Looks like there is now a place in San Jose for what looks like Sicilian sfincione.
Photo from Yelp.
I’ve been working in the East Bay and have been regularly going to Gioia in Berkeley for lunch lately. It’s near Monterey Market. I am from NY and very picky about pizza. I have been surprised how good the pizza by the slice has been there lately. I have really been enjoying THE JULIAN pizza: House made sausage, Kale, Red Onion, Chili Flake. The crust is just about perfect- few pizza places in CA nail the crust the way Gioia does- thin with the perfect combination of crunch and chew. The toppings are excellent, the slightly bitter Kale in the Julian is the perfect foil for the tasty fennel seed flavored sausage. The sausage on the pizza actually tastes good. The combination of Kale and sausage with the crunchy chewy crust is great
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A friend told me that Lucia’s in downtown Berkeley (discussed above) now serves weekend brunch, so I stopped in today. They have an assortment of combinations, two of which include an egg. I had the one with speck, sliced potatoes, sundried tomatoes, an egg and fresh mozzarella. It was an excellent combination.
http://www.luciaspizzeria.com/menu#brunch-2
(Prices are a dollar more than listed on the online menu above)
There aren’t many places left that have breakfast pizzas, and this is a good addition.
ETA: I only finished half of the Lucia pie, because I wanted to try the new slice joint next door, Barbarian. Meh, too salty and not enough sauce. This makes four slice places within three blocks: Bobby G’s, Arinel’s, Barbarian (this place) and Sliver.
I’m from New Haven and Gioia is my current local favorite because I’m liking variety at the moment. Agree about the crust and the garlicy, fennel-y sausage. I usually get 3 slices, a sausage, a spinach, and (if i’m lucky) a squash. Part of it is convenience, we live pretty close by and you can walk in, walk out. No big deal. I’d say Emilia’s sausage pie takes me back home but, sigh, it just feels weird to have getting a pizza be so tightly scheduled and have no choice about size.
I still really like Pizza Moda if I’m getting a whole pie but I don’t care for their sausage.
Tony’s clam and garlic white pie - coal oven. Very Good. I was in NYC a few months ago and had Motorino’s clam pie and preferred this. This is more true to the New Haven style with a thinnish crispy crust with good amount of chew. Motorino is more in the soft Neoplitan style. Tony uses the brinier little necks instead of the softer milder tasting Manila clams everybody uses in SF. I feel like all Tony’s does all of the various regional styles solidly, but none are outstanding.
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A recent margherita from Bare Knuckles. Like @felice said, it doesn’t come with much char by default so I’d ask for it to be in the oven for just a little bit longer. Fairly nice though the tomato sauce seems to be on the tart side. I chatted with the owner a bit and they use a Forno Bravo oven from Salinas and 00 flour milled domestically. I am curious how local ovens compare against imported versions.
Fiorella on Clement - Clam Pie. Excellent. Their pies skew Neopolitan with a softer crust, but they keep them in long enough so they aren’t doughy. Manila clams. Wood oven gives the crust a nice hint of smoke.
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Aha!
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Speaking of “Sliver”, the pizzeria of that name on Center Street in Berkeley shut down abruptly last week for unknown reasons. But like a phoenix rising out of a pizza oven, they reopened this week on Telegraph Avenue.
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Navi Kitchen in Emeryville on Adeline Street…Chef Mistry makes magic with these 4 pies.
Preeti’s Peppah, Pav Bhakti, Love Veggie, Grateful Guju.
Love the hot, crisp crust with its Indian flavors…leftovers are a good cold breakfast, brilliant with chew.
Preeti’s Peppah, Pav Bhakti, Love Veggie, Grateful Guju.
Love the hot, crisp crust with its Indian flavors…leftovers are a good cold breakfast, brilliant with chew.
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Great! A few months back they weren’t serving pizza before 4.
We were at Navi Kitchen on Thursday at noon for Oakland Restaurant week which ends today.
Best value $10 lunch! $19-20 pies are $10 - limit 2 per person until they run out. Each will feed 2-3 good appetites.
They are delicious and we’ll return to savor the full-price pies!
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I grabbed a couple slices from The Mill this weekend, plain cheese and special preserved lemon, fresh basil and garlic I think. The crust is super chewy with a strong whole wheat flavor. Both slices were pretty dry in the sense that no real sauce flavor came through and it seemed that only hard cheeses were used. I wasn’t really a fan.
I shared a pie at Hot Italian, the place in the Emeryville Public Market. The “Citterio” had fior di latte mozzarella, prosciutto, spinach and parmigian cheese. The flavors blended well, the crust was perfect, and my only complaint was that it was a little too cheese-heavy. There seemed to be a layer of plain mozzarella in addition to the scoops of fior di latte.
Barbara Pinseria, North Beach SF
All the advance press said they were going to have several Roman style pinsas on the counter and sell it by the ounce, so I was excited to trying several different toppings. Unfortunately they seem to have abandoned that idea and only have full pinsas ranging from $17-$20. Two of us split the San Francisco with mozzarella, scamorza, sausage, red onion and salami. I liked the crust and the toppings were fine, but did not dig the scamorza cheese at all – maybe if it had been crisped more on top, but it was lukewarm and
undercooked although the crust was cooked. Pasta with clam sauce was OK, nice al dente pasta, but those manila clams don’t work IMO, they are just too mild. Really small portion for $19. Instagram friendly interior reminded me of an Italian version of Media Noche in the Mission. Just OK.
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I am curious if you have tried Montesacro’s pinsas. If so how did they compare?
No I have not been yet and have never been to Rome. This is my first time trying pinsa. I did like the crust.
AS
Pizza Squared
885 Brannan Street
San Francisco
Thick-crusted Sicilian and Detroit-styled pies. $6.75.
The Detroit-style pepperoni pie is my fave; smeared with a fresh sauce on a light thick crust. The Bulgogi meatballs with kimchi is also a full-flavored winner.
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What’s the name of the place?
