[dropcap size=big]D[/dropcap]espite having a rich Italian American heritage and history, Los Angeles has never created its own style of pizza. What you see more often is an amalgamation of different types of pizza – such as New York-style, Chicago-style, thin crust vs thick, etc. – with no coherent characteristic threading the pies together.
But L.A. does have a pizza method, let's say. Traditional pizza styles are taken a step further and enhanced at the hands of immigrant-based communities offering their own take with regional flavors. That in it of itself is uniquely Los Angeles. And here is a focused look at few of those.
For this list, we’ve chosen to focus on Long Beach, its surrounding communities, as well as parts of the South Bay. It’s an area celebrated for its diversity and we’ve tracked down some of the best pizzas in the area illustrative of these distinctive regions of Los Angeles.
One thing to keep in mind is that these aren't “stunt” pizzas looking to wow and rack up Instagram likes but rather working-class families looking to share a slice of home with their customer base. It is for that reason, these pizza places are an extension of what Jonathan Gold once referred to as “entry level capitalism.”