Pizzapalooza: Volume 1

Welcome to my "pizzapalooza" post. The term "palooza" comes from the word "lollapalooza" which the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines as: "one that is extraordinarily impressive." I love pizza and the three restaurants below make some extraordinarily impressive ones, in my opinion.

State Flour Pizza Company

First on the list is State Flour Pizza Company located in Berkeley, California's Elmwood neighborhood. State Flour Pizza was started by Chef Derek Lau who is not only an extraordinary chef, but he and his family are also my friends. Prior to opening State Flour, Chef Lau worked at award-winning, San Francisco, restaurants including Benu, Saison, PizzaHacker and Biergarten. The East Bay is fortunate to have him and his pizza prowess.

Burrata Pizza

We started with the burrata pizza which is similar to a Margherita pizza. It was made with burrata, mozzarella and grana padano cheeses, tomato sauce and fresh basil.

Gaia Pizza

Next, we shared the Gaia pizza. The combination of roasted cauliflower, garlic confit, pine nuts, aji verde sauce, mozzarella, provolone and grana padano was one I had not had before. The pizza was finished with a sprinkling of fresh parsley and it was delicious!

Hunter Pizza

The Hunter pizza was my favorite. It had a tomato sauce based, topped with old fashioned and shredded mozzarella, pepperoni, pickled onions, sausage, grana padano, and dried oregano.

Vanilla Panna Cotta

We finished our meal with the vanilla panna cotta topped with with Kensington honey, lime zest, and blueberries. If you have not yet been to State Flour Pizza, stop in for what is sure to be a great meal. And if you have, go back for more.

Pizzeria Mozza

Pizzeria Mozza which opened in Los Angeles in 2006, was originally the creation of chefs Nancy Silverton and Mario Batali. Since it's opening, Batali stepped aside and Chef Silverton now presides over the pizzeria and her Michelin-starred Osteria Mozza next door. In addition to her star, Silverton has also clinched the award for Outstanding Chef at the James Beard Awards.

Margherita Pizza

Mozzarella Di Bufala, Tomato, Basil

Silverton's talent comes through in the food at both Osteria and Pizzeria Mozza. The pizzas at Mozza are built beautifully, but what stood out to me the most was the crust. No surprise, as Nancy Silverton is also the co-founder of the famous La Brea Bakery which she launched in Los Angeles on La Brea Avenue in the 1980s.

Mozzarella di Bufala with 24-month Prosciutto di Parma, Pesto and Fried Ceci Beans

If you visit, be sure to try her burrata which makes a regular appearance on the menu with mouthwatering accompaniments like EVOO, prosciutto and more.

Angelina's Pizzeria Napoletana

Angelina's Pizzeria Napoletana was founded by Chef Sandro Nardone. Chef Nardone did not set out to invent anything new, rather he wanted to serve authentic, high-quality, Neopolitan style pizza as it was made in Italy in the 15 and 1600's. I would say he succeeded, as you can find Angelina's on the list of the top 50 pizzerias in the United States according to USA Today.

You can sample Nardone's pizzas at the original Angelina's location in Irvine, California or just down the coast in Dana Point. Chef Nardone also opened the Michelin-rated restaurant Bello, located in Newport Beach, which also serves his excellent pizza and more. I will be writing more about Bello in a future post.

Dell'orto

Our lunch at Bello began with a simple, mixed baby green salad made with avocado, red onion, Parmigiano-Reggiano and topped with a lemon vinaigrette.

Tartufo

Next we enjoyed the tartufo pizza made with mozzarella de bufala, prosciutto di Parma, truffle oil, arugula, Parmigiano-Reggiano, basil, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Tirolese

We enjoyed the prosciutto on the tartufo so much that we decided to try the tirolese pizza as well which featured speck, another dry cured ham. In addition to speck, the tirolese featured San Marzano DOP pomodoro sauce, mozzarella di bufala, cherry tomatoes, basil and extra virgin olive oil.

I hope you enjoyed this pizzapalooza journey from Northern to Southern California. For more great pizza recommendations in California, see my previous posts on A16 and Cotogna. Mangia!