Hey, what better to do on MLK day then to drive to Santa Monica to get some slices? And I’m not talkin’ bout no Wildflour’s hea, I’m talkin’ bout JOE’S PIZZA from the Big Apple! You may have read THIS POST about my adventure to Joe’s on Carmine when I visited NYC this past Christmas. I was mostly complaining that the famous pizza place was run out of its original home (Bleeker an Carmine) to make way for a fucking pizza “chain.” Sure people protested but there was nothing you could do about it, and besides, they had another storefront just a few doors down.When writing that blog I went to their website and found out that owner Joe Vitale had moved out to L.A. to try his luck making “New York Pizza” out west.

It’s kind of ironic, in a way, that THE “New York pizza” place can operate out here but not in its hometown. I mean, suppose I know that all the pizzeria’s in the city make “tourist” pizza, this is a tourist town, but there were still plenty that were “real” despite the outside cliental. More and more the “real” guys can’t afford to compete with these chains that can pay whatever the real-estate man wants for it, and less and less are we seeing “real” New York pizza. The landlords don’t care, of course, because they’re making more money, so who gives a darn about “authenticity?” And the concept of loyalty and tradition is becoming a fading memory (if it ever existed at all, in a Metropolis that is all about motion, dollars, and change). So the “real” pizza man now has to go to Tinseltown where the fantasy of “New York Pizza” is an even more hyped-up commodity, and maybe he could make a living (not that the other Joe’s on Carmine doesn’t make a killing)

Which brings us to Santa Monica today. We came in and Joe was friendly as friendly as could be, making sure we were happy, and floating around talking to his friends and customers. We got some garlic knots, a margherita slice, and two regular cheese slices.

Now my girlfriend couldn’t wait for me to pull out the camera, so we’ll have to blame her for the half-slice, but with that fresh basil, sliced mozzarella, and slightly tangy sauce who could blame her. The regular slices weren’t fresh out of the oven, so I got a good indication of how the crust holds up, and I can’t complain. In the pic, you can see a bottle of Coke, which I believe is the best compliment to the yummy pizza. Joe was teaching someone how to make the pie, and I was hoping the kid would pay attention so he could keep up to the owner’s standards.

When a new pepperoni pie came out, I had to check it out. While this health-consious era has us putting napkins on our pizza to pick up the grease (and it’s understandable in some cases), one shouldn’t underestimate the flavor in that pimple-juice. The grease off the roni slice mixed with the sauce and coated the crust in the most appealing way. I asked Joe about the move out here, and about what happened back in NYC. He told me how he tried to get the landlords to keep the rents at a reasonable rate, but they wanted to get what they could get. He knew they got an offer from Abitino’s and warned that they wouldn’t do nearly as well as he was already doing. Needless to say, Joe was right, and as you saw in my previous post, Abitino’s is closed. He insists that he’s still using the same quality ingredients (I overheard him telling someone that goes with Grande cheese), and that his crust is as good as the original location. It’s not exactly around the corner from me, but you can bet I’ll drop by whenever I’m in the area!


Joe Vitale and business partner, Matt Thomas.