Cosa Buona

"An Echo Park staple on the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Alvarado, Zach Pollack’s Cosa Buona is the perfect neighborhood spot for a glass of wine and mozzarella sticks before a game. The restaurant also works well for families eager to down blistery wood-fired pepperoni pizzas and salads." - Matthew Kang, Mona Holmes

"This is the neighborhood pizzeria every neighborhood wishes it had. Cosa Buona serves great pizza (and even better appetizers) in a casual setting that feels like the diner that sitcom characters meet up in at the end of each episode. Aside from Friday or Saturday nights, you can usually show up without a reservation, get a table quickly, and spend the rest of the evening drinking beer and eating potentially too many mozzarella sticks." - brant cox, sylvio martins

"This is going to ruffle some feathers, but this relatively new Italian spot—they opened more than 50 years after Dan Tana’s—challenges their elders for the best chicken parmesan in the city. The $28, thinly pounded breast is massive—big enough to feed two people for two meals. We’re not convinced it didn’t come from the emu farm where Disneyland gets its “turkey legs” (just kidding, please don’t sue us). But size isn’t the only reason we love this dish so much—the chicken is moist, extremely crispy, and tender enough to cut with a fork. The marinara sauce is made with deeply caramelized tomatoes. The parmesan on top is broiled until it’s golden-brown, and then the whole dish is flaked with huge leaves of fresh basil. In other words, every element makes this a basically perfect parm." - kat hong, brett keating

"Located in that busy intersection of Sunset Blvd., between the 76 station and Mohawk Bend, Cosa Buona is a casual neighborhood hangout that serves puffy-crusted pizza designed by the chef who also runs Silver Lake star Alimento. Each pie is properly blistered and chewy, with topping combinations that aren’t trying to do backflips or steal the spotlight (but are nevertheless excellent, ranging from a classic margherita to a sausage pie with mustard greens and slightly spicy chilis). Order a side of smoked mozzarella sticks along with your pie if you know what’s good for you." - brant cox, nikko duren, sylvio martins

"There are casual neighborhood pizzerias all over LA. Very few of them are establishments where you want to spend a Thursday night. But Cosa Buona is the Echo Park spot from the Alimento crew that’s everything you could want in a laid-back pizza place. For one, the pizza’s excellent. Secondly, no matter how last-minute you and your friends are, they always seem to have a table ready in under 15 minutes. Not to mention the solid wine and craft beer list and the best mozzarella sticks you’ve had since Meghan Johnson’s sleepover in the 6th grade." - jess basser sanders, brant cox