Wood Handcrafted Pizza took a while to find its groove and develop a consistent customer base, but a few menu tweaks and features like a pizza happy hour—Tuesday to Friday, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.—have made it a solid option for dinner on Sunset Blvd.

The owners of Wood made headlines even before the restaurant opened when Ellen DeGeneres called up their family’s Hollywood pizza spot, Big Mama’s and Papa’s, to get delivery to the Oscar show.

When Wood took over the not-very aesthetically pleasing Tom’s Burgers stand, neighbors hoped the towering burger sign would go with it, but so far it has proved too difficult to remove.

Now that Oscar publicity is long past, owner Erik Martirosyan is focusing on perfecting the art of making a thin-crust pizza in the true Italian style.

Earlier menus featured more elaborate pizza toppings, from caramelized sweet corn to blue cheese, lamb kofta, Brussels sprouts and the Ellen vegan pizza.

There’s still a lamb sausage pie with mint, a nod to the owner’s Armenian heritage, but the menu is now more focused on traditional Italian flavors and ingredients like buffalo mozzarella, San Marzano tomatoes and spicy soppresata—similar to pepperoni. Vegan cheese is also available.

An enclosed patio and several long tables inside mean there’s usually plenty of seating. Aside from the tiled wood oven in the corner, the dining room is minimalist with white walls and tables and lots of windows looking onto Sunset.

It’s all about the pizza, and an array of salads and sides that take advantage of the wood-fired oven.

Wood’s crust is terrific, with a clear sourdough tang and just the right amount of salt. The chewy, supple dough tastes great even on its own. In the Italian style, toppings are applied with a light touch, making for pie that won’t leave you feeling overstuffed.

We loved how the wood oven gives each pizza its own character, but the occasional burned spots on the crust aren’t to everyone’s taste. Some of the sides, too, tend to be heavily charred. The roasted broccolini also showed a heavy hand with the vinegar.

A fairly average kale Caesar salad came recommended by the friendly server, but we liked the extra flatbread on the side.

Pizzas are available to go or for delivery through services such as DoorDash, but this style of pizza tends to work better when eaten fresh from the oven.

Also on the menu are a few Italian sandwiches made with house-baked bread. A good selection of craft beer and a dozen or so wines are well-chosen to go with Italian food.


Pat Saperstein
source: http://www.losfelizledger.com/article/restaurant-review-wood-pizzeria-settles-in-on-sunset/

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