Cuisine Scene: Pizza
With National Pizza Day (Feb. 9) upon us, it’s time once again to take a look at one dish experiencing an undeniable renaissance in Long Beach. Local pizza is offered in all manner of new takes, old classics and with unique toppings. Here are 10 places tossing their own distinct versions of arguably the world’s most beloved culinary creation.
Whatever your preference, the plethora of pizza places in Long Beach serve up exactly what you’re craving in the 562.
TIME TESTED
Each of these have been serving the community deliciously for more than 50 years. Domenico’s (5339 E. Second St.). Domenico’s is Long Beach’s oldest restaurant and was one of the first to serve pizza in Southern California. Its ground pepperoni and ground sausage pies are absolutely iconic. Buono’s Pizzeria (250 W. Ocean Blvd./401 W Willow St.) uses old school methods in constructing pies. Hand-kneaded dough and homemade sauce is paired with fresh tomatoes and pan-roasted garlic. The mozzarella is fresh, as is the sausage!
NEW TWISTS
Thai Curry Pizza & Thai Food (929 Redondo Ave.) in the Rose Park neighborhood, offers unique toppings like cilantro, curry sauce, and basil in its Thai Curry Tofu Pizza and Tom Yum Pizza, while also serving up a variety of traditional Thai dishes. What most distinguishes Speak Cheezy (3950 E. Fourth St.) is its dough: delicious and tangy sourdough, righteously charred and bursting with buttery flavor. To produce such pies requires 120 hours of fermentation and you can taste each minute of care spent creating these masterpieces.
ARTISANAL
La Parolaccia (2945 E. Broadway) has a loyal following in no small part because of its Neapolitan-style, woodfired pizzas which present like works of art, whether Sofia’s combination of burrata, cherry tomatoes and Parma prosciutto, Burina’s spicy salami and arugula or the Totti’s fusion of half-pizza, half-calzone. One of the city’s most respected and honored restaurants, Michaels (210 E. 3rd St./5620 E. 2nd St.) serves a Neapolitan-style pizza made from homemade dough, topped with locally-grown organic veggies and herbs from Michael’s own garden.
PIZZA AND BREW
Though it grew lightning fast as a brewery, Dutch’s Brewhouse (4244 Atlantic Ave.) is as well-known, and loved, for its unique pizzas. Pair a pint with a slice topped with the likes of chicken, bacon, kettle chips, kimchi or rosemary potatoes. Long Beach Beer Lab (518 Willow St.) has unique toppings itself and a sourdough beer malt crust which is a standout in this brewery’s pies. Any of the pizzas can be made vegan with beer-barrel smoked almond ricotta.
SOMETHING TO SEE
Little Coyote (3500 N. Los Coyotes Diagonal/ 2118 E. 4th St.) offers wafer thin, New York-inspired pizzas, on a menu ranging from a Margherita to its signature White Pizza balancing spinach, ricotta, mozzarella and Calabrian chili with a creamy white sauce. Enjoy it outdoors at the shop and watch the Retro Row scene happen by. The 4th Horseman (121 W. 4th St.), serves a wide-ranging menu, including Frailty, which may be the best vegan pizza in town. Enjoy it in the shop, which is a tribute to horror movies and monsters of the past as well as the site of the Dark Art Emporium.