Just because you are quarantined doesn’t mean you have to subsist on beans and canned soup. You can still have pizza. Great pizza. Here are 20 of the best pizzas in Orange County that are still available right now for takeout or delivery. Stock up. Order a bunch. Eat pizza all week. You’ll want to have some wine handy.
2145
The spicy salame pizza here is absolute perfection, blotted with ricotta cheese and generously piled with salame, green olives and pickled Fresno chilies. Also very good: the one with smoked mozzarella, pancetta and egg. Takeout: Yes. Delivery: No. 2145 Placentia Ave., Costa Mesa, 949-873-5853, 2145eat.com
Al’s New York Cafe
The pepperoni pizza has a perfectly foldable thin crust. It comes out of the oven covered with a slick, glossy sheen of pepperoni grease and a delightful crispness to the crust’s outer edge. This is what Domino’s dreams of being but never will be. Takeout: Yes. Delivery: Doordash and Postmates. 1673 Irvine Ave., Costa Mesa, 949-722-1212, alsnewyorkcafe.com
Angelina’s
Another top-tier Neapolitan style Margherita. The sauce on this one is gloriously bright and uncomplicated yet surprisingly soulful. Spicy diavola with salame available, too. All wines currently 40% off. Takeout: Yes, order online directly. Delivery: Grubhub, Postmates, Doordash or Uber Eats. 8573 Irvine Center Drive, Irvine, 949-536-5200, angelinaspizzeria.com
Bello
The classic Margherita and marinara pizzas are excellent, but what’s even better is the dolce diavola, which is like a pepperoni pizza with walnuts and honey. It is sublime. Takeout: Yes. Delivery: Grubhub, Doordash, Uber Eats. 1200 Bison Ave., Newport Beach, 949-520-7191, bellobysandronardone.com
Brick
The wood-fired pizzas here contain distant strands of Neapolitan DNA. The carne pizza is particularly good, topped with housemade Italian sausage, Calabrese salame, slow-roasted porchetta and crispy pork belly. The crust is absolute perfection. The entire wine list is also currently available at half price. Takeout: Yes. Delivery: No. 216 N. El Camino Real, San Clemente, 949-429-1199, brickrestaurantgroup.com
Centro Pizzeria
This is some of the best square-cut Sicilian-style pizza in O.C. It’s sort of like focaccia on steroids. The best of the bunch is the one with pepperoni, jalapeños and honey, but it’s not on the Postmates menu so you’ll have to call directly and ask for it. Takeout: Yes. Delivery: Postmates. 24531 Trabuco Road, Lake Forest, 949-305-5226, centrocollective.com
Ciao Pasta
This pizza is the closest thing to Rome as you’ll find in O.C. The diavola combines spicy salame with really good sausage on a thin, crispy crust. Takeout: Yes. Delivery: Doordash, Postmates and Uber Eats. 31661 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano, 949-496-5002, ciaopasta.net
Filomena’s
It’s hard to categorize the pizza style here. It’s not quite New York, not quite sourdough, but it’s got the best elements of both. The pepperoni is wickedly spicy. Takeout: Yes, curbside pickup. Delivery: Doordash. 2400 Newport Blvd., Costa Mesa, 949-642-3810, filomenasoc.com
Folks
The naturally leavened dough here combines the best traits of both Neapolitan and sourdough styles. Get the one with housemade fennel sausage, mozzarella, pecorino and a drizzle of salsa verde. All bottles of wine and canned beer currently half price. Takeout: Yes. Delivery: Doordash. 2937 Bristol St., Costa Mesa, 714-617-4888, folkshospitality.com
Il Dolce
The wood-fired nduja pizza is a full-throttled spin on a classic Margherita amped up with nduja, which is a soft, spreadable, almost liquid Italian sausage similar to Mexican chorizo. All bottles of wines currently half off. Takeout: Yes. Delivery: Doordash and Postmates. 1902 Harbor Blvd., Costa Mesa, 949-200-9107, ildolceoc.com
Il Palco
The blue cheese pizza with honey is particularly well-suited to Il Palco’s uniquely delicious dough, which is remarkably soft and supple, almost like a cross between authentic Neapolitan style and Indian naan. Takeout: Yes. Delivery: Doordash and Grubhub. The Source, 6980 Beach Blvd., Buena Park, 714-690-1430, ilpalcobp.com
North Italia
The Pig is loaded with soppressata, spicy pepperoni and Italian sausage, with a nicely salted, crispy crust. Wine by the bottle available, too. Takeout: Yes. Delivery: Doordash. 2957 Michelson Drive, Irvine, 949-629-7060, northitaliarestaurant.com
Parallel Pizza
The crust on this charcoal-fired New Haven-style pizza is ultra thin and deliciously chewy. Go for The Stinger, topped with spicy pepperoni, fresh jalapeños, parmesan cheese and honey. Takeout: Yes. Delivery: Doordash, Grubhub, Postmates and Uber Eats. 34255 Pacific Coast Highway, Dana Point, 949-441-7406, parallelpizzeria.com
Pirozzi
The wood-fired Margherita is meticulously true to the spirit of Naples. The one with crispy prosciutto is notable, too. Plus, buy a bottle of wine, get a second bottle on the house. Takeout: Yes. Delivery: No. 2929 E. Coast Highway, Corona Del Mar, 949-497-8222, pirozzicdm.com
Pitfire
It’s extremely rare that I would recommend a pizza that’s topped with a salad, but the burrata pizza here is spectacular. The burrata melts into a puddle of thick, gooey cream, which is then topped with arugula, pesto and toasted hazelnuts. Takeout: Yes. Delivery: Doordash. 353 E. 17th St., Costa Mesa, 949-313-6333, pitfirepizza.com
Pizzeria Sapori
Marinara pizzas are the quintessence of Naples, and Sapori’s will transport you there. Made with nothing more than a great crust, fresh garlic and excellent tomato sauce, leaving absolutely no room to hide. Takeout: Yes. Delivery: Uber Eats. 1080 Bayside Drive, Newport Beach, 949-644-4220, pizzeriasapori.com
Rance’s
This is the best Chicago-style pizza in O.C., hands down. They make two competing styles reminiscent of Chicago’s two biggest rivals, plus a thin-style square cut. Their stuffed pizza is as close to Giordano’s as you’ll find, while their pan pizza (my favorite) is almost indistinguishable from the Original Gino’s East. Try the house special pan pizza with sausage, jalapeños and olives. Takeout: Yes. Delivery: Grubhub. 1420 Baker St., Costa Mesa, 714-708-2143, rancespizza.com
Sal’s
Sal makes the best New York-style pizza east of the 241. But the real house specialty here is the rectangular slabs of Sicilian-style grandma pie, which is fairly thick but still crispy around the edges. Takeout: Yes. Delivery: Yes. 26612 Towne Centre Drive, Foothill Ranch, 949-951-7400, salspizzerias.com
Terra
The fennel sausage pizza here might be the best pizza in North O.C. The one with spicy chorizo, jalapeños and shaved pineapple is a close second. The vaguely Neapolitan-style dough tolerates a lot of char. Takeout: Yes. Delivery: No. 4884 Main St., Yorba Linda, 714-463-4424, terrawoodfiredkitchen.com
TJ’s Woodfire Pizza
The wood-fire pizza lineup includes authentic Neapolitan, New York, Sicilian and cracker-thin styles. Each is good in its own way, but the Neapolitans are where TJ’s really shines. Because real Neapolitan pizzas don’t travel as well as the others, they don’t put these in the oven until you arrive, and they take only a few minutes to bake. Get the Gianelli, which has a garlic oil base with burrata, Italian sausage, fennel pollen, truffle oil, basil. Craft beer and mason jars of draft beer also available. Takeout: Yes. Delivery: Doordash. 641 Camino de los Mares, San Clemente, 949-243-6433, www.tjswoodfirepizza.com
My regular columns are on temporary hiatus, but as long as restaurants can still offer takeout I’ll be posting stories like this to help guide you to some of the best food in Orange County as we weather this storm.
