Is this the summer of the San Fernando Valley? It may well be given all the restaurant attention paid to the vast collection of neighborhoods and communities there over the past few months. It’s shaping up to be a time of plenty, from Casa Vega’s James Beard Foundation award to incoming names like HomeState, Jon & Vinny’s, and beyond. Next up on the SFV radar is none other than Pizzana, the Brentwood Italian specialist from chef Daniele Uditi.
Uditi is one of LA’s most respected pizzaiolos, having turned his original Westside location into a must-eat for the city’s many pizza obsessives. The ownership group, including founders Candace and Charles Nelson (creators of the Sprinkles cupcake craze) and partners Chris and Caroline O’Donnell, quickly found new footing at a second location in West Hollywood in 2019, and now they’re jumping to a busy stretch of Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks just steps from Sushi Note, Petit Trois Le Valley, and Japanese fusion hotspot Taisho.
Uditi’s signature slow-ferment, simple and just-crispy-enough pizzas — what the group calls its neo-Neapolitan style — will all be on offer at the new location, alongside the usual array of salads, antipasti, and desserts. There will also be vegan options and a housemade gluten-free crust. Expect the same look and feel as the original, too, with sharp modern lines and just a splash of color.
Pizzana isn’t the only player coming to the Valley these days, as noted above by names like Jon & Vinny’s. Over in Studio City the buzzy Uncle Paulie’s is just about ready to go, and not far away Uovo, HiHo Cheeseburger, and Sugarfish have all landed at the redone shops at Sportsmen’s Lodge. There’s the busy Gorilla Pies in Valley Village too, and of course the area has long had deep roots into Israeli culture and cuisine.
Expect Pizzana Sherman Oaks to arrive sometime this spring at 13826 Ventura Boulevard, with lunch through dinner hours as well as takeout. Uditi, meanwhile, remains busy himself with an upcoming judging stint on Hulu’s cooking competition series Best In Dough.
Comments are closed.