Delancey Bar & Pizzeria

I think "humble" is the best way to describe Delancey Bar and Pizzeria. It has an old school, east coast pizzeria feel with its brick walls and dark cherry colored wood.

The dim lighting makes it just as appropriate for a date night as it is for buddies going out for beers and pizza after work.

Wend and I ordered the Stanton pizza, which consisted of Mozzarella, Burrata, olive oil, oregano, and olives. The thin crust was soft, but well cooked, which made for a crisper outside and a chewier middle. With that, the light Marinara and thin layer of Mozzarella cheese didn't fill you up too quickly and kept you wanting more. Plus,on a hot summer night, the creamy and cool Burrata cheese beautifully contrasted all the other hot ingredients that came straight from the oven. Unfortunately, the oregano and olives took a back seat to the sauce and cheeses, but seemed as if this was done purposefully. I don't think of olives or oregano as subtle ingredients, but the subtlety may have been that extra push to make it as enjoyable as it was.

Plenty of food for two with leftovers to bring home, but I ate 5 slices. So, there was none to bring home. I would definitely order this one again, but am looking forward to going back and trying another.

Laurel Hardware

Hardware store turned hot spot! Laurel Hardware closed for good in 2008, after its long run of over 60 years supplying the West Hollywood community with all their hardware needs. The good news is, it reopened this year after nearly four years of being out of commission...as a restaurant!

Don't be fooled, the original sign has remained hanging to keep the community landmark alive.

The classy bar, spacious booths and dim lit atmosphere make for a great date night or fun hangout with friends.

Roommate and I ordered a couple of pies. First, the Classic pizza that consisted of pepperoni, parmigiano-reggiano and pickled jalapenos. The salty pepperoni partnered with the spice of the jalapenos was my type pizza. These came on top of the hard parm cheese and a rather basic, yet still tasty tomato sauce. This was my favorite pie despite the fact that it looked kind of unappealing.

Our second pizza was the Margarita. Buffalo mozzarella, basil and oregano. The crust had a nice crackle on the outside and a warm, soft center. Nothing too special here, but a solid pizza none the less.

Overall, a good meal, great atmosphere and affordable prices. I will definitely be going back.



7984 Santa Monica Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90046
(323) 656-6070
www.laurelhardware.com

m'Mozza 2 Go picnic!

Mozza2Go was created to account for the high demand for the best pizza in LA without having to worry about reserving a table months in advance. It offers Pizzeria Mozza's signature dishes for delivery or pick-up. That's right, you can bring the pizza party back to your place! Or pig out in the car if you can’t wait until you’re home (nobody will blame you.)

The tiny shop is located just around the corner from Pizzeria Mozza, with no seating and no room for it either. It’s a little place to get in and out of, with just a few shelves containing some of the finest ingredients for purchase so that you can make your own pizza next time!

With that being said, what else could the genius’ that have created this mini wonderland have up their sleeves? Why, a Hollywood Bowl picnic package of course! And there's nothing quite like a pizza picnic on a beautiful summer evening! Wendy and I had an awesome date night with our pizza picnic and some Norah Jones at the Bowl.

I ordered the Pizza alla Benno with speck, pineapple, jalapenos, mozzarella and tomato. It was a fascinating take on the Hawaiian pizza, and seeing as how I hate Hawaiian pizza, I am pleased to report that it was great! For me, this type of pie usually comes with chunks of pineapple that leave the cheese around it soggy and bits of bacon that just don’t seem to work with the rest of the dish. The Pizza alla Benno however, took the idea and brought it to a beautiful place.

On top of the quality crust, delicious tomato sauce and golden mozzarella cheese, ultra thin slices of pineapple were placed. Then, ultra thin slices of the juniper-flavored ham were put down as another layer on top of the pineapple. Last, or somewhere in between, ultra thin slices of jalapeño (a pattern has formed) were strategically placed around the pie to contrast the taste of the speck.

A delightfully light pizza it was. Wendy got her usual Bianca pizza and dinner/date night was a huge success.

Cowabunga!

6610 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90038
(323) 297-1130
www.mozza2go.com

The Fat Dog's Breakfast Pizza

The Fat Dog has an assorted brunch menu with a Breakfast Pizza that sounded interesting. Fontina cheese with shaved prosciutto, eggs over easy and baby arugula on top of a pastry crust.

I am not a fan of breakfast, nor do I order breakfast pizzas often, but when I tried this I was delighted to find a different style of pie that exceeded my unenthusiastic expectations for a Sunday breakfast. The runny egg over the cheese and prosciutto brought me back to a time when I a kid and loved going to get breakfast with my family. I guess I never really loved breakfast enough to make it myself...hmm. Anyway, the arugula made for a wonderful light garnish, as it usually does, and the pastry crust served for some unorthodox, flaky goodness.

Overall, a pizza that didn't leave you stuffed, but nicely satisfied.


801 North Fairfax Avenue
West Hollywood, CA 90046
(323) 951-0030

post Comic-Con Pizzeria Mozza party!

Wrapped up a lovely Comic-Con weekend with a pizza dinner after getting back into town. Enjoyed 3 wonderful pizzas with Wendy and Jordan. The Margarita Pizza, of course made with the basic, yet delicious elements of mozzarella, tomato and basil. Very simple and very delectable. I've tried a lot of pizzas there, but this was my first time getting the Margarita :)

We also enjoyed my favorite Tomato, Sicilian Oregano as well as the the Bianca Sage pizza.

Gjelina

Gjelina has several different menus during the day, and between the hours of 3 and 5:30pm, their pizzas are the stars! We ordered the Four Onion pizza with Soft Goat Cheese, Asiago, Parmesan, Thyme & Black Pepper. I don't like too much onion on anything, let alone pizza, but the three cheeses along with the light thyme and pepper took what could have been an overpowering taste and made it just right. Not in your face, but still the star of the pizza.

The dough was fantastic as well. It was very light and filled you up without stuffing you. It had a nice char, yet still the perfect softness. I'm hungry for more and can't wait to go back!

1429 Abbot Kinney Boulevard
Venice, CA 90291

mi pizza margarita de la tortilla

Great for a Cinco de Mayo pizza fiesta! I took the easy way out and bought the tortilla instead of making it myself. For the sauce, I took the usual peeled San Marzano tomatoes and blended them. I heated the pureed sauce in a pan with a bit of olive oil, then included the usual sugar, salt and pepper and newly added a few garlic cloves and some basil to enhance the flavor. Once the sauce was good and ready, I put down a light layer on the tortilla, grated some fresh mozzarella over the sauce, put down a few basil leaves, some salt and pepper and then drizzled a small amount of olive oil over the top.

m'latest Sotto visit

The Guanciale pizza consisted of Sotto's house-cured pork cheek, ricotta cheese, scallions and fennel pollen. The ricotta brings a great textual change from the usual mozzarella while the pork cheek adds a light saltiness to the pizza. The scallions added a balance to the heaviness of the ricotta and pork while the fennel pollen brought a sweeter, more intensified flavor than you would normally get from the fennel seed.

m'other Pizzeria Mozza party

I ordered what inspired m'grilled sausage, panna & scallions pizza. For their pizza, they used fennel sausage instead of my seasoned chicken (I actually liked the chicken sausage as much) as well as red onions, scallions and panna for the "sauce." It was delicious.

And not that I needed it, I also ordered the Tomato, Sicilian oregano & extra virgin olive oil pizza.

m'living social pizza adventure

I can't pass up a pizza making/beer tasting adventure. Living Social threw a gathering that was great for meeting new people and having a good time with current friends. It was held at BoHo at Hollywood & Highland. Overall, great time.

As for the pizza making, it fell a little short if you already make pizzas on your own. The chef there gave a history lesson on where pizza originated from, and I summarize his summary, "Pizza originated in Italy where it was actually more like a flat bread. When they came over to America, we made it our own." Couldn't help but feel there is more to it.

Anyway, we did not get to make our own dough (understandable as it is a long process) and only one member from the audience got to toss the example dough. Otherwise, each person got a pizza box with perfectly shaped dough and then went through an assembly line of ingredients and added what they wanted.

Not the pizza making experience I wanted, but it just shows that you have to make your own experience!

m'pepperoni

This was a fun one. I didn't have the amount of charcoal that would create enough heat to finish the pizza off on the grill, so I lifted the grate off and continued baking in the oven.

I used my Mozza dough, sauce, mozzarella cheese and pepperoni from the store. It got a little runny during it's move to the oven, but as per, it tasted great.

m'grilled sausage, panna & scallions pizza

This was a delightfully unique pizza recipe, of course from the Mozza book, that called for "panna," heavy whipping cream whipped in a chilled bowl until thickened to soft peaks. This was used to sauce the pizza.

Before laying on the sauce, however, I did a little prep work by cutting thin slices of red onions and scallions. I lightly salted the surface of the dough and brushed the edges with olive oil. I then added the panna and topped with ripped slices of mozzarella, chicken sausage as well as the onions and scallions and finally threw onto the grill.

Although the whipping cream certainly seemed like a strange idea, it made a fantastic pizza.

m'grilled red pizza

The streets will run red...with sauce!

For this simple, yet delicious pizza, I dabbed my flattened Mozza dough with some olive oil, added marinara sauce and through it on the grill. Once finished cooking, I garnished with oregano and served.

m'grilled bbq chicken pizza

It tasted as great as it looks. Bender and I lightly seasoned chicken tenders with seasoning salt, pepper and a bit of Creole and then cooked in olive oil on the stovetop for about 10 min. After, we doused them in a bit of bbq sauce and added hot sauce for a light kick.

I rolled out my Mozza dough and brushed olive oil onto the surface. I evenly poured on bbq sauce and then continued with my toppings. Sliced mozzarella, shredded gouda and parmigiano (compliments of the bender), sauced up and sliced chicken tenders, and chopped red onions were thrown on the pizza and then went straight to the grill (also added a light creole seasoning to the crust before throwing on.) Chopped cilantro was added at the end for garnish.

Delicious.

m'grilled bianca sage pizza

"Take a classic and grill it!" is what I will yell at the kids across the street minding their own business when I'm an old man sitting on my porch. This is also what I did with m'bianca sage pizza.

I took my pre-made Mozza dough, brushed with olive oil, evenly placed mozzarella and fontina cheese around the center and then threw it onto the grill.

Separately, I fried sage leaves and then placed them on the pizza during the last 2 minutes of grilling. The pizza came out beautifully.

m'first grilled pizza

It had to happen sooner or later...so I'm glad it happened sooner. I evenly spread charcoal into the grill and set a blaze to my bbq. I...HAVE MADE FIRE! Once the grill had a good temperature going, I added the rack and set my pizza stone on top of it. I closed the grill and let the stone heat up.

Using the wonderful Mozza dough that I made earlier, I flattened it out, brushed with olive oil, spread marinara on top, carefully placed balls of mozzarella on the sauce and then very lightly seasoned the crust with a bit of Creole for a small kick.

When my face melted off after opening the grill, I knew the temperature was just right. I threw the pizza from peel to stone and let that bad boy grill! The final taste of the charcoal grilled pizza added so much more than the conventional oven does. The pizza went straight to my belly.

m'pizza dough

And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth's tastiest ingredients united against a terrible hunger. On that day...m'pizza dough was made. The dough came out awesome and credit is due to The Mozza Cookbook recipe and my new mixer found in my parents garage still in the box. The last picture shows how it was easy to knead, roll and toss with no tears. The recipe and process:

- 22 ounces warm tap water (2 cups, 6 ounces)
- 1/2 ounce (1 tablespoon) compressed yeast or 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
- 26 ounces unbleached bread flour, plus more as needed
- 1/2 ounce (1 tablespoon) dark rye flour or medium rye flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons wheat germ
- 1 1/2 teaspoons barley malt or mild-flavored honey, such as clover or wildflower
- 1/2 ounce (1 tablespoon) kosher salt
- Olive oil, grapeseed oil, or another neutral flavored oil, such as canola oil, for greasing the bowl


In a bowl, I mixed 15oz of water with the yeast. I then added 13oz of the bread flour along with the wheat germ and rye flour. I let the stirred ingredients sit for about 1 1/2 hours at room temperature with plastic wrap over the bowl. Next, I uncovered and added the remaining water and flour as well as the barley malt. Once completed, I set the bowl under the mixer at low speed for 2 minutes. I then added the salt and mixed in my new mixer at medium speed for 6-8 minutes or until the dough started to pull away from the bowl. More flour needed to be added for the dough to pull away.

I turned the dough out of the mixer and set it in a lightly oiled, covered bowl to rest/rise for 45 minutes. When time is up, I turned the dough out onto a lightly floured workstation and divided it into 4 dough balls (although recipe calls for 6.) I kneaded and added flour when necessary.

Although the recipe continued to prep the dough for baking immediately after making, I packed the balls in Ziplocs and saved for another evening. 4 pizzas was not in the cards that night.

m'first halfsie

Kibs and I continued the pizza rage with another pizza! We made a half marinara with oregano, half roasted red pepper, jalapeno pepper, and hot pepper pizza. Or...half nice, half spice pizza!

m'roasted red pepper, bacon & balsamic glaze pizza

Kibs and I pizza raged last night! We tried a recipe from the site listed below that turned out incredible. We brushed the top of the dough with olive oil, then covered with two cloves of minced garlic and topped with grated Fontina cheese. After that, we added our toppings of red peppers that we roasted, bits of bacon, and caramelized shallots. Finally, we threw on more Fontina and Romano cheese and baked for about 25 minutes at 400 degrees. Once it finished baking, we lightly coated with the balsamic glaze.

2 slices thick-cut bacon
2 shallots, thinly sliced
2 roasted red peppers, cut into strips
1 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
6 ounces freshly grated fontina cheese
2 ounces freshly grated romano cheese + more for topping if desired
1 1/2 cups balsamic vinegar

http://www.howsweeteats.com/2012/01/whole-wheat-roasted-red-pepper-fontina-pizza-with-balsamic-glaze/

m'spinach and spicy turkey sausage pizza

Per bobby's request, we made a delicious pizza with spinach and spicy turkey sausage along with Mozza marinara, mozzarella cheese and parmigiano shaved on top. This time, however, we used a garlic and herb dough from TJ's. It sounded like it would be a little much, but the garlic was subtle yet added generously to the pizza.

Sotto

Named Los Angeles' best restaurant of the year...I don't know, Bender and I accidentally found Sotto because we thought it was the restaurant located above it. But, LA Mag had it right! It was great. We ordered a bottle of wine, the mackerel dish, and then split the Margarita pizza. The sauce, cheese and basil were fresh, and the ingredients together made a delicious pizza. The dough had a light crisp on the outside and was delightfully doughy on the inside. Overall, a great pizza.

9575 West Pico Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90035

d'vine tomato pizza

Tomatoes on the vine, buffalo mozzarella, sea salt and basil. Divine it was, but I will oven roast the tomatoes before throwing them on the pizza next time. Still a great taste and I'm glad I didn't get shy with the sea salt. It really added to the pizza.

m'first deep dish pizza

Tried making my first deep dish and it came out pretty messy, but pretty tasty. I layered the bottom with sliced mozzarella, covered that layer with spicy Italian sausage, added my Mozza marinara sauce with oregano on top and then shredded some parmigiano over the sauce. It was everything I wanted it to taste like, but it held together like a virgin on prom night. No matter, close to perfection will be met...

the roommate special

Every Monday, Bobby and I do roommate night. Usually we make Sloppy Joe's and watch an episode of Fringe...until we crossed over to another universe and made a Sloppy Joe PIZZA and watched an episode of Fringe! It tasted exactly like you'd think it would, pretty great. Cooked ground beef in Sloppy Joe Manwich sauce and melted cheese on top. Eeeexxxxxxtra sloppy for ya!

Pizzeria Mozza

This is my first post about visiting Mozza. This will not be my last. It is my favorite restaurant, not just pizzeria. Took Kibs for her first time and we shared the Tomato, Sicilian oregano & extra virgin olive oil pizza, the Bianca with fontina, mozzarella, sottocenere & sage pizza and then a seasonal mushroom & mozzarella pizza (middle).

m'bianca sage pizza

This pizza was sweeeeet! I had the sage pizza from Pizzeria Mozza and loved it. Feeling lazy and not wanting to look at the cookbook, I just used TJ's pizza dough, rubbed a little olive oil on the flattened surface, cut cubes of mozzarella and fontina cheese and placed them on the dough. About a minute before it was done baking, I tore up some sage leaves and placed the pieces on the pizza for a little bit of cook time.

m'chick sausage pizza

That's one hot chick!!! I got the spicy chicken sausage from Trader Joe's, as well as the pizza dough, used the marinara sauce recipe from the Mozza Cookbook (always great) and slapped together this guy! I think I put on too much olive oil before throwing in the oven, which made everything a bit runny, but the taste was still great...when everything stayed on the crust :l

m'pistachio pizza

A little misshapen? That's what she said. I got this recipe from Food & Wine magazine. It sounded cool and it actually turned out great, despite the weird shape. I didn't follow quantities exactly, added more or took things out to my liking.

Chris Bianco’s Pizza Rosa
Ingredients

Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
All-purpose flour, for dusting
1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
1 large red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted raw pistachios, coarsely chopped
6 ounces freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (1 1/2 cups)
Three 8-ounce balls of pizza dough, thawed if frozen

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/chris-biancos-pizza-rosa

Lombardi's

Lombardi's was awesome, which seeing as it's known as the birth place of New York pizza, it should be. Per it's website:

"In 1897 an Italian immigrant reinvented a Napoletana staple food into one of the worlds most eaten foods. New York City was the birth place of New York style pizza. During the year of 1905, Lombardi's was licensed by the City of New York, becoming America's First Pizzeria."

Turns out it's not all hype. The line for a table was around the block. So, I called in for a pick-up order and walked to the park on the same block and ate there. The cheese and sauce used were incredible. If fresh ingredients were a crime, this place would be serving multiple lifetimes. If you're a fan of pizza, definitely check it out :)

32 Spring Street
New York, NY 10012-4173

John's Pizzeria

"You're awesome, Shaun!" No, pizza is awesome, and so is New York. Loved visiting NY this new year and getting a bunch of pizza. One of the first places Bender and I stopped by was one of her personal favorites, John's Pizzaria. Great overall pie which was small enough to split between 2 and large enough to fill both parties up. Also an awesome restaurant setting.

260 West 44th Street
New York