Chef Ali Haider has a hit with 786 Degrees, the temp-specific Sun Valley spot for busy, blistered — and completely halal — pizzas. Expect top quality ingredients and a good amount of char from the wood-fired oven, and for anyone looking a bit closer to the heart of LA, Haider also operates Sapori in Pasadena.

Thin, blistered, decadent, and cool; that’s the way of the pizza at Altadena hit Side Pie, which started out as a backyard pop-up before transitioning into a parking lot restaurant that deep-dives into collaborations, one-off flavors, merch, and other fun stuff.

Chef Christopher Keyser and the Union team have crafted another red sauce hit in Pasadena, though this one relies on pizza instead of pasta. For big, blistered-edged pies (with some cheese shaved around the rim for good measure) done by the city’s best culinary team, U Street is it.

This carb-focused Highland Park spot from chef Bradford Kent (Olio, Blaze) has a socially responsible and environmentally conscious bent, using 10 percent regenerative wheat for both the pizza and the bagels. The 16-inch, firm-crusted New York-style pies strike a good balance between sauce and cheese, and with two vegan options (vegan cheese and vegan vodka with mushroom-fennel sausage and red onion), there’s something here for everyone.

David Wilcox is turning some of LA’s most impressive pizzas right now, all while keeping his customer base informed on safety protocols, larger restaurant issues, and the future of his own place via Instagram. The honest approach has been working, with fans flocking to the place so often they’ve actually expanded hours during this difficult time.

Sotto veteran Daniel Cutler oversees this pizza and small plates restaurant with wife and general manager Caitlin Cutler. With inventive pizzas boasting supple but charred crusts and levain bread with a wonderfully brown crust, Ronan is a haven for those who love carbohydrates.

This sports bar-meets-North Indian pizza parlor has quickly built a following for its 12- and 16-inch pies. Choose a base sauce from makhini (made with tomatoes, spices, and cream), a nontraditional peri peri vindaloo (made with a roux and Kashmiri red chiles, and fortified with a rich vegetable stock), or white korma (sweet onions, yogurt, and spices). Toppings range from homemade Goan sausage to roasted fresnos to chicken tikka, making this a choose-your-own flavor adventure.

Prime Pizza has become LA’s de facto slice joint. The place not only does simple thin round pies, it also works square and Sicilian style pizzas daily, and with locations now open in Burbank and Santa Monica, their reach is bigger than ever.

It’s hard to think of a more photogenic pizza than the square Detroit-style pies from the unassuming Apollonia’s on Wilshire (just check out those high-edged, lacy corners). These dense, expertly cheesy pizzas are filled with crunch, cheese, and plenty of sauce.

William Joo and wife Jennifer So are bringing excellent wood-fired, Tokyo-style Neapolitan pies to Pico-Robertson at their tiny restaurant, where diners watch Joo fire pies from an intimate wrap-around counter. Korean-born Joo trained at Via Alloro, Providence, Angelini Osteria, Pizzana, and Ronan before opening his own spot, where he pinches the dough to create a more three-dimensional shape and a crust that’s both soft and crunchy. The compact pizza menu includes a stellar fior di latte-topped margherita, a bianca pie with preserved lemon and basil, and the cheese-free napoletana with tomato, anchovy, olive, garlic, capers, oregano, extra virgin olive oil.

The late Jonathan Gold made some hefty claims about Pizzana, comparing chef Daniele Uditi's neo-Neapolitan pies to the best in the world. Given the restaurant's naturally fermented dough and wood-fired oven, it’d be difficult to argue otherwise. Newbies should absolutely try the creamy cacio e pepe pie, or the diavola, topped with spicy salami and nduja walnut romesco. Both have become Uditi signatures.

Steve and Dina Samson opened one of the city’s most detail-oriented thin-crust pizzas next to their Fashion District restaurant Rossoblu. Using a high temperature electric deck oven, Samson uses three-day old dough that boasts a pliant structure that takes on everything from classic pepperoni to a mixed vegetable pie with escarole, red onion, smoked olives, and mozzarella.

Phoenix-based pizza legend Chris Bianco has had some stops and starts here in Los Angeles, but his slice shop at the Row in DTLA is serving some of the best New York-style slices in town. There’s a red slice with tomato sauce (made with Bianco’s own sweet Bianco di Napoli tomatoes) and house blend cheese; thinly-sliced salami, and a“green” option topped with caciocavallo, spinach-cream sauce, and parmigiano reggiano. The wide slices’ masterful assembly ensures that you get a bit of creamy mozzarella in every bite.

Long Beach’s pizza destination is an ode to the New York-style from Jonathan Strader and Jack Leahy with wide, puffy pies topped generously with sauce and cheese. At Little Coyote’s two locations, toppings range from pepperoni cups and mozzarella to a garlicky white pie with spinach, ricotta, and Calabrian chili.