The perfect pairing is a thing of magic: Cabernet and grilled steak, ice cream and hot fudge. The brains behind Sprinkles Cupcakes and a traditionally trained Neapolitan pizza-maker?
Say no more. When Candace Nelson and her husband Charles met Daniele Uditi at a friend’s pizza party where Uditi was the chef, they instantly bonded over a shared fascination with what makes a great crust or pastry.
And thus, with Daniele Uditi putting a California spin on Neapolitan pizzas and Nelson at the helm of the desserts menu, Pizzana was born.
“Well, clearly I’m obsessed with carbs!” Nelson says of moving from cupcakes to pizza. That “obsession” with not only carbs, but also quality, led to a painstaking process of flying in Italian flour, fior di latte mozzarella, and even procuring a plot of land in San Marzano, Naples to grow tomatoes for sauce.
And then there’s the crust. Oh, the crust. Daniele Uditi baked iteration after iteration over two years to create the ideal Neapolitan-style crust with a California twist that made it easy to pick up without a fork and knife.
“As an Italian, I have found many similarities with the Los Angeles style of cooking,” Daniele Uditi says. “For us, ingredients are everything and the quality has to be the best. Italian cuisine is all about making food with love for the people we love.”
Step into the warmth of the Brentwood location and you feel it. That sense of Pizzana as “a place where people can be relaxed, run into friends, develop a preference for their favorite server, and talk to Daniele behind the pizza counter,” says Nelson.
Behind that very counter is where Daniele Uditi works his magic. The pizza menu spans from classic Margherita to new styles, like the Messicana, which calls on Daniele Uditi’s wife’s Mexican roots and includes chorizo and queso fresco. Or the Cacio e Pepe, an Italian pasta classic of pepper and parmigiano not typically put on pizza.
“By making neo-Neapolitan pizzas, it allows me to have the freedom to use ingredients available to me at the farmer’s market and think of unique flavor combinations that I can do based on what ingredients are around me,” Daniele Uditi says.
“That’s what makes the pizza the perfect union between southern Italy and Southern California.”
Once you’ve savored a pizza (or five), try a selection from Pizzana’s mouthwatering dessert menu, yet another departure from what you’d find at a traditional pizza restaurant. Nelson took care to include something for everyone, from Sprinkles ice cream to updated takes on Italian classics.
The Brentwood location was chosen for its discerning clientele and lack of white-tablecloth requirements.
“Our experience can be defined as ‘buttoned-up casual,’” Nelson says.
But it’s not the only spot on the horizon: plans to expand east of the 405 are already in the works. Delicious.
Pizzana
11712 San Vicente Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90049
310.481.7108 | pizzana.com
Photography courtesy of Amy Neunsinger
