Your Next Bite

D'Amores - the healthiest and #1 rated pizza in the nation

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Opening Day is approaching soon, and there's nothin' I love more than a freshly ordered Pizza plus a baseball game. In fact, ever since D'Amore's Pizza moved onto West 3rd St. a year and a half ago, I've made it a weekly tradition. This Friday, you should skip the hot dogs and do it too, especially since there's nothing to feel guilty about.

Check out the back of their take home menu and you'll see that – compared to Pizza Hut, Costco, Dominoes, Round Table, and Papa Johns – a slice of D'Amore's Thin Crust Cheese Pizza only has 3.8g of fat, 166 calories, 11g of carbs, and 3 Weight Watchers points. (The others range from 15g of fat to 46g, and the calories reach all the way up to a scary 840.) From the specially shipped in North End of Boston's Water in the Dough, to Grandma D's Spice Mix and July only's Tomato crop – whatever the secret is – D'Amore's cheese stands alone.

The Grubdown:

- thin 'n juicy, cheesy 'n spicy, runs down your chin in a good way Large Pepperoni Neopolitan Thin-style Crust$21.95

- way too thick crust prepared by The Sensitive Baker, but that's usually how gluten-free ones go, Vegetarian style 7" Gluten Free Pizza with Fresh Chopped Tomatoes, Mushrooms, Onion, Peppers, and Mozzarella Cheese

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Once you dive into your first bite, you're gonna get an overwhelming urge to eat 2-3 more slices. I'm not gonna lie, I've totally done it before (ok fine, every time). So I strongly urge you to order a Large if you're splitting it with someone else, 'cuz you just might finish the whole pie off.

If you don't feel like choosing your own toppings, D'Amore's serves 8 Specialty Pies like their Signature Pizza Bianco minus the Tomato Sauce with Fresh Spinach, Onion, and a Ricotta Cheese blend, as well as a BBQ Chicken and Meat Lovers.

If you're feeling crazy enough to skip their incredible pizza, they also serve Salads, Paninis, Parmigianas, Pastas, and even Burgers. To drink there's Boylan All Natural Sodas, Kombucha, old-fashioned Pepsi, and Harney & Sons Juices.

Follow @DamoresPizzaLA on Twitter for news on their brick-oven catered mobile truck.

Finally, and most importantly, did I mention D'Amore's is open until 4am?

Mangia Mangia after midnight!

8369 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles, CA 90048. 323-951-0070.

Whole Foods Market Chocolate Wall has it All

 
In the spirit of Easter, and curbing your kid candy cravings, I thought I'd simplify your hunt for the perfect piece of chocolate – from healthy quinoa dark to sinful bacon milk – with the chocolate wall that has it all at Whole Foods Market.

The Grubdown:

- ridiculously addictive I-can't-believe-this-is-good-for-me Dark Chocolate Quinoa Midnight Crunch by Alter Eco (tastes just like a healthy Nestle Crunch bar!)

- sweet & salty Mo's Bacon Bar by Vosges Haut Chocolate

- spicy & crunchy Ginger Crystallized in Dark Chocolate by Chocolove (you'll want to replace your ginger tea after every meal with this!)

- good for you & the environment Endangered Species Chocolate

- exotic, pure, and sustainable Dagoba Chocolate

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Alter Eco's Dark Chocolate Quinoa Midnight Crunch is absolutely genius! Here's why: for those of you who haven't heard of quinoa – pronounced "keen-wah" – this ancient whole grain from the Andes is the only one that's a complete protein, meaning it's packed with all the essential amino acids our bodies can't produce on their own. It's also the March Grain of the Month on wholegraincouncil.org if you'd like to learn more.

For those of you HAVE heard of quinoa and eat it regularly in place of pasta, cereal, or flour, you might already be halfway to Whole Foods after realizing what a brilliant idea putting it in chocolate is. Made with all organic ingredients, like 61% cocoa, cane sugar, cocoa butter, and quinoa-rice crisps, this scrumptious chocolate bar is hard to put down. No need to fret – while it may remind you of the Nestle Crunch bars from your childhood, it's nutritional value certainly won't. Midnight Crunch is loaded with healthy whole grain goodness, is soy/GMO/gluten-free, is vegan, and has no artificial flavors or emulsifiers. It's also Fair Trade Certified, meaning the product comes from small farmers who receive fair wages for their work and use sustainable farming methods.

Mo's Bacon Bar by Vosges Haut Chocolate definitely backs up the statement, "Everything tastes better with bacon." Made with Applewood smoked bacon, a touch of Alderwood smoked salt, and creamy 41% milk chocolate, seriously, what's not to love? But, if you tend to throw a hissy fit when your pancake syrup touches your sausage, this might not be your cup of tea. If you don't, instead throw caution to the wind and enjoy this perfect balance of salty and sweet.

Chocolove's Ginger Crystallized in Dark Chocolate is another bar that's hard to escape. After sinking your teeth into the 65% Belgian dark chocolate with chunks of chewy, sugar-coated Australian crystallized ginger, you'll be tossing that ginger tea box in the trash and convincing your significant other this bar is all you need to experience the healthy digestive benefits of ginger – ok maybe that's just me. This Chocolove flavor has the perfect amount of sugar and spice, and even a nice love poem wrapped inside.

If you're an eco-friendly humanitarian and animal activist, then Endangered Species Chocolate is the bar for you. Each chocolate bar comes with a picture of not just a cute 'n cuddly animal, but an endangered one. 10% of all net profits are donated to support species, habitat, and humanity. The company is 100% Ethically Traded, meaning all their cacao is purchased from small, family-owned farms with humane working conditions. All Natural flavors include Dark Chocolate with Deep Forest Mint, Milk Chocolate with Cherries, Dark Chocolate with Hazelnut Toffee, and many more.

Speaking of variety, Whole Foods carries over 15 different Dagoba Organic Chocolate bars. Made from only the finest organic ingredients, Dagoba spins chocolate into art with exotic flavors like spicy Xocolatl chile, Superfuit acai & goji berry, and Lavender Blueberry. Chocolate potency ranges from 37-100%. Dagoba, also a sustainable company, does everything from sponsoring re-forestation programs in Costa Rica to using soy-based inks on their packaging.

By no means is this the end of all Whole Foods chocolate wall has to offer – they also have your standards like Valrhona, Scharffen Berger, and Green & Blacks. But this Easter, instead of gnawing on that cavity-inducing chocolate bunny or Cadbury Creme Egg, why not hop to Whole Foods and hunt down your next favorite, organic, sustainable chocolate bite – the Easter Bunny & Tooth Fairy will thank you.