It took a former film finance pro to figure out how to bring back to life the space that once housed Café des Artistes, a favorite Hollywood hangout throughout the ’90s and ’00s. After the cozy restaurant closed in 2011, the spot sat empty until first-time restaurant owner Francesco Zimone bought rights to open the first U.S. location for Naples’ famous L’antica Pizzeria da Michele.

Da Michele gained worldwide fame when “Eat Pray Love” author Elizabeth Gilbert had a culinary epiphany there, then appeared in the film adaptation. In the book, she posits that it could possibly be “the best pizza in the world” — an extremely debatable statement, but one that turned the name into an international success.