What pizza should I try next in SF?

ludja · June 16, 2006

Well, from the list below I've only been to A16 so far. I enjoyed their pizza, crust and toppoings, although on two visits the crusts did get a little soggy as time went on with some of the moister toppings. (To be fair, I didn't mark this on my own during the first visit b/c I was enjoying the toppings and other foods, but did realize it after people's comments on eGullet.) I ate at A16 last about a year ago.

I'd like to try some other places and would be interested in people's comments. Pizzeria Delfina is definately on my list so far. Also, are there any other other favorites not on this list? I tend to enjoy Neapolitan style but discussion of all SF pizza favorites would be great.

A16

Pizetta

Incanto

Pizzeria Delfina

Tommaso's

Pauline's Pizza

Pizzaiolo and Pizzeria Picco (Michael Bauer wrote glowingly of these new places earlier in the year)

ludja · June 16, 2006

Less well known neighborhood places would be great to hear about as well. I just listed some placss that are written up.

I sometimes go to a pretty good old-style pizza place in the Sunset on Irving on the corner of 8th or 7th Avenue but I can't remember the name. The restaurant has an East coast pizzeria feel to it which I like. They have a tasty sauce and the crust is good but a little thick for my preference. They also serve a great traditional antipasti platter. Price are very reasonable as well for Bay Area pizza.

Edited June 16, 2006 by ludja (log)

Stu-i-moto · June 17, 2006

I would add the following to your list:

Arinelle (Valencia & 17th) - no tables, just take-out or eat your slice at the counter. Most like a corner NY pizza joint that I've seen here (and I'm a NYer, searching for the perfect slice)

Giorgios (3rd & Clement) - good family-style pizza 'restaurant'. Easy on the wallet, good, honest pizza. Nothing fancy - good sauce, which makes all the difference, IMHO.

La Ciccia - not a proper pizza place, but they have 3 or 4 pizzas on their menu and that's also the only thing you can get for take-out. The pizzas are interesting and good.

The places you mentioned I would classify as more 'gourmet' than my list, with the exception of La Ciccia, which has great food all-around (Sardinian).

There's always Amici's, but they have never been consistent enough for me. Sometimes their product is great, sometimes you can re-do your roof with it.

Also, to my knowledge, Incanto doesn't serve pizza, unless they started recently, no?

Stu

Ed Ward · June 17, 2006

Tomasso's always gets my nod, because besides the pizza, which is excellent (make sure you get one with sausage, which is made especially for the restaurant), you can get the legendary coo-coo clams as an appetizer and one of the marinated vegetable salads.

eje · June 17, 2006

The pizzas at Chow are really pretty good.

Goat Hill Pizza can be pretty ok, if you order wisely (I recommend ham, mushroom, and artichoke) and like their style of sourdough crust.

Little Star Pizza over on Divisidero is OK for deep dish and popular with the "kids". It's kind of slightly upscale Pizzeria Uno inspired type fare.

Panhandle Pizza (take out only) also is pretty good for deep dish. In my opinion they use better ingredients and have a more interesting crust than little star.

For more traditional style pizzas, I do like the pizzas at one of my favorite little Italian restaurants in North Beach, L'Osteria del forno.

That said, I've seldom had pizza out at restaurants where I didn't think, "This reminds me, I should make pizza more often at home." Gotta try BBQ grilled pizza this summer!

edit - forgot to add L'osteria.

Edited June 17, 2006 by eje (log)

ludja · June 18, 2006

Less well known neighborhood places would be great to hear about as well. I just listed some placss that are written up.
I sometimes go to a pretty good old-style pizza place in the Sunset on Irving on the corner of 8th or 7th Avenue but I can't remember the name. The restaurant has an East coast pizzeria feel to it which I like. They have a tasty sauce and the crust is good but a little thick for my preference. They also serve a great traditional antipasti platter. Price are very reasonable as well for Bay Area pizza.
←

I remembered the name of this place!

Pasquale’s Pizza

700 Irving Street (at 8th)

San Francisco, CA 94122

Carolyn Tillie · June 18, 2006

For delivery, I've been quite pleased with Extreme Pizza. We order a half-and-half of the YARD SALE (Everything in the house!) Sausage, pepperoni, salami, fresh mushrooms, black olives, green peppers, red onions, tomatoes, fresh tomato sauce and mozzarella and the PANDORA'S BOX Baby Spinach, marinated artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, feta, fresh garlic, fresh basil, oregano and mozzarella -- but I always add mushrooms to both sides.

ludja · June 18, 2006

I would add the following to your list:
Arinelle (Valencia & 17th) - no tables, just take-out or eat your slice at the counter. Most like a corner NY pizza joint that I've seen here (and I'm a NYer, searching for the perfect slice)
Giorgios (3rd & Clement) - good family-style pizza 'restaurant'. Easy on the wallet, good, honest pizza. Nothing fancy - good sauce, which makes all the difference, IMHO.
La Ciccia - not a proper pizza place, but they have 3 or 4 pizzas on their menu and that's also the only thing you can get for take-out. The pizzas are interesting and good.
The places you mentioned I would classify as more 'gourmet' than my list, with the exception of La Ciccia, which has great food all-around (Sardinian).
There's always Amici's, but they have never been consistent enough for me. Sometimes their product is great, sometimes you can re-do your roof with it.
Also, to my knowledge, Incanto doesn't serve pizza, unless they started recently, no?
Stu
←

NY-style slice in the Mission; that sounds perfect. Thanks for the other tips as well. We have an Amici's East Coast Pizzeria down on the Peninsula that I go to quite a bit. I"ve been pretty lucky on visits there, especially in comparision to what else is available down here for thin crust/East coast style pizza. I like getting their cold broccoli salad with olive oil and lemon juice as an antipasto.

Thanks for the tip on Tomasso's and their sausage pizza, Ed Ward. This is a must try.

I haven't been to Goat Hill Pizza in an age, eje! Thanks also for the heads up on L'Osterio del Forno. I've heard good things about them for awhile but they weren't on my radar.

This is great getting suggestions from all over the city.

dvs · June 19, 2006

my all time favorite pizza in the city is at Pizza Orgasmica. They have locations on fillmore street & clement street.

RodneyCk · June 19, 2006

I lived in Chicago for several years before transferring out to San Francisco. I loved the real Chicago-style pizza and usually found the best in the little mom & pop places. I had my favorite located in the north western part of the city. So, when I see places in other cities that say "Chicago-style", chains like Pizza Uno, I make the poo in the cat box look on my face.

Well, I recently discovered what I think is a new pizza place in Hayes Valley called Patxi's Chicago Pizza. I must say, their pizza is pretty close to the original. So, if you want something different and a fairly close to the real Chicago deep dish pizza, give them a whirl.

They don't deliver, so eat-in or pick-up.

http://www.patxispizza.com/

Ling · June 20, 2006

The best pizza I've ever eaten in my life was at Don Giovanni's in Napa, surprisingly...(or perhaps not so surprisingly, as we have pretty crappy pizza up here in Vancouver.)

hhlodesign spent a year in Florence and thought our bacon and egg pizza at Don Giovanni's was better than anything he ate in over there. The crust was nicely charred and so crisp, and they have a very light hand with the toppings, so the crust is the main attraction.

mkjr · June 20, 2006

Zachary's Pizza in Berkeley. We used to go there on road trips from Vancouver to the Bay area to visit friends at Stanford and U Cal. Berkely and it was always fantastic.

eje · June 20, 2006

[...]
http://www.patxispizza.com/
←

Cool!

I've been in Hayes Valley a couple times lately, and wondering about Paxti's. I believe it did just open fairly recently.

Even though Chicago stuffed crust style isn't my favorite (too cheesy), having grown up in the midwest and spent quite a lot of time in Chicago, I do sometimes get a craving.

Speaking of stuffed, is there even anywhere that makes Calzone?

ludja, thanks for suggesting Pasquale's. I haven't been there, yet, but, I work in that neighborhood and am always looking for decent places. I'll check it out for lunch some time soon.

If you like a crispy sourdough crust, and don't mind vegetarian only, the to go slices and whole pies at Arizmendi (online pizza schedule) are very good. My favorites are their roasted sweet potato variations.

ludja · June 20, 2006

...
Speaking of stuffed, is there even anywhere that makes Calzone?
...
←

I have a Peninsula suggestion if you're ever down that way-- Pezella's Villa Napoli in Sunnyvale on El Camino. They actually make a nice ham/ricotta/mozzarella calzone. I'm not sure if it comes with tomato sauce but I always get a side of that as well to eat with it. In classic New England style, the "small" calzone is huge! They use nice ricotta also.

This may be pushing it, but by any chance has anyone run across a New England style white clam pizza pie anywhere in SF? It would have freshly shucked clams, olive oil, oregano, garlic and parmigiano. (I grew up 30 min from Pepe's in New Haven, CT... :smile: )

Edited June 20, 2006 by ludja (log)

dvs · June 20, 2006

...
Speaking of stuffed, is there even anywhere that makes Calzone?
...
←
I have a Peninsula suggestion if you're ever down that way-- Pezella's Villa Napoli in Sunnyvale on El Camino. They actually make a nice ham/ricotta/mozzarella calzone. I'm not sure if it comes with tomato sauce but I always get a side of that as well to eat with it. In classic New England style, the "small" calzone is huge! They use nice ricotta also.
This may be pushing it, but by any chance has anyone run across a New England style white clam pizza pie anywhere in SF? It would have freshly shucked clams, olive oil, oregano, garlic and parmigiano. (I grew up 30 min from Pepe's in New Haven, CT... )
←

it looks like you can create your own at orgasmica:

http://www.pizzaorgasmica.com/sub_pages/create.html

their serpents kiss pizza i ADORE!!!!

JayTee · June 20, 2006

I lived in Chicago for several years before transferring out to San Francisco. I loved the real Chicago-style pizza and usually found the best in the little mom & pop places. I had my favorite located in the north western part of the city. So, when I see places in other cities that say "Chicago-style", chains like Pizza Uno, I make the poo in the cat box look on my face.
Well, I recently discovered what I think is a new pizza place in Hayes Valley called Patxi's Chicago Pizza. I must say, their pizza is pretty close to the original. So, if you want something different and a fairly close to the real Chicago deep dish pizza, give them a whirl.
They don't deliver, so eat-in or pick-up.
http://www.patxispizza.com/
←

Actually, Paxti's also has a location in Palo Alto, off of University Avenue. I believe this is the original site (SF being opened earlier this year)

eje · June 20, 2006

[...]
This may be pushing it, but by any chance has anyone run across a New England style white clam pizza pie anywhere in SF? It would have freshly shucked clams, olive oil, oregano, garlic and parmigiano. (I grew up 30 min from Pepe's in New Haven, CT... )
←

The white clam pizza at Amici's is good. The owners are transplanted New Enlganders, so it's probably your best bet. Though, they also put bacon on it.

I could be wrong; but, I doubt the clams are freshly shucked. I could find out, if you really want to know.

Edited June 20, 2006 by eje (log)

ludja · June 20, 2006

[...]
This may be pushing it, but by any chance has anyone run across a New England style white clam pizza pie anywhere in SF? It would have freshly shucked clams, olive oil, oregano, garlic and parmigiano. (I grew up 30 min from Pepe's in New Haven, CT... )
←
The white clam pizza at Amici's is good. The owners are transplanted New Enlganders, so it's probably your best bet. Though, they also put bacon on it.
I could be wrong; but, I doubt the clams are freshly shucked. I could find out, if you really want to know.
←

Thanks for the heads up; there is one close by to me but I hadn't noticed they had clams as a topping. I'll check it out next time I'm there...

johnsmith45678 · June 20, 2006

Try Pizza My Heart - a recruiter/interviewer at Google (formerly at Microsoft) prefers it.

lizard · June 21, 2006

RE: La Ciccia in Noe Valley, their pizza-maker is purportedly also a Naples-certified pizzaiolo, bringing the grand total to 2 in the City (the other is at A16).

I'm eager to try it, but the wait has been horrible whenever we pop by.

Stu-i-moto · June 21, 2006

RE: La Ciccia in Noe Valley, their pizza-maker is purportedly also a Naples-certified pizzaiolo, bringing the grand total to 2 in the City (the other is at A16).
I'm eager to try it, but the wait has been horrible whenever we pop by.
←

Just call ahead and make a reservation. They do fill up - and it's a small place. But Lorella and Mossimo (owners) are great, and some of the wines are fantastic!

eje · June 21, 2006

[...](the other is at A16).
[...]
←

Though, the original chef and Pizziaolo at A16, Christophe Hille, has left, and, according to this week's Inside Scoop, is now working as a personal chef for Annie Leibovitz.

PS. They sent the new chef, Nate Appleman, to Naples to become a certified pizziaolo, as well.

edit - add new chef's name.

Edited June 21, 2006 by eje (log)

lizard · June 21, 2006

[...](the other is at A16).
[...]
←
Though, the original chef and Pizziaolo at A16, Christophe Hille, has left, and, according to this week's Inside Scoop, is now working as a personal chef for Annie Leibovitz.
PS. They sent the new guy to Naples to become a certified pizziaolo, as well.
←

I read that before, as well. Apparently he was also the one actually making the house-cured meats, so the menu there appears to be safe.

Sources tell me that working for A.L. is no picnic, so it will be interesting to see how those two, um, "strong" personalities get along...

eje · June 21, 2006

[...]
I read that before, as well. Apparently he was also the one actually making the house-cured meats, so the menu there appears to be safe.
[...]
←

Well, they promoted him from Chef de Cuisine to Executive Chef.

The Sous Chef does all the real work (along with the nameless latino workers)...

:wink:

Ed Ward · June 22, 2006

I cooked a pizza last night at home, and it occurred to me that I should mention a place I've never eaten, but which stands a great chance of being very good: Nizza la Bella in Albany. It's on San Pablo at the foot of, uh, Solano? (I moved from the Bay Area 25 years ago, so pardon the haze). The chef there is Evelyne Sloman, who literally wrote the book about pizza: The Pizza Book (Times Press, out of print), and whose recipe I use for my crust. I've corresponded with her ("You've kneaded the dough enough when you whack it and it's like a baby's ass.") and we share a lot of the same esthetic. She's also in huge demand as a consultant to restaurants and the pizza industry at large, and *some* day she's going to revise that book.

Anyway, if you're in that neighborhood, stop in and check it out. And report back here, since I'm curious myself!

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