A Threefold 'Thank You' to Los Angeles
Dear Los Angeles: I'm Thankful For...
-thumb-110x110-213475.jpg)
A Photo Gallery of the Things I am Grateful for This Year
I LOVE L.A.! My Thanksgiving Thanks
10 Random Albums To Be Thankful For
Matt Compton, co-owner of Arb Pizza answers the phone. Someone wants to know if his pizza is true new york pizza. "I'll tell you what," he exclaims. "If you don't like it, come back here, throw on the floor and I'll make you new one."
Welcome to The Arb Pizza Cafe, Studio City's newest sidewalk pizza joint on Ventura Blvd. near Laurel Canyon a few doors down from Laurel Tavern. In the two weeks since it's been open, it has already gained notoriety on Yelp (six reviews, all with five stars).
This is quality greasy pizza, the way it should be. Co-owner and cook Paul Gabrys is from Bushwick in Brooklyn, near the border of Queens. He came out here five years ago and began working in production for the History Channel with Compton, who is from Ann Arbor, Michigan (get it, Arb Pizza?). But he always wanted to open a pizza joint so seven "long" months ago they began working towards opening a restaurant.
And here they are, already impressing New Yorkers, they say. "When you get good feedback from them, that's when I think you know we're on to something," Compton said. "I mean, when they come back and when they say, 'listen, that's the closest thing to a real New York Pizza you can get, that's when you know you're on to something."
Part of what may impress foodies is not just the great crust, but Gabrys' choice of cheese. To him, there are only certain styles of shredded of cheese that belong on pizzas. If you can't find that, then why open a pizza place?
Slices run $3 with 14-inch pies starting at $14.99. But if you want the true thin crust, get the 18-inch (starts at $16.99). They also have garlic knots, sandwiches (they make the bread) and potato chips, all homemade at Arb.
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
Caioti in Tujunga Village also slings a pretty damn good New York style pie.
Yeah, they are good, too. Haven't been in awhile.
disagree -- their pizza is fine, but it's not anything like ny pizza.
Their NY style pizza is as close to authentic as anything discussed below. Maybe you're thinking of their house pies which are definitely nothing like NY style.
i have tried both - i like their house pies just fine, i think the "new york" pies are yucky.
OMG!! OMG!! And its close to my house. But true New York pizza only comes from NY. Same thing with San Fran sourdough, it has to do with the water.
Exactly, you can't get NYC water in LA. Paul admits that, but that man still knows how to make a dough that turns into a tasty crust!
The humidity in NYC affects the dough as well and old ovens make better 'zza.
Dang, it looks very promising!!!!!!
the sandwich looks great! but the pizza crust doesn't look very NY at all...
Hot damn.
Finally, something good for my Super Bowl Sunday menu.
And it looks a LOT less greasy than Joe Peeps. I mean, I love when it drips but not when it's soggy.
There's a fine line.
Crap...they're closed on Sundays.
Oh well, guess I'll have to settle for dinner Saturday night.
Agreed, NYC pizza is NYC pizza. But I'll definitely give this place a go, even if it's across town. There aren't too many great choices on the left coast for pizza pie... I think it's the water.
Because of this, I just overnighted 10 pizza's from my hometown pizza joint, Mineo's in Pittsburgh for the Super Bowl. They are LEGIT!
BTW - Steelers!
OMG - can i come over? can we be friends? every time i go home we do a blind mineos/aielos/napoli taste test -- it's so much fun! you can actually get them overnighted? i can't believe i didn't think of that ... i'm defrosting steeler smiley cookies!
That doesn't even look like NYC pizza. I'll stick with Village, it's the closest bet.
HAH...closest bet? good one...unless you meant closest to your house.
HAH...closest bet? good one...unless you meant closest to your house.
OK, for the love of god, I am tired of hearing about NYC pizza and how the latest and greatest is exactly like Ray's on 2nd Ave or John's Pizza on Bleecker, and then the counter-argument that "you can't make NYC pizza, it's the water," blah blah blah. It's all BS.
For reference, for instance, everyone claims that you can't make a good NYC bagel in LA because "it's the water." Yet, if you try a Montreal-style bagel, it tastes exactly the same (only smaller). It's all in the technique (with bagels, it's got to be boiled first, which creates the hard exterior, then baked).
OK, so re: pizza. It's not the freakin' water. It's the technique. Which typically involves gas ovens at exceptionally high temps, which creates a hard crust, which is half the battle. DiFaro's in Brooklyn, which is considered by many (important note: there is no such thing as "best" - with pizza; "best" is often determined by what you grew up with, and obviously, recipes vary), has crazy hot ancient gas ovens.
My point is that you've got the Joe Peeps of the worlds, which are about as NYC as a Malibu surfer. I'm not sure how it got called NY pizza, other than apparently Joe came from there? He sure didn't cook in Manhattan. Then you've got the Vito's on LaCienega, which is ridiculously exactly like NYC pizza (no surprise: hot gas ovens), and he's more New Joisey (close enough if you're commuting distance to NYC) than Tony Soprano.
OK, so I love Vitos. But that doesn't mean it's the only good NYC pizza possible. And I not only have high hopes for Arb Pizza, but will try it in by the end of the weekend. But that said, the cheese is the wrong color -- ain't no real NYC pizza sporting yellow cheese. I know the post commends his choice, but... That said, does that mean it's not delicious? Nope. Looking forward to finding out.
Sorry, had to get that off my chest.
-Exit 123 (those who truly understand NYC pizza should understand the joke)
and thank you deadorinjail....i love di faras. he closed for a few weeks and i will be going in a few weeks for a visit. anyone who has the chance to visit NY should also try Artichoke's pizza. It's a love/hate relationship with the people.
I saw this on LAist and went and tried it out last night.
Great place, *GREAT FOOD*, great people.
Get the homemade chips, they are addicting!
The two guys (who own it) were very friendly!
Bring cash, ATM at Shell Station.
Good pizza is something I miss about the east coast. And judging from these photos, I will just have to continue to miss it.
And to me, "greasy" does not make it better, nor authentic, nor NY. I've had many amazing pies and slices in NY, and none of the good ones were "greasy".
Where are the places that let you choose a thin, foldable crust from ten different doughs? Who sport a rich portfolio of imaginative topping packages you can add to each dough? *sigh*
I've been here two years and still can't find a real pizza pie. But I'll keep lookin'!
I've never been to NY so I can't judge what is NY Pizza and what isn't. Frankly I don't care. I however, was in the Studio City area for business and remembered this article and checked out this place and the pizza was great. The guys were from NY and they made pizza. As far as I'm concerned, this ignorant Long Beach kid had NY Pizza and it was fantastic. Thank you Zach.