Pizza wars, once confined to New York, now rage in Los Angeles. New York's dough-slinging gladiators, DeMarco, Grimaldi, and Mangieri, have their counterparts here in Joe and Vito, of their own respective eponymous pizzerias.
L.A. food bloggers, like their New York brethren, get rather emotional over pizza, which strikes me as odd since I've yet to taste pizza in L.A. (except for Mozza) worth getting especially excited about. Nevertheless, on the web locally, and on Slice, pizza freaks have slammed Joe's for uncharred crust, insipid sauce, and unhelpful and discourteous service. One gourmand opined that Vito's "is genius ... everything Joe's is not ... the best in L.A. (tied with Mozza)."
The claim that Vito's is tied with Mozza as the best pizza in Los Angeles, of course, is insanity. And I will admit that, though my first few pies at Joe's, made by Joe Vitale himself, brought joy and contentment to my gastrointestinal system, the quality definitely must now be considered, at best, inconsistent. So, given some of the raves about Vito's, an investigation was in order.
I drove down to West Hollywood one sunny afternoon with a friend, found a metered parking space on the same block (no small feat), and entered the "snug" pizzeria, only to be confronted by a ginourmous photograph of a pizzaiolo (later confirmed as Vito), staring down at me. While Vito himself was absent, his gregarious and charming cousin, Antonio, generously shared quite a bit of information about the pizzeria he helps run.
Unfortunately, no information was forthcoming regarding the ingredients that go into the pizza. In fact, when I asked Antonio for some info on the cheese and sauce, he smiled and said, "If I tell ya, I'll have to kill ya." Ha, ha. Funny, but not helpful.
He did inform me, though, that Vito's aunt in New Jersey made the yeast herself from an old recipe and that it was driven out to Los Angeles as a good luck present for her nephew and his pizzeria. Cousin Antonio also volunteered that Vito's uncle Chiriago cut the stones for the oven in Italy himself. Quite the family affair.
The first pie we ordered, half Margherita, half sausage, although somewhat disturbing, pleasantly surprised me. As the photograph above reveals, the crust had very nice hole structure, was reasonably crisp and chewy (it could be folded without cracking), but lacked sufficient charring. Nevertheless, for L.A., the crust exceeded my expectations. Fresh mozzarella was not an option, but for standard cheese, and for L.A., the mozz was more than acceptable. The same held true for the sauce. No San Marzanos but still tangy. Not too sweet, not too spicy.
However, the inclusion of fresh, chopped tomato on the pie offended both my eyes and taste buds. It was removed easily enough, but it undoubtedly earned a demerit in my book. On the other hand, the sausage outclassed the meat that graces Joe's sausage pies, although neither equaled the homemade quality adorning true, blue-ribbon pizza like those created by Chris Bianco, Anthony Mangieri, and Nancy Silverton.
The second pie, half meatball and jalapeño, half white with pesto, also elicited ambivalent feelings. The meatballs and jalapeños had completely soaked through the crust, leaving half the pie soggy and limp as an old celery stalk. Except for picking a few pieces of meat off the top, it was inedible. In contrast, the white pie was good. The pesto tasted fresh, herbal, and garlicky, yet not overwhelming, and the cheese, with light dollops of ricotta topping the mozz, was supported by a nicely crisp and chewy crust.
On the basis of this visit, and for L.A. (there goes that qualifier again), Vito's rates near the top. While the pizza is on the pricey side ($28.50 for the pesto pie), it and the Margherita, sans fresh tomato, deserve a return visit. On the other hand, Joe's recent and unfortunate slide into inconsistency must be disheartening to all those who hoped that excellent pizza had finally come to L.A.
The bottom line: Vito's, despite its shortcomings, makes some of the best pizza in L.A.
Vito's Pizza
846 N. La Cienega Boulevard, West Hollywood CA 90069 (at Willoughby Avenue; map)
310-652-6859 vitopizza.com
I am that LA food blogger with the insane claim about Vito's being tied with Mozza. Interestingly, I just posted my top 10 LA pizzas. http://www.eatdrinkordie.com/blog/posts/2789 Mozza # 1, Vito's #2. And a lot of other good ones, too. Joe's didn't make my list because I've never had an inspired slice from there.
i know everyone has their own opinion, but mulberry st, lamonica's, village pizza on larchmont, and even frankie & johnnie's should be in the discussion for best LA pizza.. even more so than vito's and joe's!
It's important to distinguish between the best pizza and the best slice. Mozza is by far the best pizza (second in my heart only to Franny's in Brooklyn), but it's not a place to grab a quick on-the-go slice. Vito's offers the best slice in LA, though clearly not all toppings are created equally.
The two times I've been to Joe's I've been hugely disappointed.
The slices at Village Pizza are not recommend. Unlike a NY slice which is fully cooked yet gains something on second heating, the slice at Village is actually undercooked originally so that they can finish cooking it when you order it. The result is that you wait 10 minutes for a slice that's scalding hot yet insufficiently charred. Not good.
I had a surprisingly good slice at Garage Pizza in Silverlake. Good solid slice, about average for a NY slice but way above for LA. The owner really knows what he's doing and seems eager to experiment with interesting toppings based on customer feedback.
Is that what was wrong with Village Pizzeria?...thanks for the info...I'd heard people swear by it but personally, the crust had that not finished taste and consistency.Definitely, the less said about this place, the better. I'll have to check out Garage pizza...As for Vito's...if you know order from a few toppings and specify well-done, Angeleno's can eat pizza there fearlessly. And that's quite a compliment!
It's interesting to note that Elmer, the chief pizzaiolo at Garage Pizza, was one of the principal pizzaioli at Joe's in Venice. [He left Joe's to help start and run GP.] And, to add to the intrigue, he shared with me that GP's dough recipe, leavening technique, and sauce are virtually identical to those at Joe's. Anyway, if anyone reading along is looking for a Joe's pies of old, stop by GP some night and ask Elmer to toss you one very thin, or "Joe's Style." E.M.
@ErikM - Thanks for the inside info on Garage. I guess in a city where you have so few decent places to buy pizza buy the slice, there are bound to be connections.
I went by one of the Mulberry's in Beverly Hills. It looked interesting, I'm going to have to give them a try.
Speaking of Mulberry St., does anyone know anywhere in LA to get a vodka sauce and fresh mozz slice? I used to get them in NY at a place on Spring and Mulberry, though you'd have to fight through a crowd of LIttle Italy tourists to get to the counter. It's a combination I find myself craving.
havent had a decent pie in so. cal. since the mid 60's at a small italian deli perfect crust made daily perfect sauce from italian tomatos and the cheese ratio was also perfect, toppings were kept simple italian sausage, italian salami, or italian pepperoni, occassionally some italian olives scattered sparingly , oh to go back in time , then shakeys came to town and pizza died , now we have pizza with bbq sauce,chicken, somesort of white sauce and all those other designer flatbread doughwads with anything on top that gets passed off as pizza. if i ever go to new york maybe i'll find a real pizza !
First off, I agree wholeheartedly with the Pizza Maven. I live a few blocks from Vito's and eat there 2-3 times a week. I'm a big fan of the sausage there and the pesto slices are pretty great (especially that ricotta), but the inconsistent sizing of slices sometimes has me questioning the prices. Though it has slid since the departure of Joe, I think Joe's pepperoni has more punch. Vito's recently introduced a fresh mozzarella pie, but it doesn't work. I usually like the sauce there, but it's not strong enough to balance out the fresh cheese. When you get a bite without mozzarella it tastes watery. Joe's fresh mozz is worth the drive for me. They're both about as good as you can get for NYC wannabes out here. Mozza, as stated, is in another class.
Couple new openings. Cristoni on Sunset. They got some Italian guy who is a master at the wood oven...and when he showed up they had already bought him a Baker's Pride. The crust is too thick and the bottom burns too easily. A real disappointment.
The other new place is Verazzano's on La Brea. Two brothers from Brooklyn and Staten Island opened up their very own place in LA... and it's okay. The sauce isn't as strong as it should be and the crust is hard and thick. That said, the toppings (and fresh mozzarella) were all universally good. Much better atmosphere than Cristoni and most other places out here.
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11 Comments:
I am that LA food blogger with the insane claim about Vito's being tied with Mozza. Interestingly, I just posted my top 10 LA pizzas. http://www.eatdrinkordie.com/blog/posts/2789 Mozza # 1, Vito's #2. And a lot of other good ones, too. Joe's didn't make my list because I've never had an inspired slice from there.
cheeseburger at 2:09PM on 09/03/08
i know everyone has their own opinion, but mulberry st, lamonica's, village pizza on larchmont, and even frankie & johnnie's should be in the discussion for best LA pizza.. even more so than vito's and joe's!
Holz75 at 6:53PM on 09/03/08
Glad to see Antica get a nod.
canerosso at 11:25PM on 09/03/08
It's important to distinguish between the best pizza and the best slice. Mozza is by far the best pizza (second in my heart only to Franny's in Brooklyn), but it's not a place to grab a quick on-the-go slice. Vito's offers the best slice in LA, though clearly not all toppings are created equally.
The two times I've been to Joe's I've been hugely disappointed.
The slices at Village Pizza are not recommend. Unlike a NY slice which is fully cooked yet gains something on second heating, the slice at Village is actually undercooked originally so that they can finish cooking it when you order it. The result is that you wait 10 minutes for a slice that's scalding hot yet insufficiently charred. Not good.
I had a surprisingly good slice at Garage Pizza in Silverlake. Good solid slice, about average for a NY slice but way above for LA. The owner really knows what he's doing and seems eager to experiment with interesting toppings based on customer feedback.
shred at 3:31PM on 09/04/08
Is that what was wrong with Village Pizzeria?...thanks for the info...I'd heard people swear by it but personally, the crust had that not finished taste and consistency.Definitely, the less said about this place, the better. I'll have to check out Garage pizza...As for Vito's...if you know order from a few toppings and specify well-done, Angeleno's can eat pizza there fearlessly. And that's quite a compliment!
L.A. Pizza Maven at 8:42PM on 09/04/08
Re: the Garage Pizza mention above...
It's interesting to note that Elmer, the chief pizzaiolo at Garage Pizza, was one of the principal pizzaioli at Joe's in Venice. [He left Joe's to help start and run GP.] And, to add to the intrigue, he shared with me that GP's dough recipe, leavening technique, and sauce are virtually identical to those at Joe's. Anyway, if anyone reading along is looking for a Joe's pies of old, stop by GP some night and ask Elmer to toss you one very thin, or "Joe's Style." E.M.
ErikM at 2:54AM on 09/05/08
@ErikM - Thanks for the inside info on Garage. I guess in a city where you have so few decent places to buy pizza buy the slice, there are bound to be connections.
I went by one of the Mulberry's in Beverly Hills. It looked interesting, I'm going to have to give them a try.
Speaking of Mulberry St., does anyone know anywhere in LA to get a vodka sauce and fresh mozz slice? I used to get them in NY at a place on Spring and Mulberry, though you'd have to fight through a crowd of LIttle Italy tourists to get to the counter. It's a combination I find myself craving.
shred at 4:57AM on 09/05/08
is this vito from nj (elizabeth)
3luna at 1:48PM on 09/07/08
He is from NJ but it could be another Vito..not sure about elizabeth....
L.A. Pizza Maven at 2:01PM on 09/07/08
havent had a decent pie in so. cal. since the mid 60's at a small italian deli perfect crust made daily perfect sauce from italian tomatos and the cheese ratio was also perfect, toppings were kept simple italian sausage, italian salami, or italian pepperoni, occassionally some italian olives scattered sparingly , oh to go back in time , then shakeys came to town and pizza died , now we have pizza with bbq sauce,chicken, somesort of white sauce and all those other designer flatbread doughwads with anything on top that gets passed off as pizza. if i ever go to new york maybe i'll find a real pizza !
shipwreck at 12:33PM on 09/10/08
First off, I agree wholeheartedly with the Pizza Maven. I live a few blocks from Vito's and eat there 2-3 times a week. I'm a big fan of the sausage there and the pesto slices are pretty great (especially that ricotta), but the inconsistent sizing of slices sometimes has me questioning the prices. Though it has slid since the departure of Joe, I think Joe's pepperoni has more punch. Vito's recently introduced a fresh mozzarella pie, but it doesn't work. I usually like the sauce there, but it's not strong enough to balance out the fresh cheese. When you get a bite without mozzarella it tastes watery. Joe's fresh mozz is worth the drive for me. They're both about as good as you can get for NYC wannabes out here. Mozza, as stated, is in another class.
Couple new openings. Cristoni on Sunset. They got some Italian guy who is a master at the wood oven...and when he showed up they had already bought him a Baker's Pride. The crust is too thick and the bottom burns too easily. A real disappointment.
The other new place is Verazzano's on La Brea. Two brothers from Brooklyn and Staten Island opened up their very own place in LA... and it's okay. The sauce isn't as strong as it should be and the crust is hard and thick. That said, the toppings (and fresh mozzarella) were all universally good. Much better atmosphere than Cristoni and most other places out here.
Lance Roberts at 4:38AM on 10/16/08