LA Pizza Society Takes Over Smorgasburg!

LA Pizza Society is collaborating with Smorgasburg LA to celebrate National Pizza Month on Sunday, October 2nd!

This very special LAPS event will feature not one top LA pizzeria. Not two. But the number after two (three!).

Local fave Two Doughs and a very special pizza bianca porchetta "a libretto" pop-up via Evan Funke (Felix) and Noel Brohner (Slow Rise Pizza) will join Smogasburg's (and long my favorite New Haven-style spot), Urbn. Also on offer: pizza-themed specials from many of their normal vendors.

For those unaware of Smorgasburg, it's basically a weekly artisanal food and crafts flea market from heaven in downtown LA. Located at ROW DTLA, it has free two-hour parking and runs 10 am - 5 pm every Sunday. You just pay for all the insanely delicious food you eat. And on October 2nd, that's going to be some of LA's top pizza. All in one place. For you to shove down your gullet. And be happy. 


More information to follow.



For this special LAPS day, there will be NO tickets. What will happen though: I will meet the group at 10:15 and we will go to each pizza booth together. Email me if interested.

The Latest/Greatest To Order at Roku Sunset.

LA is in the midst of an architectural dining renaissance. Restaurant spaces so ornate, you would swear you were in Midtown Manhattan (see Otium, Redbird, et al.). Somehow lost in the conversation is Roku Sunset though. Perhaps due its "chain" nature, it just doesn't come up when Los Angelenos bat around the city's finest restaurant spaces. 

As evidenced in the picture below, that's silly. If not the city's most epic, Roku Sunset at the very least can take your breath away. Especially if you eat during Golden Hour, which I accidentally did. The place has an open, RETRACTABLE ROOF that doesn't simply litter the space with a beautiful SoCal breeze, no matter the time of day, but also delectable, appetizing light. Truly a special indoor/outdoor LA dining arena.

Broken up into three main areas: the bar, dining room and a special Teppanyaki section, the roughly years-old Roku Sunset recently underwent a menu revamp and invited me to sample their latest and greatest. Having not been to a Roku in years (note: Roku Sunset has a more universal Asian-inspired menu, including sushi and teppanyaki, compared to the original Sushi Roku's sole focus), I found some real winners that almost outshone their not humble surroundings...

To Drink: Matcha Mule.

Two of the world's finest: matcha tea and the Moscow Mule, here, united, finally, as one. It's like that time Eminem and Jay-Z put out an album together - but actually good. The drink -- featuring an intoxicating blend of green tea-infused vodka, pure ginger root, fresh lemon and honey -- is both citrusy light, yet hearty, providing more of a ginger punch than most of the Mules around town. Highly recommended.

To Appetize: Grilled Avocado.

Roku Sunset is not the Edison of the Grilled Avocado. But, let's be real with ourselves, kids: WHY THE EFF AREN'T WE ALWAYS GRILLING AVOCADO AND EATING IT EVERY DAMN MEAL? Seriously, it's such a solid dish. RS takes it another step up by complimenting the tender, smoky, aggressively charred, flavor-packed avo with a slightly sweet yuzu and soy sauce, along with some scallion sprinkling and a lemon squeeze atop. I want it again right now.

To Share: Tuna Tartare Phyllo Cup.

Ever wished all that poke you're eating right now came in a phyllo cup, topped with yuzu guacamole and BLACK TRUFFLE SHAVINGS? Me either. I've never dreamt that big. Needless to say, this dish -- which can best be described as ahi poke on top-notch European and Mexican steroids -- is stellar. It stands as a solid example of what RS aspires: unique, culturally-influenced, yet Asian-leaning.

To Entree: Sizzling Filet.

First off, I apologize for the picture, but this fella was STEAMY. Really steamy. So the fog encompassing the picture is no allusion. What lay beneath: 5 ounces of sizzling, teppan-grilled filet, mushroom, asparagus and zucchini in a smoked garlic truffle ponzu sauce. Amongst a few other grill offerings, this dish is a convenient way to experience the Teppanyaki section of the restaurant without actually experiencing the Teppanyaki section of the restaurant.

---------------------
Roku Sunset.
9201 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood.

On The Road. Four Best Things I Ate in Portland.

Last weekend the wife figure, the Boston Terrier and I packed the car and headed north. Really north. To Portland, Oregon. ((Well, for complete transparency: we stayed a night in Ashland en route, which by the way, has great food itself and may get its very own post.)) We were in the rose and 'stache city for good friends' wedding, but, come on, let's be real, we were also there to EAT. And eat we did. This despite the 100 degree weather. We simply weren't going to let that stop us from indulging to a ridiculous level.

While I deeply enjoyed all of our eats, these were my four favorite. I highly, HIGHLY recommend you seek out these foodstuffs on your next visit to Portland. By the way, my wife astutely noticed 'staches don't seem to be so in anymore. So there's that... Also, the above picture is on the door of our room at the Jupiter Hotel, which is a comfortable, dog friendly, bee's knees hotel adjacent to the Doug Fir music venue.

- Wiz Bang Bar's Salted Caramel Soft Serve w/ Single Origin Dark Chocolate Shell: Salt & Straw recently opened a soft serve joint in downtown Portland's new Pine Street Market. The soft serve is amazing. The "dip"/shell comes in three varieties: chocolate, black truffle white chocolate and Oregon black raspberry. They are amazing. We need one of these in LA ASAP. It's beyond pertinent.

- Apizza Scholls' Pizza: I spent hours (literally) researching where to eat pizza in Portland. It's a blessed pizza city nowadays and I wanted to make the right choice. I did. Apizza Scholls is a beautiful combination of many pizza styles, yet unique in itself. Note: make a reservation, or don't even think about it as the place was an absolute madhouse on an early Friday eve.

- The People's Pig's Smoked Fried Chicken Sandwich: I mean, look at that fucking thing. So much going down in this fried chix sammy. You've got the smoked, THEN fried flavor-packed chicken, a spicy aioli, a jalapeno jelly and the (very Portland) heirloom-level greenery. All on a hefty, yet light sourdough roll.

- Wolf and Bear's Falafel (not pictured): Okay, my bad. I ate it too quick and only got this random pic of me pointing. It was also, no exaggeration, a cool 97 degrees out that day at their pod. Totally worth it though. Upon her last visit, my stepmom proclaimed W&B's better than LA's own Madcapra. I thought that was crazy talk. But after chowing down on their signature entree -- falafel, hummus, caramelized onions, roasted red peppers, parsley, grilled eggplant and greens, rolled in a warm, fresh pita -- I would have to say it's really, really close.


Also incredible: breakfast at Coquine, which is the neighborhood gem of neighborhood gems (see below).