A Place for All Ages
By
Chef Robert Sturm
We
all know about the four major food groups. But in the
foodie world one of those food groups is pizza!! No not the guys
that deliver that bread dough that has a thin spread of tomato
sauce and topped with some kind of cheese stuff on it to your
house, I'm talking PIZZA!! Now here is a place that's a fantastic
local hang-out with great food. PizzaRev has
been open just one year and already has three restaurants and
thousands of followers. We can now add two more followers to the
list. My teenage daughter Rachel and I visited with founder and
chef/operator Nicholas Ekerman at his Studio
City location. We arrived in the middle of Saturday afternoon
and we were amazed how busy the restaurant was. There was the
aroma of garlic and oregano in the air. We could smell the yeast
of pizza dough rising. We saw visions of beautiful fresh produce
and hand crafted pizzas. Oh boy, we knew we hit gold on this one.
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PizzaRev
is a place for all ages. There were tables of teenagers munching
and chatting, 30 something's, families with little ones and seniors
all relaxing and enjoying great pizzas, salads and drinks. We
were greeted by Michelle who cheerfully explained how the restaurant
works.
This
is not your normal sit down at a table and order a premade pizza,
this is where you get to pick your own ingredients and have exactly
what you want on your own personal pizza that is cooked in 2&1/2
minutes right before your eyes! With all the available ingredients
you could build over a million combinations. You walk up right
to the kitchen counter and choose your toppings. The staff builds
your pizza for you. Now wait till you see what you can choose
from to have on your pizza. All the classics are there but with
a twist. It's not just Mozzarella cheese, the cheese is made from
Buffalo Milk just like you would find in the best pizza places
in Rome. You can also get reduced-fat mozzarella, feta, bleu and
ricotta cheese.
While
we were gazing over the ingredients and dreaming of our pizzas
we were joined by Nick. Nick is no stranger to making great food.
Nick grew up in the kitchens of Ritz Carlton in Kaanapali Hawaii
and Marina Del Rey in California. He also has some good seasoning
under his belt as the F&B at the Malibu Beach Inn. With a
background like that no wonder the food is so good. Nick suggested
that we try the "Fennel and Sausage" pizza made with
EVOO, Buffalo mozzarella, ricotta, sweet fennel sausage and topped
with crushed fennel seed. Talk about a great pizza. I was happy!
My daughter has no fear in the kitchen. Being the daughter of
a chef she has grown up with great food and ingredients. Rachel
goes for it with gusto. She designs her own pizza with spicy pepperoni,
spinach, artichokes, jalapenos, capers, red onion, olives and
who knows what else was on there. But let me say when those pizzas
come out of the oven there are a lot of Ooooh's and Aaaah's!!
PizzaRev
serves a California wines and locally crafted beers. We grabbed
some Jones soda and headed for the table. We both took our first
bites of the thin crust Roman style pizza and smiles were blooming
on our faces. Rachel exclaimed "Oh my gosh, this is the best
pizza!" Amazingly when you bite into the pizza with the Buffalo
Mozzarella cheese there was not a big string of cheese pulling
you back to the pizza. The cheese has a rich velvety texture that
was incredible! These pizzas are light and full of flavor. They
are just my size. PizzaRev also has salads. Have a Caesar salad
or a house salad with fat free Balsamic vinaigrette or better
yet build your own salad. Best part of building your own salad
is you get to choose from the same great ingredients that you
can put on a pizza. Michelle delivered a dessert pizza for the
table. This thin crust delicacy was like a churro on steroids
and striped with chocolate sauce, caramel sauce and strawberry
glaze. Just too much food for us to finish but we gave it a shot
anyway.
So
for a great place to connect with friends and family over a great
"PIE" stop over at PizzaRev and ask
for Nick. Groups and parties are always welcomed at PizzaRev.
PizzaRev has a program for community projects
called "Pizza with a Purpose". Each restaurants serves
pizza for fund raising for the Humane Society as well as local
schools and organizations. Check with your local PizzaRev restaurant
for details. PizzaRev serves lunch and dinner daily with locations
in Studio City, Northridge and Woodland Hills.
PizzaRev
12103 Ventura Blvd.
Studio City, CA 91604
(818) 505-1748
http://www.pizzarev.com/