Coast to coast! Pt.1

The last few weeks have been a serious haul. I have seen California, Bozeman and Big Sky Montana, 1/4 of Yellowstone. I consumed some form of booze between/during flights in 6 U.S. cities, driven several thousand miles between the northwest United States as well as the entire lower east coast. It goes without saying that I’m a little beat. I have been fortunate to add some national cred to Pamparius having eaten or investigated pizza all along the way. For those reading, this should be comfortably short with enough detail to leave you all wet in your mouths.

Richmond to Dallas, TX. Pamparius rule for flying #1 – Flying is quicker when booze is involved. Prices can be steep, but if you pregame and choose your flights well you can carry a nice little buzz cross country with around $20. A little Jack Daniels en route, a little tequila bar in Dallas and poof! I am in Los Angeles.

Let me tell you. If you don’t hear it enough on the east coast, LA fucking sucks! Now bear with me west coasters and LA lovers. When I say LA I mean the equivalent of the boardwalk in any east coast city. I guess it goes without saying, if you do the touristy shit in any city, you’re going to be surrounded by other tourists just like you.

My brother lives in Beverly Hills and So I spent a few days jumping between Beverly Hills, Culver and Playa Vista.

Oh look, that’s me with an Emmy. Well Beverly Hills had a handful of places for pie within walking distance. I managed to hit 2 in my free time. Jacapo’s apparently has the best pizza since 1970.

I got a couple slices and a Coke for lunch. This stuff carries a Beverly Hills price tag. The whole deal ran about $9.  The portions were definitely generous but I was wary to try the “the best pizza since 1970″ and rightly so. Had this pizza been a few bucks cheaper it would have been the first pizza since Extreme Pizza. Not the worst thing ever, I enjoy a slice of cheese once in a blue moon from the Broad st. location. It reminds me of the last time I was LA, at an Extreme Pizza in Long Beach. Something tells me this pizza is typical Cali utility but I’m too foreign to know for sure. The cheese isn’t as salty as most New York style stuff. The whole pie was more dense and filling. The crust seemed to be cooked slower, more baked and airy, with less burn and crispness. The sauce was a little spicy and had a nice freshness to it. I give these slices a 6 out of 10.

As if my evening was set back at all by jacapo’s famous pizza, my night was about to get a hell of a whole lot better. Enter the Avalon hotel. Dim lighting, a pool in te dining area and classic Hollywood decor made this a different experience. I was expecting happy hour snacks and drinks but to my surprise they had a decent menu of skewer/salad specials, and believe it or not pizza. We did some oysters, lobster skewers, salads, truffle fries and their naepolitana pie. All the food was fantastic. As soon as I got the pie I dove right in. One of the first things I noticed was what seemed like a combination of cheeses, one buffalo mozzarella and then a creamier regular mozzarella plopped on top. After further investigation I think I was actually eating burrata. Burrata is an italian cheese made from mozzarella and cream. It was plopped on there almost as if it was added on after as a condiment. A tiny basil leaf on each slice was fresh and not drowned by olive oil. This made the flavor carry a little more for me but it was pleasant and not overwhelming. The sauce was incredibly fresh, offering the sort of bliss I get from eating slices of perfectly ripe tomatoes. The crust had a great char to it and an interesting spongy texture you might get from a pizza hut pie. This was no pizza hut though. This was absolutely phenomenal, one of the best pies I can remember in some time. At $9 it held the premise that pizza can be great for cheap. It was all about craft and ingredient choice. I know the first place I am checking on when I make my next visit out west.

Keep your eyes peeled for part 2 featuring Blue Moon Bakery in Big Sky, pizza at airports and Yellowstone, and Big Lous on the University of Florida campus.

In case you’ve ever wondered what it is like to zip line a 500 foot line in front of the Spanish Peaks.