Pizza, one of arguably the most beloved and tasty dishes, will be take center stage on National Pizza Day on Thursday, Feb. 9.
In honor of this momentous occasion, people are encouraged to get out to their local pizzeria and enjoy a slice or two.
According to James Beard Award-winning food writer and “Pizza City” podcaster Steve Dolinsky, who has written two books about pizza and launched a pizza tour in his native Chicago, there’s a lot of diversity and flavor when it comes to pizza in Southern California.
“Pizza is very inclusive,” he said during a recent interview. “You can be creative. You can add Korean ingredients or Latin (flavors). With pizza, I like that it’s versatile; there’s a lot of variety.”
“And I think of Southern California as an emerging and exciting pizza region,” added Dolinsky, who loves pizza so much that he started his own pizza festival in Chicago last year. Since there’s such great pizza here, too, Dolinsky is bringing his concept to Los Angeles with the inaugural Pizza City Fest at L.A. Live, across from Crypto.com Arena, April 29-30.
Pizza City Fest will include dozens of local vendors handpicked by Dolinsky, local pizza guru Noel Brohner, who posts about the scene on his official Instagram account, and festival co-producer Caryl Chinn.
The trio traveled throughout the area over the span of about six months and tried around 60 different pizza places before narrowing down the list to the roughly 40 that will be making all sorts of pies — from thin New York-style slices and vegan offerings to Chicago-style deep dish and Detroit-style square servings — at the festival.
“We want to show the country that L.A. should be taken seriously for its pizza,” he said.
Dolinsky also wants guests at the festival to fill their minds as much as their bellies, so the event will include several panel discussions with experts discussing things like what exactly an L.A.-style pizza is and offering tips on how to make the perfect pizza at home.
Before Pizza City Fest takes over downtown Los Angeles, Dolinsky offered his top recommendations to grab a slice or an entire pie to commemorate National Pizza Day.
Folks Pizzeria
2937 Bristol Street, A102, Costa Mesa. 714-617-4888 or folkshospitality.com.
“The mushroom pie here is a thing of beauty,” Dolinsky said. “The two things to talk about in pizza language is crust and crumb. Crust is the outside of the pizza, crumb is the inside. So if you look at the heel of the pizza at Folks and you get this beautiful brown crust and you look inside and you see this airy light crumb.”
Gorilla Pies
12417 Burbank Blvd., Valley Village. 818-821-3777 or gorillapies.com.
This eatery describes itself as “Pittsburgh Style Pizza with California Soul.” Dolinsky loved the provolone pie because of its delicious simplicity.
“I would just get a slice and since I’m a minimalist, I think less is more with pizza, so you don’t want to overwhelm it,” he said.
They do offer their pizzas “Gorilla Style” as well, which means Parmesan cheese, oregano, chili flakes and extra virgin olive oil. And topping options here include bacon, bell pepper, buffalo chicken and char siu, which is a Chinese style of barbecued pork.
Long Beach Bread Lab
518 W. Willow Street, Long Beach. 562-270-3253 or lbbeer.com.
“It’s really just beautiful bread,” he said. “At the base of this is just fantastic bread that is craveable … but they top it with just pristine cheese, beautiful, bright and vibrant tomato sauce and it’s also just very pretty to look at when they serve it.”
Quarter Sheets Pizza
1305 Portia Street, Echo Park. instagram.com/quartersheets.
Dolinsky loved this place for their Detroit-style square pizza.
“It’s just this fantastic starter they use for their dough, beautiful toppings, somewhat creative, but you can still get the baseline pepperoni,” he said. “Any slice of the day they have is the way to go.”
Zelo Gourmet Pizzas
328 E. Foothill Blvd., Arcadia. 626-358-8298 or myzelopizza.info.
This place serves a round pan pizza and stands out because of its crumbly cornmeal crust, which Dolinsky said is an unusual find in Southern California. Adding to the flavor is a rich and slightly sweet tomato sauce, plus he digs the ambiance of the venue.
“It’s kind of a bar-restaurant, it’s super casual,” he described. “Apparently a lot of famous skateboarders hang out there. It’s the kind of place you may drive by and never go in, but it’s a really unique place in Arcadia.”
Meat lovers will surely enjoy the sausage pizza offering, while vegans can choose the equally as enticing roasted eggplant pie.
Pizza City Fest Los Angeles
When: 1-5 p.m. April 29-30
Where: L.A. Live, 800 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles
Tickets: Start at $95 at pizzacityfest.com.
