ilan hall at urbano pizza bar

I'm a huge fan of Top Chef. Love the show. A few months ago we went to The Gorbals, and I actually peaked my head into the kitchen to meet Ilan Hall (season 2 winner). Wow...I'm kinda embarassed reading that sentence on the screen, but - in my defense - the kitchen is one of those "open air kitchens," so I didn't have to open a door or anything to meet him. And he was completely gracious about it and really excited to meet a fan. So there.

Anyways, I've been dying to go to Urbano Pizza Bar in Downtown. And then I read on Tasting Table that Hall had consulted with the restaurant and added a few menu items. There was pizza and bacon and pumpkin. I'm in.

This past Friday, I headed over with some friends. Hall added three items to the menu - scimietta pizza, charred corn with balsamic butter, and lasagna. We were in the mood for pizza, so we opted out of the lasagna.

The corn was smoky from the wood fire charring and was balanced out by the velvety balsamic butter sauce. The corn reminded me of when my dad used to grill corn and when we'd butter the cob some of the bbq sauce or salad dressing or whatever was on our plate would get on it. So you'd have this tangy creamy corn. So delicious.

The pizza was stellar. Thin, charred crust layered with pumpkin, goat cheese, applewood bacon and then garnished with thin strips of green onion. I'm of the philosophy that bacon makes everything better, but it truly works with this dish. The salty meatiness controls the pumpkin from getting too sweet. And the goat cheese and onion add some tang and texture rounding out the pizza perfectly.

I'm determined to make this in puff pastry form as an appetizer for entertaining. 1 sheet of puff pastry + 1 can of pumpkin puree + crumbled goat cheese, chopped bacon, and shaved green onion = easy, delicious, and inexpensive. Sign me up.

Urbano Pizza Bar
630 W 6th Street
Los Angeles 90017