Two L.A. pizzerias were just named among the best in the world
Organized by the Best Chef Awards, the Best Pizza Awards first began three years ago and puts an emphasis on individual chefs, rather than restaurants or the places they inhabit. The European awarding body was founded in 2015 by a Polish neuroscientist and an Italian gastronomist and emphasizes a transparent, 'chef-led' voting and selection process. Both Joo (Pizzeria Sei) and De Leon (Apollonia's) have previously earned recognition from the Best Pizza Awards; 2025 is the first Decker has made the awards' global top 100 list.
The Best Pizza Awards praised Joo for making Tokyo-style Neapolitan pies that are 'technically refined and full of character.' In particular, the European awarding body recognized Joo's 'salt-punch' technique, which involves sprinkling salt into the oven for a distinct shift in overall pizza texture. 'Today, William Joo continues to explore and elevate pizza through simplicity, balance, and a deep respect for ingredients and tradition," reads the chef's official entry. Joo also made the Best Pizza Awards top 100 list in 2024 and 2023.
For Apollonia's De Leon, who also made the list in 2024, the Best Pizza Awards highlighted his unconventional path from art school and photography to pizza-making—in particular, Apollonia's "game-changing square[s]," which feature burnt cheese edges and airy interiors. As for Truly Pizza's Decker, his entry highlights his apprenticeship under acclaimed Las Vegas pizzaiolo John Arena. This year is the first time that Decker has earned recognition from the Best Pizza Awards.
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Scotsman
34 minutes ago
- Scotsman
I tried the buzzy new Edinburgh luxury hotel restaurant that's got everyone talking
The Hoxton You'll find this restaurant in the capital's west end Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... If I had fifty quid for every time someone had asked me if I'd tried The Hoxton's restaurant yet, I'd be able to get a room. Give me a chance, I tell people, this four-star hotel has only been open for two months. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Anyway, not visiting was giving me Oasis-at-Murrayfield levels of FOMO. At last, we booked in for a Sunday lunch, and got the tram to Haymarket Station. It's been a while since I was in this vicinity, and it's odd how much my old stomping ground has changed in a short period of time. Grosvenor Street used to be the home of some rather middle of the road hotels, in contrastingly grand Georgian buildings. Now the street is monopolised by this 214-room place, from Ennismore - the people behind Gleneagles in Perthshire and Gleneagles Townhouse on St Andrew's Square. I'd say The Hoxton's branding is slightly younger than their Edinburgh sister. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Their main restaurant is Patatino - the Scottish-Italian trattoria, named after the Italian word for 'little potato'. It's on the ground floor and along a corridor past a few glossy cheeseplants, as well as a stylish and bustling residents' lounge. (Or maybe we went in the wrong door). Prepare for a visual overload, when you make it to the restaurant, which is inspired by sunny Sorrento and Amalfi. It has an open kitchen, with loud decor that looks like it's been designed by a crack squad of clashing pattern lovers - say Versace, in collaboration with the merchandising team from Anthropologie. There are walls covered in the best pieces of crockery, like it's a glamorous Nonna's house, and a plastic jungle's worth of faux flowers. In common with Gleneagles, the staff are patient, and so enthusiastic. I don't know how they stay so upbeat, this far into the Edinburgh Festival, but it's an impressive feat of endurance. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Our waiter asked if we wanted anything from the Nibbles list to start, but we had to pass. How are you still supposed to have room for lunch, after deep-fried spaghetti squares (£8) or slow-cooked brisket arancini (£9)? Still, we did say aye to a cocktail, and not purely because this baby pink take on an Amaretto sour had the excellent moniker of Solemn Pomace (£13). It's funny, because that's my pet name for my husband. For starters, we chose the Caesar salad (£11) and the beef carpaccio (£18). Both were great. The salad wasn't really a salad at all, but a whole baby gem that had been luxuriously anointed, like the wealthiest Egyptian pharaoh, Lettucekhamun, with cured yolk, whole anchovies and a flurry of Parmesan. It was a lovely combo, and what a way for a bit of shrubbery to go. Lettuce pray. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Their beef carpaccio was a bit more interesting than the average version, too. There were feathery and velvety petals of pink meat fanned onto a creamy emulsion of Parmesan and balsamic, with a handful of rocket on top. Great start. For mains, they've kept the concept simple. There's pizza, pasta, or a smattering of meaty dishes, like whole sea bass or steak. We shared a couple of things, including the taglioni (£23), which was a little cold, and could have come with a bit more of the billed Amalfi lemon. 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Scotsman
an hour ago
- Scotsman
Edinburgh International Festival music reviews: Ryan Wang
Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... MUSIC Ryan Wang ★★★★★ Queen's Hall As part of the EIF's Focus on Poland, Monday's Queen's Hall recital not only placed its focus on one of the most familiar Polish composers - Chopin - but also put the spotlight on a most remarkable young pianist. At the age of 18, Canadian-born Ryan Wang already has a list of prized titles to his name, not least of which is BBC Young Musician of the Year 2024. Ryan Wang | Betsan Haf Evans Playing his all-Chopin programme completely from memory, a sense of inherent joy inhabits his performing, becoming all the more joyous for the audience experiencing this phenomenally prodigious talent. The 24 Preludes of the first half immediately revealed Wang's gift for blossoming lyricism, with flawless technical precision bringing sighing phrasing, gentle rippling or twinkling like stars as called for by the shifting moods of the music. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The Piano Sonata No 2 was meatier and more impassioned, driving forward with pulsating rhythm, leading to an appropriately sombre Marche funèbre and, in turn, the quicksilver nimbleness of the Finale – Presto. To close, Chopin's Là ci darem le mano Variations were playful and humorous in their fluency and flourish. Definitely a rising star to keep an eye on. Carol Main MUSIC Shostakovich Inside Out ★★★★★ Usher Hall Getting it right when dissecting orchestral music and bringing it up close to the audience can be hit and miss. Aurora Orchestra, making its first visit to Scotland in the 20 years of its existence, got it very much right at the Usher Hall on Monday afternoon. Their trademark is playing everything from memory, something not usually seen with large-scale scores like Shostakovich's 5th Symphony. Finding their places amongst the stalls audience lounging on beanbags, the string players interspersed themselves across the gaps in-between, sensibly keeping the brass section at a little bit more distance. With conductor Nicholas Collon like a swivelling circus ringmaster in the middle of his 360⁰ orchestra, the performers became a symphonic juke-box, playing excerpts of anything he called for. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Shostakovich's opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, his 4th Symphony and even a bit of Mahler all helped to demonstrate what the 5th Symphony is all about. Non patronising, and putting the critical political dimension in perspective, greater understanding of the work's background made for more rewarding listening as each of the four movements was played, broken up by Collon's informative chat. Acoustically, the sound itself was fulsome and surprisingly coherent given how far apart the players were from each other. Carol Main
Powys County Times
2 hours ago
- Powys County Times
Irvine Welsh: Edinburgh Festival is great but I'm more excited about Hibs
Irvine Welsh has said while he appreciates Edinburgh's festival culture he is more excited to see his team Hibernian taking part in European competition this summer. The 66-year-old Trainspotting writer has returned to the Scottish capital for the premiere of his documentary, Reality Is Not Enough, which will close the Edinburgh International Film Festival. Directed by Paul Sng, the immersive documentary is said to be a thrilling and revealing exploration of Welsh, following his huge success with several film adaptations and six million books sold worldwide, and his awareness of mortality. In it, Welsh, who appears on screen, embarks on a wild journey into the boundaries of consciousness. He undergoes psychedelic-enhanced therapy and reflects on how intoxication can open up new perspectives. 'There's an upside to drug-taking, because there's a real exploratory, consciousness-raising aspect to it, as well as a sense of bonding with others in a festival-type environment,' Welsh told the PA news agency. 'But there's also a very negative side to it, a side that's about running away from things.' The film also explores how Welsh's creativity was shaped by his childhood in Edinburgh, the influences he absorbed from London's 1970s counterculture, and how ground breaking works such as Trainspotting and Filth helped pull him out of a self-destructive cycle. The autobiographical film combines intimate observational footage, rare archive film clips and readings from his novels narrated by stars Liam Neeson, Maxine Peake, Ruth Negga and Stephen Graham, and musician Nick Cave. BIG ANNOUNCEMENT 📢 #EIFF25 will close with the World Premiere of documentary 'Reality Is Not Enough.' Director Paul Sng follows one of the most controversial writers of our times, Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh, as he explores the boundaries of consciousness. — Edinburgh International Film Festival (@edfilmfest) May 30, 2025 Reflecting on his success as a writer, Welsh said he does not dwell too much on a project as he's always looking towards the next thing. 'If it's a book, a film, a record or a TV show, once you've created it and put it out into the world, it's an act of giving it away,' said Welsh. 'By then, you're already immersed in the next one. I just move from one project to the next. 'I don't really take the time to reflect on them or figure out where they sit in the grand scheme of things. 'That's why it's interesting for me to watch myself on screen, being compelled to talk about them and think about them in that way.' Welsh is a constant fixture at the Edinburgh festivals, whether speaking at the book festival or through Trainspotting Live, the immersive adaptation of his novel that features at the Fringe each year. Although he features heavily in the festival programme, Welsh himself says he would prefer to be at the pub or watching his favourite football team, Hibs. 'I should be swathed in culture, but all I've been thinking about is Hibs are back in the Europa League,' he laughs. 'Oasis were here too. I got to go to the shows at Murrayfield, and they were absolutely fabulous, just mind blowing. 'Hibs and Oasis, basically, has been my festival.'
