THROUGH A plexiglass window, from a seat at the counter in a tiny Pico-Robertson dining room, watch how William Joo crimps the edges on his neo-Neapolitan pizzas. When they emerge from the black-tiled oven, smoldered by burning almond wood, the corniciones will have flared into jagged starburst patterns. Ripping into the crust, however scorching, becomes irresistible. An alumnus of Daniele Uditi’s Pizzana — a brand in national expansion mode that arguably ushered in L.A.’s current golden age of pizza — Joo is a meticulous craftsperson forging his own style, pie by pie. He sidesteps the soupy centers often associated with Neapolitan pizzas; his creations slide from the paddle to the plate bubbling in the middle. Start with a Margherita to appreciate its essential character: the exact sweetness of the tomato sauce, the pleasing ratio of fior di latte, the head-clearing basil leaves and the sprinkle of sea salt that heightens it all. I’m also fond of the Bismarck, with its egg in the center bleeding yolk over the surrounding slices of prosciutto cotto.

Reserve as far ahead as you can and expect prime slots to be booked; I’ve made peace with savoring Joo’s handiwork in the middle of the afternoon.

• 8781 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, (424) 279-9800, pizzeriasei.com