When the sign went up a few months ago for Wood on the corner of Sunset and Silver Lake Boulevard in Silver Lake, the neighborhood chatter was mainly about the incredibly phallic nature of the name and logo. If the name was meant to evoke the wood-burning oven to be employed, and the logo a fat-handled pizza slicer, the combination of the two splayed large on a banner outside the building conjured something else entirely. Now open, the name and logo combo can still be seen together on the restaurant's menu, but outside a neon sign with the name only makes at least the exterior of the building a bit less scandalous. 

It turns out that Wood has some notoriety beyond its giggle-worthy signage, which is that it's owned by the Oscars pizza delivery guy. Edgar Martirosyan – who earned 7.5 minutes of fame by delivering pizzas to the Oscars and subsequently being summoned to The Ellen DeGeneres Show to collect his tip – owns Wood, along with his brother Erik. The two have been in the pizza business for years, but this is their first foray into higher-end Neapolitan-style pizza. ]

Wood logo

Wood logo

From their large wood-burning oven, the Martirosyans are turning out thin, lightly charred pies with toppings such as gorgonzola, braised kale and crispy pancetta, or baby patty pan squash and burrata. Pizzas are divided into “pizza rosse” and “pizza bianche” (with or without red sauce) and cost $12 to $16 for a smallish pie. 

There are also vegetables, such as “bloody cauliflower,” which comes with bacon, sundried tomatoes and a beet glaze, and a bunch of salads. Beer and wine are not currently available but are apparently coming soon. 

The interior of Wood is clean and modern, bordering on stark, and there's an outdoor patio that kind of feels like hanging out in a parking lot. But the pizzas, on first bite, are actually quite good. So maybe there is more to this place than gimmick after all.

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