Italiano Around Town: Tasty Pizzas at Antica Pizzeria

Pizza Bianco with Prosciutto and Arugula

On the eve of my 26^th birthday on Monday, June 27^th, there was one thing on my mind: eating a great Italian pizza with my family.  A week before, I called up my favorite pizzeria in Los Angeles, Pizzeria Mozza, and was dismayed to find the only time available for a  reservation of four with my brother and grandparents on a Monday night was at 9:30p.m.  Even Italians don’t eat that late!  Dinner, as I remember living with a Roman family in Padua Italy, always started promptly at 8:30p.m.

After a google search for other gourmet pizzerias, I discovered Antica Pizzeria in Marina Del Rey (13455 Maxella Ave - 2nd floor) and booked a table for 7:00p.m.  The pizzeria had received a strong recommendation from the Los Angeles Times and I was impressed by how the restaurant served authentic Neapolitan pizza as certified by the Verace Pizza Napoletana Association based in Naples, Italy.  

As I entered the restaurant, the first thing I noticed was the prominently displayed counter filled with Italian desserts and foods and next to it was a large chef rolling out pizza beside a huge wood-burning oven.  In front of him lay bowls of grilled vegetables, cheeses, deli meals and a pot of homemade Marinara sauce.  Outside was a small patio area, but we chose to eat in the main restaurant which had a homey feel due to light yellow and terra-cotta red walls that reached high to a vaulted ceiling.  The walls were decorated with photos, drawings, wooden instruments and in the far corner was a mammoth painting of an Italian street scene.  It all felt relaxing and comfortable. 

The four of us sat and went straight to the pizza menu.  After careful deliberation, we made our choices.  I smiled and said to our waitress “Ciao, oggi e’ il mio compleanno!”(“Hi, today is my birthday!”) and she looked back at me blankly.  I had hoped to practice some Italian, but tonight was obviously not the night. 

As she left, our attention turned to the table directly in front of us where a mother and several kids devoured large plates of margherita pizzas and fresh meatballs.  They ate with enthusiasm and as we watched we became really hungry and eagerly awaited out food.

Soon, a hot appetizer platter of calamari fritti arrived with lemon slices and marinara sauce.  I appreciated how the fried squid slices were thick and tender, even if the batter was a little overpowering for my tastes.  Still, we enjoyed the dish and it disappeared quickly.

As we chatted at our table, the pizzas came in full force.  In front of me was a pizza bianco with prosciutto and arugula, a classic Italian pie with melted mozzarella that is topped hot out of the oven with a bed of arugula and salty prosciutto.

Pizza Margherita

Pizza Etiquette

Pizza has and always will be a FINGER FOOD.  You do not use a fork and knife, except to cut the pizza into slices that you use hands to fold and eat.  The first bite was heaven, as the melted cheese married with the prosciutto, a hint of arugula crunch, and, my favorite part, a flavorful crust.  Each pizza is cooked in a 900 degree F oven for less than two minutes so they come out slightly blistered and crunchy on the outside while pleasantly chewy on the inside.  Pizza has always been the most challenging part of my education in Italian cooking because there is a lot of finesse involved in making the dough correctly, rolling it out and cooking it perfectly.

This is why I love Antica, they do all the hard work for me.

We ordered two other margherita pizzas with mozzarella, basil and tomato sauce, but one was a more “gourmet” version with buffalo mozzarella and tomatoes from San Marzano.  The gourmet version, which was a few dollars more, was of higher quality, but my brother, who liked it, wished there was more cheese.  Italian pizzas are traditionally scattered with sliced rings of mozzarella that melt in the oven but have some empty spaces between slices, as opposed to the more common American approach of covering the pie with a much dryer shredded mozzarella base.   Still, the pizza was delicious and he was convinced by how much better an Italian pizza ranks next to an American version.  In a future post, I’ll share my own experience in Napoli Italy where I had the best pizza of my life.

Pasta with Seafood and Creamy Tomato Sauce

Our final entrée was a plate of spaghetti with a creamy tomato sauce topped with baby shrimp, scallops, spinach and parsley.  The sauce was excellent, with just the right consistency and so much flavor that I used some extra pizza crust to soak it up. 

Our bellies full of Italian carbs, we relaxed after the pizzas were finished.  I liked the sight of our clean plates because when the crust is delicious, people want to eat EVERY BITE.  It pains me to see at other pizza restaurants how friends will leave the crusts alone, in part because they are fearful of eating too many carbs, but mainly because the crust does not have the flavor requires, with a crunch so good you could eat it by itself dipped in some high quality extra virgin olive oil.

Not a Birthday Without a Cake

Later, the staff approached our table with a slice of Tiramisu with a birthday candle on top. 

Birthday Tiramisu

I’ve made tiramisu for my classes or for friends at least 12 different times, and I have one recipe that never fails and has been compared by professional event producers as “restaurant-quality.”   Nonetheless, I still love to try tiramisu when out on the town to see how other restaurants make it.  This iteration inspired me because it was presented so beautifully with freshly grated chocolate, a ribbon of chocolate sauce, a dollop of whipped cream and a spring of mint for bright color. I made a quick mental note for future dinner parties.

The tiramisu was expertly balanced with a marscapone custard that was lightened with whipped cream so as to be sweet and tasty, but not too heavy.  The ladyfinger soaked cookies were stacked high and I made another note to make tiramisu in a smaller dish with higher sides so guests can really appreciate the individual layers.  Each bite was creamy, chocolately and very pleasing.  In my search for a great tiramisu, this was one of the best I’ve had.

As we all put our forks down from the dessert, we leaned back and awaited a food coma.  My mind drifted to times spent in Italy and the simple joy of sharing my love for good pizza with my family. 

On the way out, my brother bought a pound of pizza dough for $3 to see if we could recreate the pizza another day.  The pizza came out well, but not like the ones at Antica.  It’s probably because we didn’t have a 900 degree Italian oven.  One day, I want to own such an oven, but until then, I’ll be coming back to Antica Pizzeria.

Mangia Bene

Eat well!


Chef Eric Horwitz

Chef Eric with Pizza Bianco with Arugula and Prosciutto

Chef Eric with brother and grandparents

Chef Eric Horwitz was once a journalist writing features stories for The Hollywood Reporter and the Glendale Newspress before creating his signature Italian cooking class for kids: Cooking Italiano for Kids.  In his free time, he continues his search for the most authentic Italian pizzas in his home of Los Angeles, CA.