Pizzanista Pizza by the Slice: $2 Tuesdays, Arts District

Pizzanista!, at 2019 E. 7th Street in the Los Angeles Arts District, is a small slice shop founded by a professional skateboarder, and it still feels like one. The pizza is New York style, sold by the slice from the counter or as whole pies, and the walls lean toward skate culture rather than red-checkered nostalgia. On Tuesdays a plain cheese or pepperoni slice costs just $2 for in-store orders, which is the best slice deal east of downtown.

According to the shop's about page, Pizzanista! was founded in October 2010 by Salman Agah, a legendary professional skateboarder who was Thrasher Magazine's Skater of the Year in 1993. To get the food right, Agah recruited the Los Angeles chef Steve Samson to help develop the house recipes, from the dough to the sauces. The result is a shop that skaters treat as a clubhouse while everyone else simply treats it as a very good slice counter.

The building itself is part of the story. Pizzanista! occupies a pre-World War I structure on East 7th Street, right next door to Tony's Saloon, the neighborhood bar. The shop's own banner jokes that it has been voted the best pizza on East 7th Street sixteen years in a row, which is the kind of claim you can only make when you have outlasted most of the block. The room is tiny, so think of it as a counter first and a dining room second.

The menu splits its pizza by the slice into a short list. A cheese slice is $4.50, and the pepperoni and white slices are each $5.50. For something heavier, the Meat Jesus slice costs $6.75 and lives up to its name as the carnivore's pick. The Sicilian cheese slice is $6.95 and gives you the thick, airy square that a thin New York slice cannot. Two slices make a full meal for most people.

The slice people plan their week around is the macaroni and cheese pizza. It is offered on Sundays only, at $6.95 a slice, and it is exactly what it sounds like: a pizza crust topped with creamy macaroni and cheese. It is rich enough that one slice is plenty, and pairing it with a plain cheese slice keeps the meal balanced. If Sunday is your only free day, this is the reason to come then.

Do not skip the garlic knots, which the menu calls Lil Homies. An order is $6.50 and comes glossy with garlic butter, good for sharing while you wait for slices to come out of the oven. Whole pies, salads and other sides fill out the rest of the board, and the shop also handles delivery and take-out if you would rather eat at home or at a nearby brewery.

The shop advertises its $2 Tuesdays on the locations page: cheese or pepperoni slices cost $2 each, and the offer is for in-store purchase only. That means the deal does not apply to delivery apps or phone orders picked up in bulk. Because the shop is so small, Tuesday evenings fill up with neighbors and office workers from the surrounding studios, so plan for a short wait at the counter.

A sensible Tuesday plan is to arrive at lunch rather than after work. You will find the slice case fuller, the line shorter and the room less crowded. Order two or three slices at the $2 price and add one specialty slice at full price if you want to try the white or the Meat Jesus. Bring a friend so you can split a knot order without overdoing it.

Pizzanista! keeps a simple week, according to its locations page. It is closed on Monday. From Tuesday to Thursday the doors open at 11:00 am and close at 10:00 pm. On Friday and Saturday it runs from 11:00 am to midnight, which makes it a handy late stop after a night in the Arts District. Sunday hours are 11:00 am to 10:00 pm, and Sunday is also the only day for the mac and cheese slice.

Seating is limited, so on weekend nights most people order at the counter and eat standing up or on the sidewalk. Delivery and take-out are available for larger orders. If you are coming with a group of more than four, a whole pie is easier to manage than a stack of single slices, and the staff can box it up quickly for the walk back to the car.

The shop sits in the eastern side of the Arts District, where former warehouses now hold galleries, studios and restaurants. Walk north toward Third Street to reach Hauser & Wirth Los Angeles, a free contemporary art gallery set inside a converted flour mill complex with a courtyard garden. The murals on the warehouse walls along the way change often and are worth a slow look.

For a view, head west toward the Sixth Street Viaduct, the arched bridge that reopened in 2022 and now carries pedestrians and cyclists across the Los Angeles River. Walking the span takes about ten minutes each way, with the river channel and rail yards spread out below. At sunset the bridge lights up and the downtown skyline sits behind it, a good finish to an evening that started with a $2 slice.

Address: 2019 E. 7th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90021, in the Arts District. Hours: Tuesday to Thursday 11:00 am to 10:00 pm, Friday and Saturday 11:00 am to midnight, Sunday 11:00 am to 10:00 pm, closed Monday. Prices from the official menu: cheese slice $4.50, pepperoni $5.50, white $5.50, Meat Jesus $6.75, Sicilian cheese $6.95, garlic knots $6.50.

Deals: $2 cheese or pepperoni slices on Tuesdays, in-store only. The macaroni and cheese slice appears on Sundays only. Pizzanista! has a second location in San Marino, but the East 7th Street shop is the original. Getting there: most visitors drive or ride a bike, since the closest Metro rail stop is Little Tokyo/Arts District station, a long walk away. Street parking is easiest on weekday afternoons.