Caioti Pizza Cafe - Carrie LaDou
T
he career of pizza legend Ed LaDou has been well documented. From Prego in San Francisco, to Spago in Los Angeles, to influencing the design of the California Pizza Kitchen menu, to opening Caioti Pizza Cafe, he was the single most creative force in what was to become California-style pizza. Unfortunately Ed passed away in 2007 and since that time his wife Carrie has been managing Caioti Pizza Cafe in Studio City. I sat down with her on a Friday afternoon, ate some amazing pizza, and talked about Caioti Pizza Cafe and the transitions she had to make when she suddenly found herself in the position of having to manage a restaurant. Despite the trials and tribulations, Carrie projects a very positive attitude and a great desire to see Ed's legacy continue on through the restaurant. Both Carrie and her staff display a tremendous amount of warmth and kindness towards their guests and welcome everyone to come in and enjoy their cozy nook on a funky stretch of Tujunga Avenue.
Carrie LaDou Can you begin by explaining how your involvement in Caioti Pizza cafe began and how it has evolved?
It was kind of a baptism by fire, I was not involved before my husband died, I'm actually a registered nurse. In one way it was actually helpful in that it gave me a project during an emotional time but on the other hand it was really hard and I didn't know what I was doing. It was important to me to keep it going because of our daughter and to help her maintain the memory of her dad.
In addition to the wide range of pizzas, you have many other interesting menu items, entrees and a weekend breakfast menu. Did it start out as exclusively pizza and evolve or has the restaurant
always had such an diverse line up?
Ed was a chef in every aspect of the word and the restaurant has always had many things on the menu; entrees, specialty items, and weekly specials. Making his name as the pizza chef at Spago is what he became known for. He opened the first Caioti Pizza Cafe in Laurel Canyon and knew that he would have a lot of the same client base so it made sense to include the word pizza in the cafe. Including pizza in the name is appropriate but I also hear people walk by on the sidewalk and say they don't feel like pizza, and it's disappointing because we have so many items other than pizza. I wouldn't ever change the name but I try to get the word out through Facebook, and by telling
California Beer & Pizza — Spring 2011 — 4
people about our menu specials. Most of our regulars know that we have amazing entrees and desserts also. Why do you think the pizza became so popular?
Ed developed his own dough so nobody makes it the same we do and it's really good. We pay extra for the ingredients for our toppings and buy artisan cheeses. Your typical pizzeria just doesn't do that. Did you have any involvement at all in the restaurant prior to taking over as manager? No, I didn't even have a key. I came in the day after Ed passed and asked someone for a key so I could make a copy. It's definitely been..... interesting.