There are two Il Capriccio locations, one on Vermont and Hollywood and the other just a mile down the road on Hollywood. What I learned today, when I attempted to get pizza at the one on Vermont, was that the one on Vermont has no pizza. In fact the 2 places which at one point were related are no longer owned by the same person. So the one on Vermont is Italian cuisine while the other is strictly a pizzeria (with sandwiches, apps, and desserts).
Once I got to the right Il Capriccio I ordered a large 16'' pizza margherita for $18. The exciting thing about this place is the wood fired stone oven. There are not too many pizzerias in LA that have this. Of course just because you cook a pizza with an actual wood fire doesn't mean it will be good, though it's hard not to get your hopes up.
The crust had the taste and the texture of a pizza that had been cooked with a wood fire. It was crispy on the outside and had a slight smokey taste. It was cooked pretty evenly which was good, however I have had pizza there before that had not been rotated as it was cooking. It also could have been cooked longer, it was crispy but was still doughy inside and didn't have a slight char anywhere to it, but I suppose thats a preference. Even if it had been cooked a touch longer it wouldn't have changed the fact that the crust was a little dense and doughy on the inside. But good flavor.
The best part was the light sauce, it tasted fresh and pure, a little bitter, a little sweet, with just a touch of spices if any. It was a good sauce indeed which worked out because the cheese was almost non existent. Like I ordered a tomato pie or something.
I have gotten both the Americana, which is the regular pizza as we know it, and the Margherita which has supposedly fresher mozzarella and considerably less of it, also with a touch of basil. The Americana was light on the cheese which mixed in with the sauce a little, plus it stopped short a few inches from the edge. The sauce kept going a couple inches past that, so there were a couple inches with just sauce, an area that could have had cheese too.
If you thought there was not enough cheese on the American then the Margherita is not for you. Small spots of mozzarella were few and far between. There was one slice with only one small spot on the tip of the triangle. So that was a bit of a downer. I am a person who believes you CAN have too much cheese. This was far, the other extreme.
Overall this pizza had a great taste that combined great sauce and wood burned flavor. The dough in my opinion needs to be a little lighter and of course more cheese and this pie could be a 10 star work of art. Also if they can start using their wood fire to the best of its ability; there is much more potential with this pizza.
.png)
It is a great place to also eat an extravanza salad with apple slices / celeri / walnuts / gorgonzola cheese and organic baby greens, the fresly wood fire baked bread is a must.....they also have wonderful juicy tender grilled steak for a bargain at $15.
ReplyDelete