"The Great Pizza Hunt" at Antica Pizzeria and the Battle of Two Neapolitan Pizza Places

A while back, I decided to start a new restaurant series for my dining group, Pleasure Palate, revolving around pizza. Considering how many pizza joints are in Los Angeles, I knew that this would be a dining series that would probably take me into infinity, but you gotta do, what you gotta do sometimes, so "The Great Pizza Hunt" was on.

Our next stop was Antica Pizzeria in Marina del Rey. I chose Antica primarily because the restaurant is a certified member of The Verace Pizza Napoletana Association (VPNA) in Italy, which is a governing body that sets the specifications for what is a true Neapolitan pizza. For example, the specification clearly states that a pizza must have a 0.1" thick base, (a little more than a credit card), must use fresh mozzarella, must be thrown by hand, must use Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and must be cooked in an 800F (or higher) wood-fired oven for no more than 90 seconds. Look below for some links you may find interesting.

American Chapter of VPNA
http://www.verapizzanapoletana.org/vpn/vpn_frames-index.htm

Original Italian VPNA
http://www.pizzanapoletana.org/

Detailed English Translation of Specifications
http://www.fornobravo.com/vera_pizza_napoletana/VPN_spec.html

More ...

The only other Neapolitan pizza place I've been to was Bollini's Pizzeria, but as far as I know, this restaurant is not part of the VPNA. My dining experience at Bollini's was stellar, so I was really interested in comparing both pizzas considering Bollini's wasn't certified and Antica was. Before I start talking about the pizzas, I wanted to mention 3 appetizers our groups shared, 2 of which I've never had before.

The first one was the Arancino di Riso, which is basically risotto mixed or stuffed with mozzarella and/or other ingredients, coated with bread crumbs and deep fried. Antica's version had spinach as the only vegetable component and came with tomato sauce. I liked the fluffiness of the filling and plus it's an appetizer that's not too heavy, especially considering all the pizzas we'd be sharing soon.

Our second appetizer was the timballetto which is a puff pastry filled with pasta, meat sauce and mozzarella. Hmmm...a puff pastry and rice as one dish? I never would have thought to put those two together. If you're watching your calories, this appetizer is definitely heavy on the carb size. It reminded me of when I was a kid when I'd make spaghetti sandwiches. Come on, don't tell me you didn't do that yourself? Anyway, the pastry shell wasn't as flaky as it could have been, but overall, I'm actually pretty ambivalent about it. I didn't dislike it, but I wouldn't go out of my way to order the timballetto again.

I would order our third appetizer again without a question. It was a Caprese Salad with sliced fresh mozzarella, tomato and arugula drizzled with an herb and red pepper infused olive oil. Simple ingredients, but oh-so-fresh and with a little bit of a kick from the olive oil.

With the appetizers out of the way, let's start talking pizza, first about the pizzas in general. Appearance wise, all the pizzas already looked different from Bollini's pizza in the sense that Antica had a more pronounced crust edge. While Bollini's crust was more cracker crisp, Antica's was softer and had more of a chew to it. Another difference is how cheese was utilized. Bollini's pizzas had the cheese spread throughout the pizza topped with various toppings and then cooked until the cheese was melted, similar to how we normally expect pizzas to be like. At Antica, the cheese were cut in chunks, mixed together with the ingredients and than placed on top of the pizza surface without even a tomato sauce as a base plus the cheese wasn't completed melted through. Please see a picture of a Bollini pizza below as an example.

Another thing to note is that 11 out of 15 of Antica's pizza have mozzarella as the only cheese of choice whereas at Bollini's, there was a selection of cheeses and sauces to choose from. From what I read, using a buffalo mozzarella seems to be part of being labeled a Neapolitan pizza. The final difference is that while the toppings at Bollini's were spread out from center to crust, all the toppings at Antica were pooled in the middle. Considering that Antica does have certification from The Verace Pizza Napoletana Association, it's probably right to assume that their Neapolitan pizzas are more authentic, but if anyone wants to chime in with their thoughts, I'd love to hear them.

So now, let's talk about the actual pizzas. The first one we had was the Del Cafone Pizza, which had Italian sausages, rapini and smoked mozzarella. I really enjoyed the combination of flavors coming from the peppering of the sausage, the slight bitterness of the rapini and of course, the smokiness of the smoked mozzarella. It was also a different experience to have the cheese not completely melted through and instead experiencing it is as a separate ingredient.

The next pizza to arrive was the Capricciosa with artichokes, mushrooms, black olives, mozzarella, prosciutto and tomato sauce. For this pizza, I wish they had spread out the toppings more evenly. Depending on which side you pulled your slice from, it would be comprised mostly of tomato sauce only. Also, if whole olives were going to be used, they should have put more of them or just use sliced olives. There were only 4 olives on the whole pie and with about 9 slices, that's really not enough. As for how it tasted, there was nothing special about it. It was just okay.

As for the Vegetali Grigliati, which came next, the toppings were a bit more generous and also spread out a bit more evenly. The ingredients were comprised of grilled vegetables, smoked mozzarella, chopped tomatoes and garlic. Actually, the grilled vegetables were really just grilled eggplant. There definitely needed to be more variety when it came to the vegetables, which would have added more flavor and color to this pizza and there also needed to be more garlic. There wasn't any on my slice, but maybe, it was distributed more heavily on the other half of the pizza.

Our last pizza, which was the Bianca al Prosciutto, was actually my favorite of the four we tried. There were only 4 ingredients on this pizza: mozzarella, Parmesan, prosciutto and arugola. Unlike the other three pizzas, the mozzarella along with the Parmesan cheese was melted as the base below the other toppings. I have a feeling that's one of the reasons I liked it so much. Melted cheese on pizza is just so right. How can it be wrong? This is also the first time that I had fresh, uncooked arugula as opposed to it being cooked as a pizza topping. I loved the use of the fresh arugula because you really get the full hit of its pepperiness that went perfectly with the saltiness of the prosciutto.

Between 3 appetizers and 4 pizzas, you'd think we wouldn't have room for dessert, but somehow we persevered and shared two of them. One was the Tiramisu which has a base of lady fingers soaked with espresso coffee and layered with mascarpone and zabaglione cream and dusted with cocoa. Tiramisu can sometimes be too sweet, but this was just right. It was light, fluffy and a pleasure to eat.

Last was the Cannolo Siciliano which was a pastry tube filled with a vanilla flavored cream of ricotta and candied orange peels. I've never really been that much into cannolis,. I always find that the pastry shell to be heavy and not light and flaky. That was the case with Antica's Cannolo Siciliano, but I really did like the filling which was fresh and citrusy.

To sum up, there were hits and misses for me at Antica. It's definitely not a destination pizza joint for me, but if someone wanted to go there for dinner, I wouldn't necessarily talk them out of it. The one real conclusion I came with is if Antica is supposed to be a true representation of Neapolitan Pizza, it's not necessarily for me. I prefer a thin, crispy-cracker like crust and I like having melted cheese on my pie, both of which I had at Bollini's. In truth, I am a little confused. I know Antica has the certification and as far as I know, Bollini's doesn't, but both restaurants refer to their pizzas as Neapolitan pizzas. So what is the deal with the whole Verace Pizza Napoletana Association classification and is there more than one kind of Neapolitan Pizza? If anyone has any insight, I'd love to read about it. Maybe, I also need to try other certified Neapolitan pizza joints, but unfortunately, Antica is the only one in LA. If you want to try Neapolitan Pizza for yourself, click this link to find a certified restaurant in your part of town.

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157617284536570/

Antica Pizzeria
13455 Maxella Ave # 201
Marina Del Rey, CA 90292
(310) 577-8182
www.anticapizzeria.net




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"The Great Pizza Hunt" at Mr. Pizza Factory

A while back, I decided to start a new restaurant series for my dining group, Pleasure Palate, revolving around pizza. Considering how many pizza joints are in Los Angeles, I knew that this would be a dining series that would probably take me into infinity, but you gotta do, what you gotta do sometimes, so "The Great Pizza Hunt" was on.

When it comes to pizza, Korean food doesn't usually come to mind, so when I heard about Mr. Pizza Factory, which is part of a Korean pizza franchise company and one of two restaurants in the US, my interest was piqued. Then I heard more about their specialty pizzas which were comprised of an interesting mix of ingredients and I knew I had to check this place out.

Stepping into Mr. Pizza Factory in Koreatown, I have to say that it seemed quite a fancy place just for pizza, but a little ambiance never hurt any restaurant. As we were perusing the menu, we were served complimentary pickles as a starter. I was actually half expecting small bowls of panchan to come out, but had to settle for the pickles. Having already done some research, I already had an idea for what our group was going to order and with a buy 1, get a second one for 50% off in honor of the grand opening of another location, our group of 13 ordered both medium and large sizes of 4 different pizzas.

As we were waiting for our pies to arrive, some of us walked over to the pizza tossing/making booth where we saw pizza dough rolled out, flipped in the air and than passed on down the line to be topped with sauce, cheese and other ingredients before being put into the oven. It was like pre-show entertainment before the main event.

Finally, it was indeed time for the main event. The first pizza to arrive was the Potato Gold. Ingredients included tomato sauce, mushrooms, ground beef, corn, onions, potatoes, cheddar cheese, bacon, nacho chips, sour cream and it had a sweet potato mousse stuffed pizza crust. It was the sweet potato mousse stuffed crust that I've heard raves about and I have to say that after eating your way through all those savory ingredients, it's almost like having dessert once you got to the end of your slice of pie.

There was quite a cornucopia of stuff on this pizza, but it worked. It was almost like having a baked potato pizza, if that makes any sense. I had visions of a baked potato bar where the toppings are endless and could include any or most of the ingredients that were currently on the Potato Gold.


Next to hit the table was the Nude Shrimp Pizza. I'm not quite sure where the "nude" reference came from, but the ingredients for this pie consisted of salsa sauce, mushroom, ground beef, corn, onion, bell pepper, olives, yellow chili, bacon, Cajun shrimp, blue cheese sauce with a cream cheese mousse stuffed crust.

The Nude Shrimp pizza definitely was ingredient heavy was well. Usually, I don't use a knife and fork when it comes to eating pizza, but found myself employing both for most of the pizza I had that evening. Picking up a slice and eating by hand meant losing some ingredients to your plate at times, so the utensils were quite useful. In terms of how this pizza tasted, it definitely had more of a kick than the Potato Gold pizza. It wasn't ultra spicy by any means, but there was some heat, which actually went well with the slight pungency of the blue cheese sauce. For those who can't handle any spiciness at all, the cream cheese mousse stuffed crust probably helped ease any burn one may have been feeling on their tastebuds.

Of the four pizzas we tried, the most disappointing one was the Bulgogi Pizza - disappointing because it really highlighted the flaws of Mr. Pizza Factory's pies. Along with bulgogi beef, there were also onions, bell peppers and mushrooms on this pizza. Bulgogi beef should be fairly intensely marinated and you would think that baking in an oven, the meat would caramelize and add really great flavor to the pizza as a whole. Again, what a disappointment.

The bulgogi was hard and had the texture of over cooked ground beef. Overall, this pizza had no real flavor to it. It was by eating the bulgogi pizza that exposed something interesting about the pizzas overall. The first two had a lot of different ingredients, all very savory and than of course, both had either sweet potato or cream cheese stuffed crusts. If you took all that "stuff" away and were left with a plain cheese pizza, the foundation isn't very good. The bulgogi wasn't cutting it, but if you still had a great crust, a tasty sauce and a quality cheese, you'd still have a great slice of pizza, which wasn't the case. The flavorful ingredients of the Potato Gold and Nude Shrimp Pizzas did a great job disguising a crust, sauce and cheese that was just okay.


Our last and final pizza was actually one of Mr. Pizza Factory's newest offerings and like the first two was considered one of their specialty pizzas. Called the Gesal Montand Gold Pizza, ingredients included an Alfredo cream sauce, ground beef, onion, bell pepper, crab, paprika, bacon, cheddar cheese, oregano, blue cheese dressing, parsley with a sweet potato mousse stuffed pizza crust.

While the Bulgogi Pizza had no flavor, the flavors of the Gesal Montand Gold Pizza just did not jive at all and that's being polite. In fact, one slice was enough for me and only half a slice at that. First, the crab didn't taste right to me. It had an off flavor. Not that it wasn't cooked, but what ever they marinated it in or coated it with, my taste buds were not happy with at all. I don't think the Alfredo cream sauce meshed well with the blue cheese dressing. There was also an overall tangy taste to the pizza that I couldn't get past.

Overall, dining at Mr Pizza Factory was an interesting foodie experience. While I enjoyed half the pizzas my group tried, it's definitely not a destination pizza place for me. The way they put together certain ingredients for their specialty pizzas was really hit and miss. It either worked well or bombed. Also, I don't think the essential parts of the pizza like the crust, cheese and sauce really shined through here. You almost need to have tons of toppings to hide those short comings. If I was ever craving something hearty and was in the neighborhood with friends, I'd definitely be up for sharing a Potato Gold or Nude Shrimp pizza, but for a simpler pizza, there are too many other options I'd consider first.

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157614228047041/

Mr. Pizza Factory
3881 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90010
(213) 738-0077

"The Great Pizza Hunt" at Tony's Little Italy Pizza

A while back, I decided to start a new restaurant series for my dining group, Pleasure Palate, revolving around pizza. Considering how many pizza joints are in Los Angeles, I knew that this would be a dining series that would probably take me into infinity, but you gotta do, what you gotta do sometimes, so "The Great Pizza Hunt" was on.

First up was Tony's Little Italy Pizza in Placentia. The reason I decided to start with Tony's is that their specialty is Chicago-Style Pizza. My only experience with Chicago pizza was actually in Chicago at Giordano's, where their pizza is referred to as a stuffed pizza. I found out later that the main difference between a stuffed pizza and a deep dish pizza is that the stuffed pizza has a layer of dough that goes on top of the pizza and the deep dish version doesn't. If there are any Chicagoans reading this review, please correct me if I'm wrong. Although I'm more of a thin crust pizza kind of gal, I did enjoy my foray into Chicago Pizza and was hoping to find something similar in LA; hence, Tony's Little Italy Pizza.

Walking into Tony's, I could definitely tell that the owners loved their Chicago sports teams with one wall devoted to the Chicago Bears and the other wall that was all about the Chicago Cubs. Since I had been running late due to an accident on the freeway, my group was already there and took the initiative to order two deep dish pies, although stuffed pies were also on the menu. Lunch was going to consist of Tony's Special with sausage, mushrooms, bell peppers, onions and one pizza that was half with pepperoni/sausage and half olives/bell peppers and onions.

When both pizzas arrived, our eyes widened with wonderment. Wow, these pizzas weren't delicate little darlings. They looked substantial.

I tried a slice of the half pepperoni/sausage pizza first and than a smaller slice of the bell pepper/olive/onions pizza.

Then I had a slice of Tony's Special.

Do you know what words came to mind after each slice? Disappointment soon followed by More Disappointment. Granted, it's been several years since I've had that pizza at Giordano's, but I remember it being a thing of beauty. The ingredients were nicely layered and they weren't drowning in a sea of tomato sauce and cheese. In fact, I could even tell where all the ingredients were laid out.

Both the pizzas I tried at Tony's were literally a "Hot Mess." Just like I mentioned above, it was a spillage of tomato sauce and cheese, all mixed up together. At one point, I couldn't even tell that the sausage/pepperoni pizza even had pepperoni until I looked more closely at a cross-section of one of the slices and saw pepperoni just above the crust and underneath the cheese. It just felt like there wasn't any restraint. Also, I felt that they really limited the quantity of toppings. If you got any of the toppings on any of your pizza slices, you were pretty lucky. At times, it felt like all I was eating was crust, tomato sauce and cheese.

When you add to all this, a crust that was a little burnt at the edges, which made it harder to chew and ingredients that should have been more flavorful, neither of the pizzas at Tony's were the Chicago pizza of my dreams. Come on, how can pepperoni and sausage not have any flavor??? As for the sauce, it was okay, although a little sweeter than I would have liked and at least the cheese was ooey and gooey, so that's one positive thing to note. Overall, as I mentioned earlier, I was pretty disappointed and definitely have no plans to make a return visit to Tony's.

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157612266070156/

Tony's Little Italy Pizza
1808 N. Placentia Avenue, Unit B
Placentia, CA 92870
(714) 528-2159

www.tonyslittleitaly.com