is! We put it high on our list of miraculous ruins. Pompeii video (perhaps) to follow. Must discuss with the elves in our post production department.
WHAT?! Post production?!! You mean you’re not sitting in a comfy corner putting these together on your laptop? I’ve been had! …Following along and savoring since December, so many lovely shared moments, which I’ve shared with many others as well. Maybe a video giving us a peek at putting one (a video) together … selection of music, editing, etc (?) Post production – say it ain’t so!
Rest assured, Dale. We are definitely piecing these things together lovingly on our laptop. The only part you got wrong is about how comfy the corner is. More often than not, we steal moments on trains — or late at night after the kids have gone to sleep — uploading whenever we find a wifi connection (which has been quite difficult the last week or so). A video about putting together the videos… now there’s a good idea. We’ll talk to the elves in our production department…
Buono Buonissimo, questa Pizza mi fa venire fame…
Quano vorrei essere con voi in Italia a scoprire tante pizzerie ed altri posti!
Un abbraccio da Tel Aviv
Vostro Stefano
yum
Looks like you guys are having a kick ass awesome time soooo jealous….but honestly come to Sydney and we’ll show the best PIZZA in the world its heaps amazing hahaha miss you guys HEAPS hopefully we’ll see you soon
1. does Lance need an assistant?
2. i went to Grimaldi’s in brooklyn a few weeks ago for the very first first time (?!) and i now need to re-think my 27 years in nyc. unbelievably great (and looked a little similar, just a little, to Da Michele’s!).
3. i second what Bubsy Gail said : )
Dear Karl –
First off- I love reading your comments “almost” as much as visiting AYTT’s glorious posts. Keep up the good work!
Re: your recent pizza experiences & Lance’s fine recommendations:
I do enjoy gourmet pizza, and I do like the Westside (which seems, with exception to a couple of Hollywood joints, about the only area of “LA” covered in Lance & Kelly’s blog), but I LOVE good-old-fashioned pizza and it sounds like that’s what you might be after. If so, you & The Lurker have to try Barone’s, which is relatively up the street from you in Valley Glen at Oxnard & Woodman:
http://www.baronesfamousitalian.com/
Yes, it is rectangular-shaped. Yes, that irks purists and snobs, but my kids are 4th generation patrons for a reason: it just tastes so damn good. And I am one of those East Coast Guys who has been saying for decades there is no pizza in LA like back East. I still believe that- but Barone’s reminds me in taste of some of my favorite Mom & Pop places in Boston’s North End.
And they’ve got an incredible LA restaurant history you just don’t hear about anymore. It’s a family run place that for over 65 years has protected their secret recipe originally derived by the establishers’ grandparents in Sicily and Naples. James Dean, Frank Sinatra, and John Wayne were regulars!
And they will let The Lurker put anything she wants on her pizza including a Buick!
Buon Appetito!
xo – Eddie O.