Show Introduction with Executive Producer & Co-Host Andy Harris

SoCal Restaurant Show

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7d ago 9:27

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Pizza City Fest Fest L.A. (April 26 to 27th) offers a stellar lineup of Southern California’s best pizza makers in one location, giving fans the unique opportunity to taste, see live demos, and attend panel discussions with culinary experts over two days at L.A. LIVE. We were going to be broadcasting the show live from the Fest on Saturday, April 26th but, oops, we’re preempted instead for an early Halo game on the road in Minnesota. This morning will be our studio-based salute to the 3rd Pizza City Fest L.A. benefiting the Culinary Careers Program (C•CAP).

Jason Winters (Chef/Proprietor) of Long Beach’s Speak Cheezy and Chefs and Pizzaiolos Chris Decker and Michael Vakneen (both partners) of Truly Pizza in Dana point are all participants in Pizza City Fest L.A. We’ll meet them. “At Long Beach’s Speak Cheezy, their 5-day naturally fermented sourdough is one of the original Sourdough Pizzas of Los Angeles. They source their organic flours from local milled grains and generational producers, use only the best quality farmers market ingredients to provide the community with beautiful 14-inch pies from their kitchen to your family dinner table. Speak Cheezy’s take-out style restaurant provides customers with fresh, New York slices and Sicilian style grandma squares everyday from 12 to 4 p.m. or available until sell out!” “Truly Pizza, a handsomely designed full-service restaurant in Dana Point, is a loving testament to collaboration, friendship, and respect for the world’s greatest communal food. Founded by Las Vegas hospitality veteran Donna Baldwin and renowned pizza maker and educator John Arena, Truly Pizza is the culmination of their lifetime of shared friendship and love of healthy artisanal handcrafted food. Together with World Pizza Champion teammates Chris Decker and James Beard Award semi-finalist for Best Chef : Southwest, Michael Vakneen, Truly Pizza has set a new standard for culinary excellence and hospitality in pizza.”

“Pizza City Fest returns to downtown Los Angeles for a third consecutive year as part of its nationwide tour. The two-day celebration promises an unparalleled experience for pizza aficionados and will take place on April 26 to 27 on the Event Deck at L.A. LIVE.

Attendees will have the exclusive opportunity to savor unlimited offerings from the region's premier pizza artisans, all conveniently located in one central hub at L.A. LIVE. Pizza City Fest will highlight the area’s unique pizza landscape and showcase the diverse and exceptional talents of the region's top pizza makers.

Steve Dolinsky, the founder of Pizza City Fest and a two-time Emmy and 13-time James Beard Award-winning food reporter, has curated yet another mouthwatering list of 40 pizza makers spanning the region from Santa Barbara to San Diego, and included a dozen new entries to the culinary roster this year.”

Melissa’s World Variety Produce is a continuing sponsor of Pizza City Fest L.A. Their Culinary Director, Chef Angel Flores, will be sampling at the Melissa’s booth a mouthwatering creation with goat cheese and Harry’s Berries served on a crostini also showcasing Melissa’s line of fresh produce. This year Melissa’s is celebrating their 41st year of success. They are still proudly Family-owned with the 2nd generation of the Founders now fully involved.

Chef, Pizzaiolo and Restaurateur Chris Laramie of Fat Lip Pizza & Beer is participating at Pizza City Fest L.A. on Saturday, April 26th. We’ll meet him. Chef Chris likes to think of his pizza as having the best of both worlds; the light, crunchy, thin base borrowed from New York street slices and the round puffy crusts typically seen on Neapolitan pies. The dough is the main focus. Long, cold fermentation for 3-days makes a pizza crust that is ultimately more flavorful and easier to digest. After that the Fat Lip Pizza sauce is made in house and all other toppings are made from scratch including their wonderfully seasoned Italian sausage and two varieties of the ever-popular Ranch Dressing.

“The inaugural “Long Beach Taco Week” launches on Sunday, April 20th and continues thru April 27th. Over a dozen taco-centric restaurants are participating. The local restaurants will offer unique over-the-top tacos in combination with value-priced taco offers. Featured Tacos and Taco Plates are value-priced at $5, $10, and $15. There are no tickets or passes required. Taco lovers are invited to dine-in, take-out or have featured tacos delivered from their favorite restaurants, or order from their individual websites.” One of the participating restaurants is Chef Ismael Miramontes’ La Chancla Mexican Grill. Chef Ismael joins us.

“Since 2021, the Restaurants Care Resilience Fund has awarded $7.3 million in grants to 1,603 independent restaurants across California—supporting burger joints, taquerias, bakeries, and more that are the heart of our communities. In 2025, Restaurants Care Resilience Fund is offering two grant opportunities to help restaurants thrive: $10,000 grants for LA County restaurants and food trucks impacted by the 2025 LA Fires and $5,000 grants for restaurants and commercial caterers in select CA counties to build resilience.” The current application window concludes on April 26th. Alycia Harshfield, President, California Restaurant Foundation, joins us with the specifics.

All of this and heaping helpings of extra deliciousness on this week’s not-to-miss show!

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