Believe the Hype: Deep Dish Pizza at Masa of Echo Park

Good pizza doesn’t exactly run rampant in LA, and deep dish pizza is particularly hard to score. Once in a while we order a few pies from Lou Malnati’s in Chicago, but at $40 a pop, it’s not exactly ideal. That’s why I was excited to hear good things about the deep dish at Masa.

I can’t exactly say it’s as good as Lou Malnalti’s or others I’ve had in Chicago, but it was definitely worth the hype. Masa makes their dough and sauce fresh everyday, and it shows. The crust is buttery and flaky. It would be perfect if it were slightly less pillowy-I prefer a denser, crispier edge. That said, it was still excellent.

More so than any other food, I think a pizza can be judged on whether you’re compelled (beyond all logic and good sense) to gorge yourself on it. And based on that barometer, I can tell you this one was a success.

The sauce was the high point for me. Our toppings were spinach and green olives, and the chunky/sweet tomatoes mixed well without taking over. The best part was that there was no sogginess, a quality I loathe in pizza of any style. Spinach is a pretty water-dense vegetable, so I was impressed. The bottom crust stayed pretty unsaturated and kept that all-important doughy quality where it met the cheese.

I think next time I’ll try the Giardiniera topping, imported from the distant lands of Chicago. I pray that it’s the one that my sister-in-law, who happens to live in Chicago, sometimes sends us-that one has cauliflower in it, and it’s spectacular. I’m also game to try The Traditional, with mushroom and sweet Italian sausage, which sounds promising.

A word of advice: it takes 40 minutes to bake, so if you don’t feel like investing the time, call in your order before you get there.

-Valentina