Hollywood Pies-Moved

www.hollywoodpies.com
323-337-3212

Nov. 2014 review of Hollywood Pies' new location on Pico.

In the LA area there are only two places to get a good Chicago style deep dish pizza; Tony's Little Italy and Masa of Echo Park. Now, Hollywood Pies, has emerged as a third place to get a good Chicago style deep dish pizza.

Hollywood Pies is an interesting business concept. They do not have a store front, they only use the kitchen of a restaurant that has closed. Also, it's a delivery and pick up only location. Well, it's not really "pick up," they have curb side service, so you call them when you arrive and they will come out with your pizza. They do accept credit cards.

So, I drive out to the given GPS address of 417 Westmont Dr, in West Hollywood, which is just north, on La Cienega, of the Beverly Center. And, I see a closed down restaurant. I park and when I get outside, I can smell the wonderful smell of pizza!! So, I know I'm close. I walk closer to the restaurant and I see a young woman walking away from a car, and inside the car I can see pizza boxes. So, I ask the young lady is this Hollywood Pies. She says Yes. We talk for a couple minutes about the location and business model etc. She goes back inside and a couple minutes later, comes out with my order!!!



I ordered a galf Classic Chicago-Whole milk mozzarella, mild Italian sausage and fresh house-made ricotta and Half Fairbanks-Whole milk mozzarella, mild Italian sausage, onions and baby bella mushrooms $22.

Chicago pizza take 45 minutes to cook. Any place that says they are a deep dish Chicago pizza place, and their pizza takes 20 minutes to cook, get the hell away from there. That place either, isn't a real Chicago deep dish pizza place or their pizza are prebaked/frozen, and that's not what you want.

I placed my order and they said the wait time was 90 minutes, because they were at their max. I wasn't too happy about the wait; not so much with Hollywood pies, but with myself for not placing my order sooner.

Anyways, they called me when my pizza was ready and I quickly drove over. Hollywood Pies' website gives 415 WESTMOUNT DR. WEST HOLLYWOOD CA 90048, as a GPS direction. Just go to the intersection of La Cienega and Westmount, go west and you will run into the building that is pictured. There is a small parking area that says No Parking but if you stay in your car, you don't have to worry about the meter maids.

Anyways, I was handed my pizza, my arm dropped about six inches, because the pizza was so heavy. Always a good sign when it comes to Chicago pizza. I found a crate to take a picture of the pizza, then drove about 45 minutes to finally dig into the pizza. The pizza holds up amazingly well after 45 minutes.

The crust is dense, but light, flakey, and buttery. It holds up very well to all the sauce and toppings.

The sauce is on the tangy side, but is very good. I get an oregano flavor from the sauce.

The whole milk mozzarella, is very good quality.




Fairbanks-Whole milk mozzarella, mild Italian sausage, onions and baby bella mushrooms. This was awesome. The sausage was crumbed up pieces of mild Italian sausage, with good flavor and seasoning. The onions were very sweet and cut into long silvers, which allowed them to remain crispy even after baking.




Classic Chicago-Whole milk mozzarella, mild Italian sausage and fresh house-made ricotta.

All the flavors really worked well together for this pizza. The ricotta added a rich creamy flavor and texture.

I think my favorite is the Fairbanks, but would gladly order the Classic Chicago, again.

Service was very good. The young girl was professional on the phone and when she gave me the pizza, was nice and helpful. I would order at least an hour in advance, and give yourself time to find Hollywood Pies.

I would go back to Hollywood Pies anytime.

Kitchen 24-Closed

Kitchen 24
1608 N. Cahuenga Blvd.
Los Angeles
323-465-2424

Sometimes a good hearty breakfast hits the spot for dinner. So I was heard about Kitchen 24 and decided to have breakfast for dinner.



I'm not really a french toast, waffles, or pancakes kind of person. I like them, but I normally do not order them for breakfast. I usually get bacon and eggs and if they come with pancakes, I'll eat them but there are times I don't even touch the pancakes.

I got the Wakey Wakey Eggs and Bakey- Two Eggs over hard, with two Pancakes, bacon and hash browns, $7.95.

I hate running yolks, they are disgusting to see and look at, so I order over medium or over hard eggs. But, the problem is many restaurants can't cook over medium or over hard eggs, the yolk is too runny, they need to be more solid. But, if I order over hard, the yolk is solid but usually the whites are burnt or too well done, which I hate. But, more often than not, if I order over hard eggs, they usually are over medium. Honestly, the only place that almost always cooks eggs perfectly is Denny's.

The eggs I got were over salted a bit, but the eggs were fresh and perfectly cooked, medium, even if I asked for hard.

The bacon was wonderful. Thick cut of smokey, flavorful, chewy bacon.

The hash browns were also oversalted, but well cooked, nice and crispy brown on the outside, soft and well cooked inside.

The pancakes were nice and sweet on the outside. A bit small but pretty good.

Service was very good. I never lacked for water and the order came out quickly. It can get a bit loud inside, with the music playing and people at the bar shouting, but overall a nice atmosphere with a retro 70's decor.

While I wouldn't rush back to Kitchen 24, I wouldn't have any objections to going back.

Ann's Fish Market

Ann's Fish Market
20220 Avalon Blvd Ste E
Carson
310-719-8737

If you ever have a craving for fried seafood, just drive to Avalon Blvd., in Carson!! Within a mile stretch on Avalon Blvd., is three you buy, they fry, seafood restaurants. The New Diner has reviewed the other two; Family Fish Market, and Louisiana Hometown Seafood, and last, but not least, Ann's Fish Market.

Ann's Fish Market is located the furthest south on Avalon, in a small, but very busy, shopping center, at the corner of Avalon and Del Amo Bvld. Ann's is a small store with a huge display case, stocked with fish, in the front. There are three small tables, so this is mainly a to go place.




I got the dinner combo, $7.99, 3 piece fish, perch, and 10 piece medium shrimp with double hush puppies. I wanted to try a different fish, than my usual red snapper, so I got perch. I first asked for buffalo, but the owner said buffalo has a lot of bones and I quickly changed my mind. The corn meal batter was great!! A light, yet firm texture and perfectly seasoned. My favorite batter, out of all the fried seafood places I've tried. The perch was nicely cooked, had the same type of texture and flavor like catfish.

The shrimp was butterflied and then coated with the same great batter. The shrimp was nicely cooked, fresh, and tasty. I may get an order of jumbo shrimp the next time I go.

The hush puppies were nicely fried, with a nice crispy outside and a soft moist inside. A good example of hush puppies.

My one complaint is the small amount of tartar sauce for such a big order. One tiny container of tartar sauce and hot sauce for three big pieces of fish and ten shrimp? Come on, give out at least 2-3. Though he willing gave me an extra container.

Service is pretty good. The owner is a very nice and patient man. He answered a lot of my questions about Ann's. He brought Ann's from the original owners about four years ago.

Since Ann's is mainly to go, I didn't get napkins with my order. When I asked for napkins, he gave me two small napkins. I mean, either buy bigger napkins or give me more napkins.

I really like Ann's and would go back first. If I had to rank the fried seafood in Carson, it would be Ann's, then Louisiana Hometown Seafood, and finally Family Fish Market.

Barone's Famous Italian Restaurant

Barone's Famous Italian Restaurant
13726 Oxnard St
Van Nuys
818-782-6004

Barone's is a long time San Fernando Valley institution. I read they used to have three locations throughout the Valley, but now this is their only location, which they moved into about six years ago. Does anybody know what this restaurant was, before Barone's moved in? I'm guessing it was a steakhouse by the red vinyl booths.

Barone's is a casual sit down restaurant with other Italian dishes on the menu. But, they are known for their rectangular pizza. The pizza isn't Sicilian, since it has a thinner crust than Sicilian pizza.



I ordered a large with pepperoni, $15.99. This could have been a very good pizza. The crust was thin, not New York style thin, but more of a thin cracker crust. There was plenty of mozzarella cheese. The sauce was very mild, well balanced, I hate it when the sauce overpowers a pizza. But, the top layer of the pizza was overcooked. The top of the pepperoni was almost burnt, but the bottom was nice and you could tell this is a good quality pepperoni. But, since the top was overcooked, it just ruined the pizza for me.

Service was good. The lady who was our server was nice and attentive. I didn't lack for anything, she came to our table often to see if we needed anything.

I noticed that Barone's offers live entertainment on Friday and Saturdays, and they raise the prices of the drinks AND they have a $12.50 minimum per person!! I guess, if you want pizza on those nights, you get the pizza to go.

Again, Barone's just missed being a great pizza. I can't believe a pizza place that has been in business for so long, would overcook their pizza. I may give Barone's another try but I'm in no rush.

Larry's Chili Dog

Larry's Chili Dog 

3122 W Burbank Blvd 

Burbank 

818-842-0244 

 I found out about Larry's Chili Dog on Yelp. I didn't realize it wasn't that far from Chili John's. Larry's is a small place that is easy to miss. They only have outdoor seating, but it's covered, a welcomed relief from this weekend's heat wave. Whenever I try a new hot dog place, I go for my usual hot dog; mustard and onions, $2.50. I figure if the hot dog is good, then I'll try other toppings. The hot dog is a steamed, all beef, natural casing hot dog. It's pretty good, with a good spice mixture and good quality beef. The snap is good and the flavors exploded with each bite. They were a bit light with the mustard, but there is mustard on the tables, so you can add as much mustard as you want. Overall, I am very impressed with the hot dog. I got the chili dog, $2.89, which comes with mustard and onions. The chili dog is the same, all beef natural casing dog, as the regular hot dog. The chili was very thick, a bit thicker than I prefer. I bet if you stuck a fork in a bowl of this chili, it would stand up! It will mild, not spicy, with beans and cumin was the spice, I tasted the most. The chili dog is ok but not my favorite. Service was pretty good. When I walked up to the window, I was greeted and the guy was friendly. The hot dogs came out quickly, though I told him, my order was, for here, but when my order was ready, it was wrapped in a to go container. I also noticed, after I left, I was overcharged for my order. The hot dog and chili dog would come out to $5.39 plus .54 cents tax, would be $5.92. I was charged $6.15. If they charge for mustard and onions, they should tell you. While the hot dog is good, I won't be coming back to Larry's Chili Dog, any time soon. The hot dog isn't so great, that I need to rush back.