Archive for 'Pizza'

Tuesday is $2 Slice Day at Pizzanista

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If you haven’t tried out Pizzanista, the newish pizza joint on the outskirts of Downtown L.A., today might be a good day for a first visit. Normally their slices range in price from $2.75 to $4, but on Tuesdays you can get a slice of cheese, pepperoni, or vegan cheese for just $2. Their New York style pizza isn’t the best I’ve ever had, but it’s totally solid. And if I was in Downtown and in the mood for a slice (instead of the neapolitan’ish pies you get at places like Bottega Louie, Pitfire or Urbano) this would be my go-to spot. Plus they deliver.

Check out the cheese slice after the jump…

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Prediction: 800 Degrees Will Be Bigger Than Umami Burger

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I wasn’t here in L.A. for the opening of Umami Burger in 2009, but I was here for most of the aftermath.  The popularity.  The expansion.  Being named “Burger of the Year” by GQ.  The backlash.  The backlash to the backlash.  But through it all there is one thing that has always been undeniable (even though many burger snobs don’t want to admit it): Umami is a great concept. It’s a great burger.  But there are other great burgers to be had in L.A. and around the country- many of them cheaper than the $10-12 creations at Umami. In other words, it’s not going to be anything that anybody hasn’t seen before in some form.

But you know what you can’t get anywhere else in the country?  A real neapolitan pizza for $6.  And that, my friends, is why 800 Degrees- the latest concept from the Umami braintrust- will be a true game changer.  The first location of what they hope will be many opened Monday in Westwood Village, and considering how smoothly it was running on day 3 I feel confident saying that the place is completely genius. The concept.  The food. And most importantly, the price.  And what makes it even more amazing is that I completely expected it to be a shitshow.

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A Cheap Lunch Attempt at Navigating Milo & Olive

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As much I love Huckleberry and consider it hands down the best brunch and baked goods on the westside, I can’t in good conscience call it a Midtown Lunch.  Even the few things that clock in at under $10 (like their excellent $9.50 egg sandwich) aren’t exactly a stellar value.  But when I heard that the owners of Huckleberry and Rustic Canyon were opening Milo & Olive, a new bakery/restaurant specializing in pizza and small plates, I got kind of excited.  Especially when I heard that it had very few seats and planned on doing a ton of take out business.

A lot of take out?  That sounds like it could be right up my alley.  Could this be the cheapskate, lunchtime version of Huckleberry I’ve always dreamed about?  Only one way to find out…

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Urbano Pizza Bar Has a 2 Slice Lunch Special

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Urbano Pizza Bar has been getting a lot of ink ever since Top Chef Ilan Hall, from the Gorbals, started showing up sporadically behind the counter a few months ago. Nobody seems to know exactly what his role has been (besides creating a few side dishes and getting them a shit-ton of PR from blogs) but I was told by an Urbano regular that nothing seems to have changed about the pizzas since they’ve opened- and that’s a good thing, because Urbano probably serves the best pizza in Downtown L.A. right now. Sadly, though, the pizzas are all $12 and up- and not quite big enough to share, Bottega Louie style. So I never really considered this place a true Midtown Lunch… until they introduced their 2 slice lunch special!

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Naan Hut is Now Serving Sangak Pizza

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When Naan Hut opened at the beginning of the year on Santa Monica Blvd. in West L.A., fans of freshly baked sangak who live or work on the westside rejoiced. The ironing board sized bread is the hallmark of any truly great Persian bakery, and those of us who live or work on the westside were excited to not have to drive all the way to the Valley for fresh baked sangak goodness. As a fan of lunch I was also excited that they were serving chicken and beef kebabs with sangak for $6-8.

Back when they first opened the “menu” was clearly a work in progress, scrawled on sheets of paper hanging on the walls. But the other day I was wandering past the store and noticed they have upgraded to a full printed menu, which not only offers kebabs and sandwich, but also includes something called sangak pizza. “What the hell is that?” you might be asking. Well, it’s exactly what you might imagine it to be…

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Gjelina Take Away’s Meatball Sando Will Bankrupt Me

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My cheap bastard-ness knows no boundaries… but I will admit something to you, provided you never mention it again.  Once, I had lunch at Gjelina.  *Cue shriek, followed by breaking glass.*  It was my cousin’s birthday, and you can’t get all cheap with birthdays, lord knows I’ve tried. (“Hey sweetheart… what do you say we go to In N Out for your birthday! There’s a free hat and stickers in it for you…”)  Plus, as much as I love Poke Poke and Lemonade, sometimes you want a nice sit down lunch in Venice.  So where else are you going to go?  Cha Cha Chicken?  Uh… thanks, but no thanks.

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Long story short, the lunch was great.  So when I heard they were opening Gjelina Take Away, a breakfast and lunchtime annex, I got pretty excited.  Surely the prices would come down a little.  After all there’s no seating, unless you count milk crates in the alley alongside the restaurant.  That’s got to be worth a small discount, right!?

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Papaya King and Joe’s Pizza Turn Wilcox Into NYC West

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At the end of last month NYC institution place that sells hot dogs in New York, Papaya King, opened  on Hollywood Blvd. Funny billboards appeared all over town, and people started emailing me to ask if I was excited. (“Short fat Jew from NYC must love hot dogs!”)  The Guru weighed in last week with a reverent but kind of lukewarm endorsement that still managed to make us all want to rush over to Hollywood & Wilcox- as only he can do.  So when I found myself in Hollywood yesterday I couldn’t help but swing by (short fat Jewish man does love hot dogs.)

But before I made it to the familiar yellow counter I was stopped in my tracks by another opening that really solidified Hollywood & Wilcox as the place to go whenever I need a little taste of New York City…

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