{"id":324,"date":"2018-12-20T11:00:03","date_gmt":"2018-12-20T19:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/?p=999931788"},"modified":"2019-12-17T11:59:30","modified_gmt":"2019-12-17T19:59:30","slug":"first-look-powwow-pizza-cambodian-chef-bixby-knolls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/food\/first-look-powwow-pizza-cambodian-chef-bixby-knolls","title":{"rendered":"From lemongrass beef to longanisa, Cambodian-owned PowWow Pizza goes beyond the average pie"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In less than one month, Long Beach went from having zero options for Korean-inspired bulgogi and kimchi pizzas to two. Surprisingly, neither of them are afterthoughts.<\/p>\n<p>The first\u2014dashed with pineapple and launched a mere week before the other\u2014comes from the oven at 4th Horseman, <a href=\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/life\/food\/4th-horseman-beer-pizza-dtlb-dark-arts\/\">the downtown horrorcore beer bar<\/a> with an impressive dedication to the kind of bubbly sourdough you wish came in a basket at the start of the meal as well.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"83A5SaCFkt\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/hi-lo\/food\/4th-horseman-beer-pizza-dtlb-dark-arts\">Long Beach&#8217;s newest beer bar is a pizza heaven dedicated to the dark side<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;Long Beach&#8217;s newest beer bar is a pizza heaven dedicated to the dark side&#8221; &#8212; the Hi-lo\" src=\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/hi-lo\/food\/4th-horseman-beer-pizza-dtlb-dark-arts\/embed\/#?secret=WQn1oN2BCi#?secret=83A5SaCFkt\" data-secret=\"83A5SaCFkt\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The latest is at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/powwowpizza\/\">PowWow Pizza<\/a>, Bixby Knolls\u2019 weeks-old counter-service pizza shop (no relation <a href=\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/tag\/pow-wow-long-beach\/\">to the Pow! Wow! mural festival<\/a>) and the first restaurant from chef Maurice Yim, who worked the line at James Republic before <a href=\"https:\/\/ocweekly.com\/chef-maurice-yim-will-change-the-way-you-think-about-cambodian-food-8002352\/\">breaking off on his own to do catering and pop-ups<\/a> where he fused Cambodian flavors and French technique and service.<\/p>\n<p>At PowWow, Yim goes casual, feeding the north side with, one assumes, some of the same recipes he uses to sate his own kids: A garlicky beef gyro, a crunchy ginger-dressing salad, slices of good-oily pepperoni stuck to gooey cheese atop a tangy, hand-tossed crust.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_999931798\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-999931798\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/powwwow-pizza-mo-yim-chef.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-999931798\" src=\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/powwwow-pizza-mo-yim-chef.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"831\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-999931798\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chef Maurice Yim tosses pizza dough at PowWow Pizza. Photo by Sarah Bennett<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>To be honest, on a recent visit, it didn\u2019t look like much had changed at all since Yim took over the former Bella Pizza location on Carson last month. The kitchen remains dominated by a room-sized pizza oven. Prices for the multi-ingredient specialty pizzas still start at $7. And the quick-service counter convenience continues to ensure that the moseying area in front of the register is consistently crowded with suburban regulars (working moms, sweat-clad dads, teenagers, etc.).<\/p>\n<p>As part of the deal that led him to open within a week of Bella&#8217;s closure, Yim even retained Bella&#8217;s pizza-loving staff.<\/p>\n<p>But a scan beyond the things you\u2019d expect from a neighborhood pizza joint\u2014like the margherita pizza (pocked with fresh balls of mozzarella) and Caesar salad (made with a Cambodian\u2019s understanding of fish sauce)\u2014reveal what might prove to be PowWow\u2019s biggest draw.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_999931803\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-999931803\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/powwow-pizza-duck-hoisin.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-999931803\" src=\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/powwow-pizza-duck-hoisin.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-999931803\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Roast duck pizza. Photo by Sarah Bennett<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Yim\u2019s love of combining and sharing flavors comes across through a lineup of globally inspired pizzas, topped with everything from Chinese roasted duck (with a plum-hoisin sauce) to egg and Filipino longanisa (his kids are half Filipino) to, yes, marinated bulgogi beef and kimchi (using a gojuchang marinara like their 4th Horseman mates).<\/p>\n<p>If you want to get to know PowWow through just one pizza, though, go for the Angkor, which incorporates ingredients from the chef\u2019s Cambodian heritage. Marinara gets ditched for a white garlic sauce and a lemongrass-ginger beef holds it down like a fennel sausage would at Michael\u2019s Pizzeria. Lest beef and cheese and dough bog you down with savory heft, pickled carrots, a hint of galangal and a vinaigrette-tossed watercress are there with a piquant rope to pull you back up.<\/p>\n<p>The pizza is probably only one of only a few in existence that&#8217;s aromatic to the same herbal depth of a pho or curry. (For another Khmer salute, order it to go and it will come in a pink pizza box, like every dozen set of glazed you&#8217;ve bought at a Cambodian-owned doughnut shop.)<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_999931802\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-999931802\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/powwow-pizza-ankor-filipino.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-999931802\" src=\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/powwow-pizza-ankor-filipino.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-999931802\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Angkor Pizza (front). Photo by Sarah Bennett<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Combined with Michael\u2019s, 4th Horseman and Long Beach Beer Lab, PowWow Pizza could add yet another layer of depth to the city\u2019s rapidly expanding pizza scene, which is now at a level worth rubbing in the face of all our pizza-snob jerk friends who like to <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/wagatwe\/status\/1073335413157302273\">keep saying \u201cthe West Coast doesn\u2019t have \u2018good\u2019 pizza\u201d<\/a> (as if tradition is the only thing worth clinging to, or eating).<\/p>\n<p>Sure, we\u2019ll always have the East Coaster-repelling gummy-crust delivery favorites like Dean\u2019s, Big E\u2019s and Canadian Pizza\u2014La Pizza Loca tambi\u00e9n, the list could go on&#8230;\u2014but with the two new chef-driven additions of the last month, Long Beach has now doubled the number of pizza joints that are taking their dough and toppings and quick-flash wood-firing seriously.<\/p>\n<p>PowWow is another example of what\u2019s possible when we toss tradition aside\u2014or at least keep only the most necessary parts of it\u2014and let Long Beach lead the way to our own food future.<\/p>\n<p><em>PowWow Pizza,\u00a04085 Atlantic Ave. Unit B, Bixby Knolls;\u00a0(562) 283-0152<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In less than one month, Long Beach went from having zero options for Korean-inspired bulgogi and kimchi pizzas, to two. The latest is Bixby Knoll&#8217;s PowWow Pizza.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":65851,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[3,209,210,170],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[2708],"class_list":["post-324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food","tag-instagram","tag-cambodian","tag-first-look","tag-pizza","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=324"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=324"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=324"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=324"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}