Vinolio

This is a dark little bar in downtown Hollywood on Cahuenga. It is a place that I think Vampire's would hang out in, which seems to be the general theme of a lot of places in Hollywood these days. I say that as a good thing. It has good ambience that you can feel very comfortable in, candle lit with a good selection of beer and small menu. Though the specials the waitress gave was longer than the menu itself.

They have a few pizza selections. We got one margherita, with buffalo mozzarella. Then one of the specials, that was a Italian sausage pizza with red bell peppers and onions, and I think cheese though I don't see any in the picture. They are both a generous 12 inches. I can't remember the price exactly, the Italian sausage was close to 20. The Margherita was prob around $15, I think $17 for the buffalo mozz. So a little pricey. But worth it.

I don't think the sausage pizza comes across in my pictures. But I assure you the sausage was excellent. The flavors were spot on and all around it was an amazing pizza. The only problem was the weight of all that sausage made the crust soggy and limp on the bottom. Though the crust was crispy on the top and initially had been crisp on the bottom too.

The Margherita was extremely crisp. In fact it was a little over cooked, which I have to say in this town was the first time that happened. It was completely black on the bottom and each bite gave you a little too much char taste. I have had this pizza before and that is not the usual.

Here is their oven. A big open oven, though don't be fooled, it is electric gas powered.

The crust is usually cooked perfectly. It is crispy with a little char, doughy and chewy inside, thin and crispy on the outside. The tomato sauce has a great pure tomato tasting flavor, and the cheese is simply great. The pizza is all around a pretty simple dish here. They don't go above and beyond what a pizza is to try and impress, they take the bare essentials and (usually) cook it right. This is what I like about it. There could have been more cheese, their could have been more basil. The tomato sauce could have been thicker so it wouldn't dry out so much. There are some improvements that could be made, but overall a pretty decent pizza, for a late, trendy, saturday night.

Vinolio

1634 N. Cahuenga Blvd. Hollywood, 90028

(323) 856-0888

Price: $$

Overall: