Pizza Lover's Guide to LA

The Mario Batali-Nancy Silverton machine that had people eating dinner at 11pm on a Wednesday because that was the only time they could get a reservation. Yes, it is good enough to make a reservation way in advance. No, it is not good enough to sacrifice your first-born child in order to get inside.

This little-known gem is a less-crowded and cheaper alternative to Mozza. The salads are just tasty and the pizzas are just as mouth-watering— be sure to get the garlic rolls while you wait for your pie. And since you can walk in on a Saturday night sans reservation, Caioti is a godsend for those who tend to have unpredictable pizza cravings. Remember to save room for a trip to the neighboring Gelato Bar— ironically enough, it’s operated by Nancy Silverton’s sister.

Vito’s brings pitch-perfect New York pizza one cheesy bite closer to LA. Like most of LA’s hidden culinary treasures, Vito’s is tucked in the corner of a garden-variety mini-mall. Calzones, pastas, sandwiches, and salads populate the menu, but you’d be crazy not to sample the pizza: the crust is perfectly dough and the fluffy ricotta cheese is like manna from heaven.

Like Vito’s, Joe’s claim to fame is the New York-style pizza (the original Joe’s is back in NYC). And while Joe’s is not unsatisfactory by any means, it lacks a certain something that Vito’s has. The white pizza just didn’t move us in the way that Vito’s did. In the crosstown pizza war, Vito’s wins by a nose or maybe even a nose hair.