Pirolo's Panini

Pirolo's Panino

7461 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90046

There's a new spot on Melrose that's bringing East Coast Italian sandwiches with American Italian flavors. Pirolo’s Panino focuses on great signature sandwiches, and also has a selection of Chef favorites including salads, plates, sides and desserts. Signature paninos include the Italian Dip, The Godfather, Meatball Parmand Chicken Parm while signature entrées include Chicken Limone, Chicken Parm, Baked Macaroni and Cannolis for dessert.

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CAESAR SALAD - romaine spears with walnut, sun-dried tomatoes, and grilled garlic bread

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MEATBALL PARM - chef’s mother’s meatball with their signature parmesan, fontina and house marinara

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ITALIAN DIP - house roasted Italian beef topped with salsa verde and caramelized onions, served with au jus

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CANNOLI a classic Italian cannoli with chocolate

Hana Ichimonme - Little Tokyo

This restaurant has been here for decades and I've only been here a handful of times (less than 5 to be exact). My last visit will make me come back for more. There's just a certain charm to this place you won't find at any other hour wait lines. They have a pretty extensive list of ramen options though they aren't that different from one another.

I ordered their Spicy Tonsai Ramen. It's not a ramen I would normally order, but I really wanted to try something different instead of the tonkotsu. Their Tonsai Ramen is a soy sauce based soup with stir-fried pork and vegetables (normally cabbage). From their level of Mild to 1-5 levels of "spicy", I picked level 4. For 1, I can eat spicy. 2, in case that shit is spicy, I'm assuming I should be able to handle level 4 without dying. I'm already anticipating butt fires, but that's part of the fun of eating spicy foods. Not really, but the eating part is freaking amazing.

To start, just some typical Yakisoba... And this was because they ran out of curry. Decent. Nothing spectacular, but comforting.

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The devils bowl. I called the server's bluff when she warned me it was spicy. Almost went with level 5 just because of that. How dare she tell me that their spicy ramen is actually spicy? That's blasphemy I tell you. But, she was right.

But... I was not slain. I was sweating.. a lot.. This had a good kick to my throat, but it wasn't so spicy that it was NOT delicious. Because this was the opposite of that. This was pretty freaking tasty. The chili paste or whatever they used had great flavor. It didn't just taste spicy and bland. I wouldn't drink the soup though... I still don't want to die. Will I do level 5? maybe.... Level 4 felt just right. It had the spiciness I craved without making it unbearable. And the best part? No butt fires.

333 S Alameda St Ste 303

Los Angeles, CA 90013

Little Tokyo, Downtown

800 Degrees - Hollywood

I stumbled upon 800 degrees pizza for the first time in Pasadena after a few drinks for a friends birthday. Just a few months later, I was in Hollywood having a few burgers and drinks with friends when we stumbled by 800 degrees again. It was fate that led me back to devour more pizzas. And devouring was what we did. The space is pretty gorgeous, but made for a casual lunch or dinner. There were people strolling in just for their afternoon fix before headed for the gym, coming from the gym, or just before headed out for a busy day.

They are known for their authentic Neopolitan pizza which was originally created in Naples, Italy over 200 years ago. All pies are topped with fresh mozzarella and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. 800 Degrees also prides in using premium ingredients such as Italian grown tomatoes, locally made fresh mozzarella, and handcrafted crust made with flour from Molino Caputo in Naples Italy all complemented by different kinds of charcuterie and local vegetables. THIS specific location in Hollywood comes with a patio & FULL bar (Upstairs). They also have a new location that just recently opened in Playa Vista on November 19.

Truffle Cheese Bread

I loved this. They use Boschetto di tartufo which is a truffle cheese from Italy. It's extremely aromatic as you would normally find in truffles, but these are things that we love about it. There's also mozzarella for that extra gooeyness, garlic and Parmigiano Reggiano. I recommend this.

Doppio Pepperoni

A Classic margherita with smoky pepperoni and spicy soppressata with added bacon.

Filetti

A rustic look at this basil pesto with fresh mozzarella and cherry tomatoes. If you love simplicity, this is it. But it doesn't come with boring. The ingredients are simple, but not short in flavor. Loved this too.

Greek Salad

A full family order of Greek salad. It has your typical ingredients you would find in a Greek salad such as green peppers, olives, feta, red onion and tomatoes. What I loved the most about this was their Italian vinaigrette. The olive oil made this taste so awesome.

Burrata & Beets

Creamy Burrata with roasted beets, balsamic, arugula and warm bread. I can grab this as my lunch and I would be extremely pleased. 

BLT

Bianca pizza with Bacon Jam, arugula and cherry tomatoes. Delicious.

Meatballs

Wood-Oven baked with tomato, organo and Parmigiano Reggiano.

Broccolini

This broccolini is something I'm going to have to recreate at home. Roasted in their wood oven with garlic, calabrian chiles and extra virgin olive oil. I added this on top of my pizzas.

Nutella Calzone

I know you've seen tons of videos on the internet with Nutella porn. This is it right here. A full sized calzone with hot oozing Nutella served with fresh berries. There are also berried inside this beast.

Their bar upstairs is not short of any fun from the pizza party downstairs. Either bring you pie up, come here after, or come here first before headed downstairs. 

Chandelier from bar view.

Open till 2am. I say why not eat pizza and drink.

1521 N. VINE STREET  |  HOLLYWOOD, CA 90028

Phone | 323 - 329 - 9656

11AM - 2 AM |  7 DAYS A WEEK

PARKING

Garage parking available at 1555 N. Vine.  First hour free with validation, $2 each 20 minutes, $12 maximum.