Folks Pizzeria, Costa Mesa, CA, USA

 

https://folkspizzeria.com/

Before we jump right in, I need to give some extra/bonus points for the mushroom wallpaper in the restroom.  Super cool.

The OC's most popular pizza spot.

OK, I'm not sure that this is accurate, but after reading a ton of reviews/stories about this place I think that it kinda is, it's also a claim that's backed up by how fricken busy they are.

Naturally leavened house-made dough is the key here.  As you'll see, it looks thick, and it is around the rim (cornicione for my Italian-ish friends out there) but that thickness is mostly air.  Crunchy on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside.  

Another nice touch here is that all of their wines are natural, and they have an entire section that is orange.  Love it, it's something that we came across when we were in Montreal recently.  Maybe there'll be a story about that in the future, for now, back to the pie.

I wasn't feeling a salad, even though their Cesar looked great, so I decided to start with the wings, a dozen please.

They are deep fired to give a little crunch and then the coating tastes a lot like orange chicken, but with a bite to it, mildly spicy.

As you can see I hated them....

Pow!

Salame Calabrese

OK, again, looks thick and filling, but it couldn't be more not.

Super thin in the center of the pie (did I say crispy???  Madonna!  The crunch!  And not just crunch from the bottom, anywhere that isn't touching sauce or toppings is crunchy, and inside of the crunch is a light pillow of fluffy dough, expanding with caverns and tunnels of air.  SUPER light.

Fennel Sausage (sausage made in house)

The dough is bulk fermented for a couple of days then balled and used that day (more or less).  Cooked at 650F on a deck oven, which is great and a lot less elements to manage.  And really, the focus is the pizza and not the oven, and pizzas don't know if the heat comes from wood  or coal, or an electric oven, etc...  Sure, coal is more dry, etc... but temp is temp, and again, let's keep the eye on the pizza. 

Love it.

Did I say crispy???

Literally even the last slice that I enjoyed (and I enjoyed a lot) was still standing at attention.  

Amaze-balls.

And you'll notice that I'm not folding the slice in half to make it stand straight (which is a cheat for sure, I immediately swipe right when I see someone do that on TikTok, super lame).  

So no, no tricks, just awesome.

Geeze Louise

I just had this and am super stuffed, and I already want more.

100% destination pizza

Travel Pie

Perfection

This next photo really shows who these folks are.  Serving a pie that looks like this says:

 "We are gonna do our thing and we give zero shits if you don't like it"

It rings of New Haven style honestly, but more natural and less conforming, if that makes sense.  

Yes, this is the West Coast version of the New Haven style, but it really needs it's own name.   I'm on it.

Is this my favorite pizza?  I really think so.  

It's also the newest so it's easy to fall for it. But is that true?  

I mean, what would I want to be different??  Honestly, nothing, zero, it's perfect.

DVA 

Pizza Marumo - Ebisu - Tokyo Japan

 

https://pizza-marumo.com/

I have returned to Japan after a 5 year hiatus (not self imposed), and I've got lots of things planned (with a splash of work here and there....jk) but one activity that I'm anticipating the most is going to Pizza Marumo, ranked #14 pizza place in the world.  It's in Tokyo, Ebisu to be exact, very near to Shibuya, my favorite part of the city.

It's Neapolitan in style, but it's not exact, the main distinction being that it's a little less "soupy" on the top, which is much preferred.  You can actually pick up a slice and eat it, and yes they do slice them all, another distinction from the classic Neapolitan.

Yuki Motokura is the chef, owner, and master of this restaurant.  Yuki previously worked at Savoy, the long time famous Tokyo pizza spot, where he honed his talents, crafting them so that he'd be ready when he opened his own spot.  He's been here almost 2 years now and getting a lot of attention fast for his amazing pies.

First, as always, let's have a beer......

And here's the oven.  Wood fired (obviously).  

Yuki-san said it's about 500 Celsius on the deck (about 932 Fahrenheit).

And now a little snack.  Focaccia with Mentaiko cream on top, which is a spicy cod roe (egg) sauce.

The Mentaiko cream was a bit salty (by design) which balanced really well with the fluffy/crispy bread, which was baked in the wood fired oven.

And here she is:

Cauliflower roasted in the oven as well.  This was awesome, really deep charred flavor, but the cauliflower taste was bold and came through quite well.  A great start to the meal.

Let's GOOO!

Apologies to the guy picking his nose in the background, 

I didn't notice during the filming and I'm not going to NOT use it.  So, again, sorry.....

Starting with the Margherita.  Amazing.  Crispy and fluffy at the same time, perfectly topped (aka, not too much "stuff") sauce was delicious, tangy and bright but not trying to be the star of the show, a balanced and beautiful pie.

Molto bene

Yes, he makes every one, ensuring every detail is perfect.

Next up, the cream based Umami pizza.

This one had a lot going on, but not too much (but right on the edge of too much).  Visually stunning and very well balanced and deep flavor.  Very earthy.

On to the Red Hot Chili.  Visually, this one had DANGER written all over it, but surprisingly it wasn't nuclear hot.  There was spice for sure, but you could really taste the chili flavor, all elements distinct, but big.  Quite a contrast from the Umami, a good progression of pies so far (you're welcome).

The master at work

And the finale, lamb and cheese, with an added touch of house made Nduja.  

We didn't intend to order 4 pizzas for 3 people, but I kept seeing this one removed from the oven and head out to the dining room, and it looked and smelled incredible, and it tasted as good as it smelled.

Just wow

I don't think I'm alone in saying that, often times, the actual experience of the "big hype" places pales in comparison with the expectations.  Generally it's disappointing.

Not Pizza Marumo, and not Chef Yuki-san. 

This is some of the best pizza I've ever had, and I've had some of the best 

(Una Pizza Napoletana, Lucali, Bianchi, Di Fara, Best, Apizza Scholls, Frank Pepe, on and on).  

Pizza Marumo has deservedly and most certainly earned a seat at the table with the big boys.

Thank you for such a great meal, being so warm and inviting and engaging Yuki-san, I hope to see you again soon.

For now, sayonara.

DVA

Brick by Brick, Wood Fired Pizza - Granbury Texas USA

 

https://www.brickbybricktx.com/

Low and behold, almost directly across the street from my hotel in Granbury Texas, a wood fired pizza spot pops up out of nowhere.  😮

What's the chance of that?!?

And what's the chance of it being good (forget about great, I'd take not terrible and be happy about it).

Let's check it out shall we?

Wood fired for sure.

B-B-B started during Covid as a food truck, mobile wood fired pizza.

Born from the passion of this guy, Curtis, the owner.

The oven is from Italy, from what Curtis told me, and looks fully legit.

The rest of the truck is outfitted with a standard pizza kitchen, and of course I talked my way in.

They've been doing this about 4 years, and in this location just a few months.

Currently the truck is parked along side the building where there is a dining room and kitchen that produces all of the other offerings (burgers, salads, sides, etc...).  

The dream/hope is to expand the building to add an oven, and then get the truck back on the road, but again, he's only been here a few months, let's not rush it.

Yesssss, this looks nice, and I'm getting hungry, let's go.

Before we actually try-the-pie, a little detour is in order.

On the menu, in the Italian Fare section 😨 is the Italian classic, fried ravioli......

You know we're gonna try that.

LFG!!!!

I'm not sure how "Italian" this is, but if looks are any indication, this might be good.

Ohhhh Madonna!

Crispy and crunchy, gooey and stretchy, and really delicious.

I got both the marinara and the ranch, and I didn't have a favorite, both tasted great and 

worked really well.

Nice start BBB.  (I could totally be a hand model....)

2 pies:

APizza, their take on a New Haven style, sauce and 3 cheeses.

Vana White, their white pie with a garlic sauce and mozz, and some other items, and then 

add pepperoni.

Ah-Beetz

My first reaction was "uh oh",  the crust looks dry AF.  

But oh my my, look what we have.

Light and fluffy, and crispy on the outside.  Not a hard crunch of a crisp, but a light crispy coating, very deceiving from how it looked.

Nice topping to crust ratio also, an even hand is at work in the kitchen.  Crispy bottom, YUMMM.

Vana White did me right as well.

The larger format pepperoni was great and the "sauce" was super cheesy/garlicy.  Same great crunch and fluff as the APizza.

There's no floppin' in Granbury.

I also talked to a few folks having dinner and half didn't even get the pizza, they were having either a burger or fried catfish. (affectionately listed on the menu in the "Lake Grub" section, love it).

If you're ever anywhere near this place, you have to check it out, it's a winner and

 I can't wait to go back,  Great job Curtis, see you again soon.

DVA