L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele

Grazie a Marco Polo

My wife is an immigrant from Italy, self-described as off the boat. Her father Gino moved from Tuscany to the San Fernando Valley (as schizophrenic as that may seem) to start a successful tile and marble business.  Gino was an American success story, a penniless immigrant with a sixth grade education who was able to pay for his daughter to attend a ritzy private college, arriving at her sorority house in the BMW 320i that he bought her for a high school graduation present.  Gino and I were from very different circumstances but from the moment we met we were great friends, despite my designs on his beautiful daughter.  Italians and Jews may differ in religion, but culturally they have very similar values, such as family and food, especially food.

My wife inherited the skill of rustic Tuscan cooking from her mother, her grandmother, her great grandmother and on and on for innumerable generations.  Meals made from scratch with the freshest ingredients purchased that day.   Gnocchi, ravioli, tortellini and agnolotti individually hand-stuffed piece by time-consuming piece.  Savory sauces simmering for hours.  Course after course effortlessly served with the grace and timing of a Rossini opera.

Quality new restaurants are continually being hatched in the fashionable incubator of Los Angeles, especially of the Italian subspecies.  Each and every week one can read yet another article in Eater LA or The Infatuation such as “Sixteen new orgasmic eateries” or “George Clooney dines at these dozen innovative spots; you should too!”  Most of these establishments serve very good food, but few are memorable and worthy of a return visit.  So when a prominent Beverly Hills attorney friend (and yes, I have attorney friends; one never knows when the lawyers, guns and money scenario will arise) was raving about a new Italian restaurant I was initially skeptical.  His wife is also Italian, which gives him some gastronomic street cred, so I followed the counselor’s advice.

The better half and I ventured from the 818 to the hippest section of Hollywood, just minutes from Hollywood & Highland, for dinner at L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele.  The flagship restaurant has been serving discerning Italian diners in Naples for over 150 years; an impressive record since the half-life of a Los Angeles restaurant is about three weeks.  

Upon entering the premises, one is immediately dazzled by the beautiful variety of textures, shapes and colors in the bar and casual dining room.  Passing through the square archway at the back leads to the main outdoor dining area.  This picturesque space is open air with a design that would make Brunelleschi proud.  The olive trees and festive hanging lights create a cozy atmosphere as if one were dining outside of a villa on the island of Capri.  The overall scheme is enhanced by the large fireplace in the back and the open pizza oven area.  The space is warmed by powerful patio heaters and has overhead awnings so dining is comfortable any time of the year. 

The wine list is extensive with considerable choices of house wines by the glass and bottles from a variety of regions in Italy.  We chose glasses of the house Nebbiolo and Sangiovese.  Both had the rich fruit and mildly astringent tannins of their more exclusive DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) brethren, Barolo and Brunello di Montalcino.

Needless to say (but I will say it anyway), the specialty of L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele is the pizza which is made in the outdoor pizzeria.  It is made in the Neapolitan style with a thin crust at the base and a raised airy edge (the cornicione) that is crunchy on the outside and light and soft on the inside. The pizza is an excellent choice to split as an appetizer served between the antipasto and the primi or secondi main course.  Since the wife is concerned about yours truly becoming bloated as he enters his senescence, I decided to skip the pizza.  It is still highly recommended.   

The sophisticated reader is aware that many premium restaurants no longer have gratis bread service.  They irritate the patron with a nominal charge or only offer expensive overwrought bread options that spoil the appetite for the main course.   We were treated on the house to a tasty plate of freshly made grissini sprinkled with Parmesan and a side of marinated olives.

For antipasti we had the eggplant with burrata and the citrus salad.  The eggplant was warmed and intermingled with juicy cherry tomatoes, accompanied by a healthy dollop of burrata on top.  This dish was served with a basket of freshly made toasted bread lightly drizzled with olive oil and garlic.  The seasonal citrus surrounded arugula and fennel; the slightly bitter vegetables complemented the sweet fruit.

To truly test the cuisine, we administered the pasta challenge.  Could L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele withstand the competition of the homemade Tuscan recipes passed down in my wife’s family since the days of Michelangelo (who was born only a few kilometers from her hometown)?  In order to sit for the examination, we asked the waitress to sharpen her #2 pencils and bring us the lasagna Bolognese and spaghetti Nerano (spaghetti served with zucchini, parmesan, pecorino and basil).  What can I say about the results other than the score was in the 99^th percentile.

As a side dish we had sautéed brussels sprouts with pecorino.  After spending a semester abroad in England as a college student, I am permanently scarred by being served brussels sprouts that had the consistency of a Super Ball on a nightly basis; the wife reported to me that these were lightly charred on the outside but soft on the inside and delicious to the palate.  

After that extravaganza of a meal, the waitress brought the dessert menu which had such delights as the Cannoli Siciliano, the Torta della Nonna and the Caprese Cake.  Keeping in mind the wife’s reproach regarding senescent bloating, I sorrowfully passed.

Unlike the vast majority of the competition, L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele is memorable and I have returned time after time after time after time.  Having spent many an adolescent afternoon sneaking into Hollywood Park to watch the horses run in the ninth race, I can truly say that it hits the trifecta of food, service and atmosphere.