Quick Bite: Wood Firms Up Silver Lake Pizza Competition

What: Wood Handcrafted Pizza
Where: 2861 W. Sunset Blvd. at Parkman -- you can't miss it if you look for the giant Tom's Burgers sign
The Goods: Wood was launched a few months ago by Erik Martirosyan, whose family started Big Mama and Papa's Pizza in Hollywood and famously delivered to the Dolby theater while the Oscars were in progress. Wood is a higher-end artisan pizza place with a larger menu of appetizers and salads, and beer and wine coming in a few weeks.

wood-burning oven behind the prep counter

The Neapolitan-style pizzas range from basic margarita ($12) to arugula and prosciutto ($17) to the Ellen special with vegan cheese, avocados, balsamic glaze, etc. ($21). At a recent tasting, I found the tender, stretchy crust quite appealing, dotted with crispy spots from the wood-burning oven. The lamb sausage-topped pizza is a savory nod to the owner's Middle Eastern heritage. I didn't try too many appetizers but I liked the grilled broccolini. Overall this is a very competent Neapolitan-style pie.

Lamb sausage pizza

 The Look: Very spare. Though no traces of the burger joint remain, the room could use some art or homey touches.
What to Order: lamb sausage pizza, mushroom pizza, prosciutto pizza, broccolini. Here's a link to the menu.
Would I Return: Perhaps. There's no delivery, plus we're still pretty jazzed about De Sano. But that crust was pretty compelling. There is a small parking lot in the rear.

(I was invited to try this restaurant.)