Mulberry Street Pizzeria

In Beverly Hills is a place called Mulberry Street Pizzeria, "The world's most famous pizzeria", they say. I don't think thats true, but it does seem to be well known in L.A. among pizza lovers. This is one of 3 locations, 2 of which are in Beverly Hills, the other is in Encino.

The one in Beverly Hills is a real hole in the wall, literally. This small dark stone cave where they cook pizza is very unexpected in a place like Beverly Hills. They have one size, “big”. A 20’’ pizza should feed a few people. Previously I got a single slice which was a normal to big size and cost 3.50. Though I have since ordered the whole 20 inch cheese pie which will run you about 20 dollars. Considering the thin and light style of this pizza, 20 dollars is a little pricey, but it is a big pizza so it's price isn't too ridiculous.

Now, I was here about a year ago - May 2008 according to my blog. This is when I got just one slice. This is what I wrote: OLD REVIEW

The crust was thin and had a nice amount of charcoal burns on the bottom, it was well done, crispy and doughy at the same time, so far the best crust I have eaten. That’s the hardest part to get right with a pizza in my opinion. You would think once they have the hang of the crust the rest falls into place. Well, that was not the case. The problem came from the cheese. The sauce was fine, but the cheese just wasn’t right. It was stretchy and chewy. Like it wasn’t melted enough or it was the wrong kind. Maybe there was just a little too much of it as well. While it didn’t ruin the pizza, it still tasted good, I just was so frustrated that it was so close to being the best, and something so easy was just done so wrong. Unfortunately my rating for the place dropped a few notches because of it.

NEW REVIEW:

Now I recently went back and got a whole pie, and it is seemingly not the same as what I wrote above. Perhaps it was an off day or something happened to the recipe. It was a different Beverly Hills location, but they use the same ovens and the pizza from what I can see looks the same. The crust was still pretty good. It was ultra thin, and had a good chewiness to it. It was light and crispy as well. The perfect pizza for folding and eating on the go. The crust didn't have a whole lot of flavor, but it did taste relatively fresh. This seemed to be the same as the last time I went except for the light amount of char. There was no char and it wasn't cooked as long this time. The sauce and cheese that seemed to really fail last time were actually pretty good this time. Both are put on pretty light, if anything there is more sauce than cheese but both have a good amount relating to the crust. The sauce is slightly on the sweet side but full of Italian spices. Despite it being spicy it was definitely the right flavor for a pizza and not the kind of sauce for a pasta. The cheese was the main thing that turned me of the first time, this time however, it was fine. Not really a major factor though, since it was put on light and paired with a strongly flavored sauce. This time my experience was much more satisfying. All the hype about this place is actually worth it.

Is it the best pizza ? No certainly not in the country. In L.A. it is probably one of the top pizzerias but still not my favorite. When it comes to New York style pizza in LA I stick with the 3 V's - Vito's, Village Pizzeria, and Verrazzano's. Then of course there is Joe's which is straight from New York. Mulberry St Pizzeria is somewhere below these guys, though the difference isn't too great. It's typical pizza that is done right. Nothing more nothing less, and this is what I think people truly want in a pizza. Maybe.

They also have sicilian, for the record.

Mulberry Street Pizzeria

240 S. Beverly Dr. 90212 (310-247-8100)

347 North Canon Dr Beverly Hills 90210 (310-247-8998)

17040 Ventura Blvd Encino 91316 (818-789-6861)

Price: $$

Overall: