I swung by Echo Park to check in on the status of Two Boots Pizzeria. Last November, I wrote about the New York pizzeria’s impending arrival in New Angeles Monthly. On Friday, Phil Hartman was scrambling to open his first West Coast outpost, and he predicted a long-awaited debut in December’s second week.

If you don’t know by now, Hartman’s two boots represent Italy and Louisiana, so expect Cajun pizza toppings like tasso ham, andouille sausage, crawfish and BBQ shrimp. He’ll also offer po’ boys and salads.

Nicolina is a talented painter who was in town from the West Village; she was putting the finishing touches on a massive mural.

Nicolina’s painted previous murals for Two Boots in Manhattan. For this mural, she “walked around and soaked in the feeling of the neighborhood.” She and an assistant painted for 16 straight marathon days, including one all-nighter.

“Everything in the world is gravitating toward the center, which is the Angel’s heart,” she said. Nicolina has been painting hearts for awhile, and it’s become her signature image. She depicted Echo Park at the mural’s bottom center. She included a Rubik’s Cube, “because life is a puzzle.” There are a lot of spiritual elements, including Peter Pan. The white rabbit references “Down the Rabbit Hole,” a documentary that explored the idea that “certain particles can be in two places at one time.”

As for the rest of the space, expect red-and-black tile floors, red seats, a free vinyl jukebox, stained glass windows along the east wall and a gleaming (for now) silver pizza oven set back behind the collage-covered counter.