NYC-Style Pizza and Meatballs Arrive in Downtown From an East Coast Legend

As Los Angeles continues to surge back to life following a year-plus of pandemic lockdowns, uncertainty, and heartache, the city’s once-busy food halls are also seeing a return to relevance. Case in point: Halo, the long-awaited Bunker Hill collective, is now beginning to come online with new restaurant projects beyond the Shake Shack that’s already there.

First up is Daniel Holzman’s eponymous New York City-style spot, cheekily called Danny Boy’s Famous Original. Holzman is best known for co-creating the popular Meatball Shop collection of restaurants around New York City, but now he’s on the West Coast with plans to serve NY-style pizzas as a whole pie or by the slice, along with sandwiches like meatball and chicken parm. There are salads too, of course, mostly done in the Italian-American oeuvre, plus Italian ices and garlic knots for those who just need a small bite. The focus, though, is definitely on the pizza.

As for timing, expect something from Holzman and his team in early August, while other tenants at Halo will take a bit longer to come around. Trejo’s Tacos and Trejo’s Donuts is still tracking for an opening before the end of the year (most likely), though future tenants are still TBD. Meanwhile, other open-air dining options around the city like nearby Grand Central Market and the Original Farmers Market on Fairfax are back to doing robust numbers; the latter is even seeing new restaurant openings like the recent El Granjero Cantina arrival.

• A (Meatless) Meatball Shop Opens in a Very Familiar Hollywood Space [ELA]