Louis C.
Yelp
I've been on my Napolitano pizza hunt again lately. And pi00a (pronounced pie-o-ah) is one of my latest finds.
It operates out of a ghost kitchen near the corner of Melrose and Western. On this particular Saturday a bit past the lunch hours, there was a lot of people waiting outside. Luckily I pre-ordered and was able to walk right up to the window and pick up my order.
The Margherita pizza was as good as most margarita I've had in LA. It's a good substitute, or better if you're one of those who are boycotting Jon & Vinny for their audacious 18% service charge that does not go to the wait staff.
The dough is properly proofed which yielded a soft and puffy crust. However, unless you live within five minutes, I'd suggest you plan to devour your pizza in your car. As with any typical Napolitano pizza the center crust is pretty thin and does not travel well.
The spicy chili crunch is definitely worth the hype. It reminded me very much of the Chinese XO sauce, which is explained by Melody Stein's Hong Kong roots. It gives a bit of kick but not too much (I'd rank it 6 on a scale of 10), it also has a bunch of crunchy morsels that adds to the texture of the pizza.
The lemon olive oil cake, while decent, had no lemon flavor. I'd probably skip the next time.
What's also impressive is the fact that the proprietors are making great efforts to help hearing-impaired workers. That is a very worthy cause.
I'll definitely be back to try their other more interesting pizzas.