Who knew pizza could be this good, I didn’t but wow, now I am hooked!! 800 Degrees strives to honor the heritage of Old World Italian tradition, where the integrity of ingredients is paramount. Italian grown tomatoes, locally made fresh mozzarella, and handcrafted crust made with flour from the ancient Molino Caputo in Naples, Italy are complemented by only the best charcuterie and local vegetables.
Neapolitan pizza has unique attributes that set it apart from the mainstream. It’s a thin crust, made with just flour, salt, water and wild yeast. Traditionally the sauce is simply crushed tomato, all of 800 Degrees pies are topped with fresh mozzarella and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil. The completed pies are baked in a wood-burning oven and cook in about one minute. Coming hot from the ovens, the crust is characteristically soft and chewy, and with a little bit of char from the intense heat.
Bakers looking to feed the masses in a cost-effective tasty manner created the original pizza in Naples, Italy, over 200 years ago. Using simple, readily available ingredients along with their own wood burning bread ovens, they changed our culinary world forever. Bakers took small pieces of dough, topped them with tomatoes grown on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius, and sold them as a street snack. In 1889 cheese was added and pizza as we know it was born.
Here’s what I tried:
Cocktails:
Moscow Mule, served in the proper mug, if done right you will drink this mule down very fast, and I did.
Vodka Martini, of course if you read my blogs enough you would know that when I have the opportunity to order this I do. This was served in a proper martini glass and was very smooth.
Margarita, served in a martini glass on the rocks, it had a nice balance with a sour kick.
Salads:
Chopped, with assorted vegetables, cheese, meats, and oregano vinaigrette. I enjoyed this one as well, but it has a tendency to get soggy really quick.
Caesar, this is a very good version of one of my favorite salads, and just the right amount of dressing.
Baby Kale, with dried figs, goat cheese, pine nuts, balsamic and olive oil. A wonderful, healthy salad, I highly recommend this one.
Cold Bites:
Antipasti Plate, Sliced meats, cheeses and marinated vegetables with warm bread. There is so much goodness in this tasty plate that you will be so satisfied and full.
Burrata and Beets, with creamy Burrata with roasted beets and balsamic, arugula and warm bread. The Burrata just melts in your mouth and the beets are a nice change from a typical Burrata plate.
Hot Bites:
Meatballs, wood oven baked with tomato, oregano, Parmigiano Reggiano. These meatballs are big and fluffy, they’re like your grandma used to make.
Truffle cheese bread, Boschetto di tartufo, mozzarella, garlic, and Parmigiano Reggiano. Very rich and delicious, but would be too much to order with a pizza.
Baked Goat Cheese, Tomato sauce bread for dipping. This too is amazing, but too much bread if you’re ordering a pizza.
Pizzas:
Sausage and Peppers Italian Sausage, peppadews, and caramelized onions. This pizza is hot and sweet, great ingredients make for an amazing experience.
Tartufo Bianca with truffle cheese, mushrooms, roasted garlic, and arugula. This is totally in my wheelhouse, all of the truffle and mushroom flavors, its really all you need.
BLT, like a BLT sandwich, but in pizza form, very inventive.
Zucca, Bianca with butternut squash, caramelized onions, bacon, rosemary oil. This was my favorite; it is healthy and full of savory sweet flavors from the squash and the onions, what an accomplishment.
All of the pizza’s are cooked at 800 degrees hence the name, the crust is soft and chewy, but the crust has flame blisters around the edges of the crust, a sure sign the pizza is done.
Dessert:
Gelato:
Mint Chocolate Chip, Double Fudge Brownie, both we’re very decadent, so save some room when you’re done with all of the pizza!
Wines:
Astoria Prosecco DOC Treviso, IT, nice light and refreshing, went great with the Truffle cheese bread.
Esperto Pinot Grigio, Venezie, IT 2013, this would be the one to drink with Baked Goat Cheese.
Mud House Sauvignon Blanc, Malborough, NZ, 2014. I liked this wine with the Burrata and Beets; it has all of the right acidity.
Mezzacorona Chardonnay, Vignetti Delle Dolomiti, IT 2013, I would do this wine with the Zucca pizza; it goes great with the butternut squash.
For Vines Zinfandel, CA 2011, I loved this wine with the Meatballs, it goes great with the tomatoes sauce.
Joel Gott Cabernet Sauvignon, CA 2013. The combo of the Sausage and Peppers pizza with this wine is truly astounding.
The interior is very modern with a stark white downstairs and a red bar upstairs, including 2 flat screen TV’s for all of your sports games. The huge crystal chandelier will set the tone for your fun pizza evening.
For the pizza lover 800 Degrees is the place to be. It really will make you love the art of pizza making and the feeling that you can be in Italy in your own backyard. The area is fun with a lot of people going out and discovering the new gentrified Hollywood, so why not try something fresh and exciting. 800 Degrees will not disappoint, take a night out on the town and start it with a great Neapolitan pizza!
There are many locations, Japan, Dubai, Nevada and California; I went to the one in Hollywood.
800 Degrees
1539 Vine St.
Hollywood, CA 90028
http://www.800degreespizza.com
* Note some content was taken off of their website.
