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L.A. Pizza Maven's Profile

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Location: los angeles

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Favorite foods: grimaldi's pizza

Last bite on earth: grimaldi's pizza, half margherita/half sausage

The Ten Most Recent Posts By L.A. Pizza Maven

From Slice

Sedona, Arizona: Apizza Heaven

Posted by L.A. Pizza Maven, May 5, 2008 at 2:30 PM

Editor's note: Today, Chuck K., a New York expatriate living on the West Coast, drops by with some news about a little slice of heaven in Sedona, Arizona. Buon appetito, friends! —Adam

20080505-apizza.jpg

Attention, pizza lovers: There is a pizza paradise that has been under the radar for far too long. I first discovered this oasis in the pizza desert (some say that's everywhere west of the Hudson River) four years ago when I was returning from a road trip through the Southwest.

I came to the proverbial fork in the road, where I could either head west on Interstate 40 out of Flagstaff, Arizona, or continue south on 89A, where the mystical village of Sedona, land of the energy vortex, lay ahead. A little voice told me to head south. I did, and I discovered thousands of shops hawking every possible New Age product known to man. There were energy crystals, nature sounds, tantric massages, and enlightenment, all available for a price.

But as I was driving down the road, I noticed a sign that caught my attention like a Mike Tyson left hook. It read: Apizza Heaven.

Continue reading »

11 Comments | Tagged: Apizza Heaven, Arizona, Reviews, Sedona, Slice Reviews

The Ten Most Recent Comments By L.A. Pizza Maven

From Slice

Why Can't You Get a Good Slice Outside New York City? 'Wired' Magazine Says It's the Water

And if you're on your game, it doesn't matter if you're makin pizzas on
Mulberry St. or Highway 89A in Sedona,(cmon Adam,where's the posting?)the pizza is gonna be great!

pizzamavenla at 1:09AM on 04/24/08

From Slice

Artichoke, a Crisis of Conscience, and Some Tough Questions

Adam, if you really are into breaking news about great pizzerias, pleeeeze let me know how to best reveal such a great location..youve asked me if i would be interested in doing occasional reports from the west coast the answer is yes..what is involved and again how should i inform our fellow dough sauce and cheese lovers of this info???????????????

pizzamavenla at 10:27PM on 04/04/08

From Slice

Help Wanted: Chicago Correspondent

There is important pizza news way out West...pizza lovers traveling out here should know about a serious pizza destination that deserves the publicity...Adam, you should respond..I just reurned from a n 800 mile road trip and my hopes for awesome dough,sauce and toppings were completely fulfilled. In, fact, my mouth is slobbering just thinking about this place...

pizzamavenla at 9:42PM on 03/31/08

From Slice

That's Amore: Missed Connection At Joe's Pizza

i read that the carmine st location closed...is this false news?

pizzamavenla at 11:24AM on 03/03/08

From Slice

That's Amore: Missed Connection At Joe's Pizza


i just read about the tragedy at Joe's in the Village, a great ny slice emporium....high rents,its always the bottom line..."It's just business,Joe"...the good news is that Joe's of the Village has recently opened a branch in Santa Monica,Ca...yahoooooooo!!!!!!!!!..I have to admit i have only had one slice and it wasn't a fresh pie, but the crust was so goood...thin and properly charred...Ive never had that kind of crust out here and im goin back there shortly..just thinkin about a hot , crispy, fresh mozza slice...ummmm..if i knew how id add photos but no one helps me on the site....ciao

pizzamavenla at 3:07PM on 03/01/08

From Slice

Angela's: A Coal-Oven Pizzeria in Massachusetts

is it possible theres a grimaldi's in tucson and las vegas..has anyone tried them? ive been to one of them in scotttsdale and it was solid if not quite charred and crisp as my memories of the original

pizzamavenla at 12:45PM on 02/21/08

Responses to Comments by L.A. Pizza Maven

From Slice

Papa John's LeBron James 'Crybaby' Shirt Controversy Means Cheap Pizza for Clevelanders

I went to the link you provided and responded... thanks! Damage control sucks when the actions of another franchise were very poorly thought out.

Jon Eick is exactly right, this was not approved... Gurgling Cod, I was told on Monday by corporate there were about 5 shirts. I don't know if that number is higher or lower, but I don't think it was a lot...

From my understanding there weren't meetings and high up food chain things going on here. As with most pizza chains, Papa John's is made up of many franchisees. Washington DC is a franchise, not corporate. Corporate owns the Cleveland market... duh would they ALLOW someone to hurt their business knowingly.

FYI the average 1 Topping Large Pizza cost $2.80 to make with food and paper products and doesn't cover overhead or labor. .23 hardly covers any cost and even if it did it wouldn't matter because Papa John's is donating each sale to the Cleveland Cavaliers Youth fund that day along with an additional 10K!

sbaker63 at 3:09PM on 05/07/08

From Slice

Why Can't You Get a Good Slice Outside New York City? 'Wired' Magazine Says It's the Water

I disagree with the water theory. The best pizza I have had outside of NYC was in North Carolina - two brothers who moved down from the bronx to open up a place. It's how you make it as well as the ingredients.

exvaxman at 1:22PM on 05/04/08

From Slice

Why Can't You Get a Good Slice Outside New York City? 'Wired' Magazine Says It's the Water

It may help those engaged in this melee to know that there is no one "NYC" water. Upper Manhattan and the Bronx get it from one source and reservoir system. Manhattan south of 110th St or so (I'm not sure where the boundary line is exactly) get it largely untreated from the Delaware River and southern Catskills through a different reservoir system. Brooklyn and Queens get it from another source, and I don't know where Staten Island gets theirs from. As many have pointed out, you can get good pizza from places other than the lower 2/3 of Manhattan and outside NY City. I'm sure there is water so bad that you can't make good pizza from it, but it's clear that you can do fine with lots of different kinds of water. For what it's worth, Phoenix gets its water from the Colorado River, the source of a lot of Southern California's water. The City of L.A. gets theirs from the Owens Valley, east of the Sierras.

gustoct at 3:09PM on 04/28/08

From Slice

Why Can't You Get a Good Slice Outside New York City? 'Wired' Magazine Says It's the Water

Slightly OT...but when I was in NYC for my first wedding anniversary 10 years ago, I had a pretzel from a street vendor that I could swear tasted like smog. Not exactly a good thing, not exactly a bad thing...but distinct and unforgettable. So I don't know if you can rule the water thing out...though I agree that bad pizza is probably due more to user error than bad water. =)

akk328 at 2:43PM on 04/28/08

From Slice

Why Can't You Get a Good Slice Outside New York City? 'Wired' Magazine Says It's the Water

h2o? maybe-I think it's a northeast us thing: I've traveled all over the US and there's nothing like NY/NJ/PA ( I live in Central PA) pizza. California pizza just doesn't have the sauce flavor or the great foldable crust.

benlee: FYI-San Fran's great sourdough is from a decades-old starter, but there are also specific cultures/spores present in the air out there. They've even been named for the city!

foodiemama at 2:08PM on 04/28/08

From Slice

Why Can't You Get a Good Slice Outside New York City? 'Wired' Magazine Says It's the Water

i'd say it's the italians.
that and all the tough customers in ny.

norman at 8:23AM on 04/28/08

From Slice

Why Can't You Get a Good Slice Outside New York City? 'Wired' Magazine Says It's the Water

FYI, NYC water now is way different than it was when I was a kid growing up in the Bronx. There's way more chlorine now and it just doesn't taste as good.

varasano at 1:05PM on 04/26/08

From Slice

Why Can't You Get a Good Slice Outside New York City? 'Wired' Magazine Says It's the Water

As I've been saying online for 4 years, the water thing is 100% myth. I get emails about this several times a week. According to Maggie Glazer, the myth that baked goods are better in NY because of the water goes all the way back to the 1700's when in the rest of the country people used well water and not municipal tap water. Half the time this wasn't too far from the latrine. In other words the original comparison was comparing NY water, which comes from a pretty good aquifer system upstate, to other systems that would be comparable to what the 3rd world uses today. This rumor says more about how rumors and 'common knowledge' are passed down through the ages than anything about your local water system's shortcomings today. As anyone who's read my recipe (http://slice.seriouseats.com/jvpizza/) or tasted my pizza here in Atlanta knows, it's not the water...

varasano at 1:03PM on 04/26/08

From Slice

Why Can't You Get a Good Slice Outside New York City? 'Wired' Magazine Says It's the Water

Nanuet Hotel
Nanuet, NY

ears516 at 10:01PM on 04/25/08

From Slice

Why Can't You Get a Good Slice Outside New York City? 'Wired' Magazine Says It's the Water

My, my...it takes more than H2O to make good pizza. It's takes the embodiment of beliefs and soul to create magic and mozarella. The alchemy of alimentary proportions. IMHO, it boils down to these simple rules - high turnover = more production by the pizza man, seasoned ovens = better flavor and product, and lastly, NYC Dept of Health codes = everyones' on their toes, including Mr. D of Midwood. Guess who's favorite dishes are these inspectors lingering over?

hungry_traveler at 9:12PM on 04/25/08