Daniele Uditi and Los Angeles' pizza renaissance. Plus, David Chang's chili crunch controversy, the 5 most anticipated bites of Coachella, and L.A. Taco needs our help.

Apr 12, 2024

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Daniele Uditi is the chef and partner behind Pizzana, one of Los Angeles’ best and most influential pizzerias. Daniele joins us for a wide-ranging conversation that covers everything from his upbringing living above his aunt’s bakery near Naples, Italy, to his spontaneous relocation to Los Angeles which ultimately led him to meeting Candace Nelson and launching a bona fide pizza empire. We talk about the nitty gritty of dough and sourcing excellent products, but Daniele also offers us a window into the evolution of Los Angeles’ pizza scene over the last decade, what it means to lead a business with integrity in this day and age, and what he thinks of all of those pizza lists you see doing the rounds on social media. We learn about what his favorite pizzas in Los Angeles are besides his own of course, and we also hear about how he ideated the Padrino, LA’s best Italian sandwich, which is now permanently available for lunch at Pizzana’s Marina del Rey location.

But first, a couple of things that caught my eye... David Chang has chili crunched his way into quite the controversy, L.A. Taco is in dire need of our help, and Coachella is upon us, so I break down the 5 eats you absolutely must make time for, if you’re headed to the desert this weekend.

Helpful links:

Pizzana https://pizzana.com/

The Guardian on David Chang and chili crunch https://www.theguardian.com/food/2024/apr/04/chili-crunch-trademark-momofuku-david-chang

Jenn Harris on David Chang and chili crunch https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2024-04-08/chili-crunch-chili-crisp-trademark-war-momofuku-fly-by-jing Support L.A. Taco https://lataco.com/

Coachella food line-up https://coachella.com/featured-restaurants

Miya Miya https://www.instagram.com/miyamiyashawarma/

Mano Po https://www.instagram.com/eat.manopo/

Chipapas https://www.instagram.com/chipapasporvida

Grindz https://www.instagram.com/eatgrindz/

Battambong BBQ https://www.instagram.com/battambongbbq/

Pizza City Fest https://www.lalive.com/pizza-city-fest-la

Shop The LA Food Podcast bundle on House of Macadamias https://www.houseofmacadamias.com/pages/la-foods

Shop First Light Farms, get 10% off on your first order by using the code LAFOOD10 https://www.firstlight.farm/