Nancy Silverton Opens New Pizza Restaurant in Los Angeles

Nancy Silverton has long been known for pizza: the multiple James Beard Award-winner has been turning it out at Mozza’s wood-burning oven in L.A. since 2007. A whole episode of Netflix’s docu-series Chef’s Table was devoted to it; New York Times food critic Frank Bruni raved about it shortly after its opening. It’s a standing mention on Jonathan Gold’s 101 List.

Silverton, a devotee of all things bread and all things Italian—she returns to Umbria nearly every year—has a foundation in bread and pastry. She rose to fame by founding L.A.’s La Brea Bakery, which she sold in 2001. The pizza at Mozza was heavily influenced by Silverton’s studies in bread—and was initially meant to be a side act to other offerings, although it quickly became the main star. Now she has a new project, in rather unexpected place: Triple Beam Pizza in L.A.’s Highland Park neighborhood. It officially opened Thursday, a day before National Pizza Day. It specializes in Roman style pizza, and is one of a handful of chef-driven spots that are peppering the gentrifying neighborhood in northeast Los Angeles.

Los Angeles has never really been known for its pizza, but in the past year, it has seen a proliferation of chef-driven spots. There’s Roy Choi’s Pot Pizza Joint, which specializes in thin, square-cut Detroit-inspired pizza; Zach Pollack’s Cosa Buona, which aims to elevate what a “neighborhood pizza spot” in Echo Park; and Pizzana, by Daniele Uditi, for which Jonathan Gold says he’s waited in line hours. And then, there’s the old go-to’s like Jon & Vinny’s and of course, Mozza.

Triple Beam’s pizza has been described as Roman style, which isn’t as strictly defined as its Neapolitan counterpart—but usually, it’s as thin or thinner, being crispier on the bottom. However, it’s far from cracker-like; the top should be melt-in-your mouth soft, contrasting with the crispy crust.

At Silverton’s Triple Beam, which she’s opened with fellow James Beard Award-winner Matt Molina—he formerly cheffed under Silverton at Mozza for eight years—the pizza is cut into strips and at room temperature, which you’ll often see in Rome. You pay by the ounce here; wild nettle pizza is currently the shop’s most expensive pie, at $1.30 an ounce. A couple decent-sized slices will run you ten bucks.