Renowned chefs Nancy Silverton and Matt Molina, who first collaborated on Los Angeles’ Pizzeria Mozza concept, keep pushing the boundaries of the classic pie. The duo opened the fourth location of another pizza brand they created—Triple Beam Pizza—this week.
Silverton and Molina were featured on PMQ’s cover in 2012 for their success with Pizzeria Mozza, which has locations in L.A. and Newport Beach, California. Triple Beam Pizza, on the other hand, is a wholly different concept focused on Roman-style pizza.
Triple Beam Pizza on June 20 in Santa Monica, California, a follow-up to the brand’s stores in Highland Park, Echo Park and Glendora.
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Silverton and Molina, both James Beard Award winners, opened Pizzeria Mozza in 2006 with celebrity chef Mario Batali and Joseph Bastianich. Silverton created a signature dough for the brand that included rye flour and malt, with the pies baked in a wood-fired oven—at Batali’s insistence.
“We set out to do things that are pizzeria-esque,” Molina told PMQ in 2012. “We asked, ‘What do I like to eat before I have pizza?’ This led to serving a lot of room-temperature vegetables, items containing a lot of acids, cheeses, sweet-and-sours, earthy mushrooms—things that get your palate ready for pizza. You have to think in terms of cooked vegetables, greens and maybe some crispy elements—maybe a lentil dish would be great.”
With a menu that went far beyond the standard cheese-and-pepperoni, Pizzeria Mozza was soon playing host to former First Lady Michelle Obama and Hollywood honchos like Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg. The Los Angeles Times once described Silverton and Molina’s kitchen as “a master class in the art of making pizza.”
The longtime partners have replicated that success with Triple Beam Pizza, taking the Roman style and making it their own. Artisan pies include the Roasted Spring Corn Ezquite (roasted spring corn ezquite, cotija cheese, fontina, mozzarella, tajin, Calabrian aioli and garlic) and the Acorn Squash (acorn squash, mozzarella, cacio di Roma cheese, honey and crushed red pepper).
Among the more adventurous pizzas on the menu: the Jane’s Addiction x Triple P (pastrami crumble, mozz, fontina, Calabrian chiles, red onion, picantissimo, pickles and Calabrian garlic aioli) and the Korean BBQ Chicken Bulgogi (Korean BBQ sauce, gochijaru bulgogi chicken, red onion and two cheeses).
The Infatuation hailed Triple Beam Pizza’s Highland Park store as “one of the most exciting places to eat” in L.A. And ordering for dine-in is weirdly simple, the website reported. “You wait in line, you hold up your hands to show how big you want your pieces, they pop them in the oven for a few seconds, and you take your tray out onto the patio.”
