A Pandora radio station plays The Strokes and Vampire Weekend across the orange and white-themed patio at Michael’s Pizzeria on 3rd Street and Promenade in Downtown Long Beach; honestly, how classy can a pizzeria get?
A sign out front reads “Try pizza for the very first time,” and once the waiter brings Apique water in rectangular bottles, it’s apparent what’s in store: you’ll find that the restaurant prides itself on the textures and flavors it can create and enhance.
The dishes and ingredient names on the menu are in Italian, but the waiters and waitresses are friendly enough to explain every dish for the curious diner.
Michael’s is fairly young; the 2nd Street restaurant on Naples Island opened in 2011, and the downtown location two years later.
The authentic pizzeria has been offering Sunday brunch for four months, and two months ago, added Saturday brunch. The brunch menu offers breakfast adaptations of their pizzas. It’s been named the Best Pizza in L.A. and one of the best Pizza joints in the U.S., according to Zagat, a survey system that collects ratings of restaurants.
Most of brunch is prepared and served in cast-iron skillets, and the unique taste and texture of the food owes itself in part to this preparation.
The Capriccioso frittata, like all others, is served with a brioche bread that Michael’s gets from Brea Bakery, and some of their house strawberry jam, a sweet—but not too sweet – delicacy.
Inside the frittata, the scrambled egg is spongy, and cotto ham and plump sautéed mushrooms are embedded evenly throughout. Both the ingredients and flavors are perfectly balanced. Black and green olives are used together and burst when bitten. A flower of artichoke sat beneath the mozzarella blanket, roasted and soft, but crunchy on the edges.
Michael’s makes an olive oil blend infused calabrian chili pepper that can compliment any of their savory dishes with a spicy zing.
The menu offers a variety of frittatas, from all of which the meat can be removed. The most pricey is Anatra, featuring duck and caramelized shallots.
Other brunch items include a cinnamon roll with rosemary syrup and French toast with either Nutella or their signature strawberry jam.
The cinnamon roll was less a breakfast pastry than a dessert. The top was a sticky crust reminiscent of crème brulee, and although it unpleasantly sticks to the molars, is deliciously balanced by the savory hint of rosemary. The bread was crispy on the outside, but airy on the inside.
Michael’s French toast avoids the pitfalls of conventionally dry French toast. Prepared by soaking, rather than dipping, the bread is saturated in a mixture of egg, milk, cinnamon and vanilla before it’s fried. The result is a spongy and moist dish that melts in your mouth. The French toast is served with a dollop of airy vanilla bean whipped cream and the strawberry jam. The dish is a completely different experience when combined with French toast rather than the brioche bread.
The pizza is one of a kind, and like the menu, is authentically Italian but with a Californian twist. The mozzarella is sparsely distributed on the top, but before cheese lovers turn away, they must consider the surprisingly sweet tomatoes, ample arugula and sweet, floury crust. The meat on their pizzas is tossed on top after the pizza is baked, and shaved so thinly that it’s translucent.
The wine and beer menus are hard to resist. Michael’s offers a regularly rotating menu of Californian craft beers and one amber beer from Italy. Perhaps the most unique, named “Xocoveza” is a chocolaty milk porter with unique flavors including nutmeg and chili.