Long Beach’s own Speak Cheezy made the Washington Post’s “Best Pizza in America” list.
Specifically, the list defined the California region’s style of pizza as “gourmet, Neapolitan-ish, wood-fired,” and the places listed reflected the top picks from a team of reporters and editors. The list considered restaurants that had over 100 Yelp reviews “where a substantial share mentioned the pizza style in question,” according to the list’s methodology.
At Speak Cheezy, the Washington Post acknowledged the menu had a range of pizza styles, but chef Jason Winter’s menu embodies the “California pizza movement.”
Their sourdough pizza is given five days to rise naturally and only locally milled flours are used in their recipes. The pies are notably not cooked in a wood-burning oven. Instead, Winter uses a PizzaMaster electric deck oven that mimics the effects of a wood-fired oven without the carbon footprint or hassle.
Some of the pies highlighted by the Washington Post were The Truffle Shuffle, which is topped with mushrooms and caramelized Cipollini onion, finished with a whipped Truffle crema and has three types of cheese. Tie Dye is topped with tomatoes, an alla vodka and pesto swirl and fresh mozzarella and burrata cheese. The LBC comes with house fennel sausage, ricotta, tomato, garlic, Sicilian oregano, Ezzo Pepperoni and two types of cheese.
Pizzeria Bianco’s Rosa pizza, topped with onion, rosemary, pistachio and Parmigiano Reggiano also made the Washington Post list. The restaurant’s first location was in Arizona, but owner and chef Chris Bianco opened a Pizzeria Bianco in Downtown Los Angeles in 2022. That location has since been awarded a Bib Gourmand by the Michelin Guide.
Want to know more? Check out Long Beach Post’s visit to Speak Cheezy on our Instagram here and our Side StrEATs video here.
Speak Cheezy is located at 3950 East Fourth Street.