Quarter Sheets…the Best Pizza in Town

Quarter Sheets

A theme seems to be emerging in my quest for new culinary adventures. It involves the discovery of fabulous, funky eateries in not-necessarily fabulous but definitely funky areas of Los Angeles. As Foodie Friend #1 and I were driving through Echo Park en route to Quarter Sheets, I found myself musing, in my old WASP -lady voice, “These people think they live in LA, too.”

And how lucky those particular Angelenos are because they are within walking distance of the hands-down best pizza in the city. I’d been looking forward to visiting Quarter Sheets for a long time, but when Michelin gave it a recent nod, I knew I had to get there sooner than later.

 

 

It is the poster child for hole- in-the-wall joints; we had a half hour wait even at 4:45 as there are maybe 10 tables squeezed together and a menu limited to 5 kinds of pizza, two salads and four desserts. But what pizza, salad and desserts they are!

 



 

The crust! The crust! The crust! How can I adequately describe the crunchy depth of that lightly oil-slicked wonder? The mouth feel is something akin to a deeply satisfying sour dough. It crackles and then gradually dissolves into the rest of the pie, mingling perfectly with the tomato, basil and ricotta or fennel sausage and pistachio pesto toppings. You have never eaten a slice so slowly out of sheer desire for it not to end.

 

And on the subject of crispiness….the little gem and chickory salad takes that cake, smothered in a vinegar and basil dressing you want to take home as a dipping sauce. And speaking of cake……Hannah Ziskin has created a princess cake for the ages; airy layers of white cake, bejeweled with stripes of raspberry jam, divine marzipan & cloud-like cream fit for a Michelin star.

Go figure, in a little dive off Sunset near Echo Park, food royalty!

Logistical note: Good luck parking, and go early for God’s sake!

Molly Cheek

Molly Cheek is a retired actor and Epicurean School graduate. She is best known for her roles in “It’s Garry Shandling’s Show” and the “American Pie” franchise, (she baked the pie!). For her second act, she turned to her real love: Eating!!! Molly created a catering and home-cooked gourmet gift basket business, placing her baked goods in coffee joints and on craft service tables around Los Angeles. And even though she’s moved on from that endeavor, she still loves to eat. She starts dreaming of lunch as soon as breakfast is done. Cooking is fun, but eating out is her happy place. And she loves to talk about what she eats…..and what you eat and what people on TV eat…. So, she hopes her enthusiasm for food will ignite some tastebuds and inspire you Tomatoes to try something new.

 

Molly Cheek

Molly Cheek is a retired actor and Epicurean School graduate. She is best known for her roles in “It’s Garry Shandling’s Show” and the “American Pie” franchise, (she baked the pie!). For her second act, she turned to her real love: Eating!!! Molly created a catering and home-cooked gourmet gift basket business, placing her baked goods in coffee joints and on craft service tables around Los Angeles. And even though she’s moved on from that endeavor, she still loves to eat. She starts dreaming of lunch as soon as breakfast is done. Cooking is fun, but eating out is her happy place. And she loves to talk about what she eats…..and what you eat and what people on TV eat…. So, she hopes her enthusiasm for food will ignite some tastebuds and inspire you Tomatoes to try something new.  

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