L.A. HAVENS - Two Boots

A slice of the Earth Mother pizza delivered from Two Boots

 

TWO BOOTS

826 S. Broadway, Los Angeles (Downtown)

1818 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles (Echo Park)

Figuring out where to order pizza delivery from in a new neighborhood is usually a matter of trial and error. We tried every place that would deliver in the first eight months of living in this neighborhood before Two Boots opened and became our go-to spot. Since 2009, the New York chain, which fuses cajun and creole with classic Italian (The pizzeria's name comes from Louisiana and Italy both being geographically shaped like boots.), has been serving up its cornmeal-dusted pies to Echo Park. They just opened a second L.A. location near the Orpheum in Downtown last May.

All of Two Boots' specialty pizzas are named after different film, TV or music personalities, such as the Dude, Mr. Pink, Cleopatra Jones, the Bird and the Newman. They even have one named for Dodger great Fernando Valenzuela. The El Toro comes with al pastor pork, nopalitos (prickly pear cactus), salsa verde, fresh cilantro and onions on a white pie. My favorites are the Larry Tate (spinach, plum tomatoes and fresh garlic on a white pie), the Tony Clifton (wild mushrooms, sweet red pepper pesto, Vidalia onions and mozzarella), the Bayou Beast (barbecue shrimp, crawfish, andouille sausage, jalapeños and mozzarella) and the Earth Mother (any five vegetable toppings. I usually get artichokes, garlic, jalapeños, sliced tomatoes and mushrooms).

I like it when a crust has a little bite to it; you can hear the crunch as you bite into it. Two Boots' crust is crispy on the outside and pillow-soft on the inside. Although we usually order delivery, actually going into the shop is fun as well. I like to grab a slice, a bottle of Boylan's black cherry soda and sit on their patio to people watch. Sandwiched between Origami Vinyl and the Echo, there's always plenty of activity going on out front. Both the Echo and Echoplex serve Two Boots if you didn't get to grab dinner before a show, too.

For more information, call (213) 413-2668 or visit la.twoboots.com.