Earlier this year, I embarked on a quest to find the best Neapolitan pizza around. L.A.’s Pizzeria Mozza is my favorite, but in the Bay Area, that title currently belongs to Pizzeria Picco in Larkspur with Pizzaiolo in Oakland a close second. But after yesterday, Pizzeria Delfina in San Francisco’s Mission District just squeezed itself into the number two slot.

I always like to start with the basics, so we ordered the Margherita pizza. The tomato sauce was a little bland, which was disappointing, and my wife said it could have used more fresh basil, as well. However, both the mozzarella and the crispy/chewy/salty crust were great and almost made up for these deficiencies.

The Carbonara and Delfina’s pizza crust were enough to put Pizzeria Delfina just slightly ahead of Pizzaiolo in the pizza category. (To be fair, Pizzaiolo offers a much more diverse menu that includes fresh burrata, as well as some excellent pastas.)

Pizzeria Delfina’s in a great location about 4 blocks from the 16th Street BART station, which is good because finding parking was a big issue for us. But its 18th Street location means that it’s also sandwiched between the venerable Tartine Bakery and Bi-Rite Creamery, my favorite ice cream in San Francisco. Maybe next time we go to Pizzeria Delfina we’ll try one of their desserts, but with those two options nearby, would you blame us for asking for the check when we were done with our pizzas?

INFORMATION
Pizzeria Delfina
3611 18th Street
San Francisco, CA 94110 map
415.437.6800
Web site

Possibly Related Posts:

• Pulled Pork Adobo Sandwich at Cafe Gabriela – Oakland, CA
• Eating Downtown Oakland – Cam Huong and Battambang
• Cook the Book: Ad Hoc at Home – Asparagus and Steak
• The Twitter Chocolate Chip Cookie Smackdown 09
• Cook the Book: The Chinese Cook Book – Egg Foo Yong

We went back to Pizzeria Picco a couple weeks ago when my sister in law was in town. (She ate really well during her stay with us.) As we were enjoying their sublimely delicious pizzas, I was reminded that they also sell frozen versions of some of their most popular pies, so we bought a few (Marin, Cannondale, and Seven) so we wouldn’t need to drive to Larkspur for our next Pizzeria Picco fix.

You can tell by the black char spots in the crust that the pizzas are par cooked, so you only have to heat them up in a 500F oven for about 3 minutes…it’s that simple. The crust isn’t quite the same as a fresh pizza, but it’s still the best frozen pizza I’ve ever had. Unfortunately, the pics I took of the Cannondale came out blurry, but here’s what it looks like fresh from the oven at Picco.

We haven’t eaten the Seven (seven mushroom pizza) yet, but the Marin (roasted garlic, young potatoes, mozzarella, parmesan, rosemary oil) was nearly as good as the fresh pie. (This pic is also from one of our Picco visits)

I used to hate white pies, but between Mozza’s Bianco pizza and Picco’s Marin, I’m definitely a convert. Next time we go back to Picco, I think I’m going to stock up on the Marin.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Pulled Pork Adobo Sandwich at Cafe Gabriela – Oakland, CA
• Eating Downtown Oakland – Cam Huong and Battambang
• Cook the Book: Ad Hoc at Home – Asparagus and Steak
• The Twitter Chocolate Chip Cookie Smackdown 09
• wd~50

Chef Charlie Halliwell is one of the many Chez Panisse alumns opening restaurants around the Bay Area, and his Pizzaiolo in Oakland’s Temescal District has quickly became a local favorite. After heaping tons of praise on L.A.’s Pizzeria Mozza and Larkspur’s Pizzeria Picco for their amazing wood-fired pizzas, I thought I should pay Pizzaiolo a visit since it’s much closer to home. Pizzaiolo has received its share of rave reviews, including a nod from San Francisco Chronicle food critic Michael Bauer and mentions in Food and Wine and Condé Nast Traveler.

Pizzaiolo is committed to supporting locally grown, seasonal, and organic meat and produce, so the menu changes daily based on what’s available. We decided to split an appetizer, a pasta dish and two pizzas for our party of three.

We started off with an order Il Fortetto Buratta di Bufala, which was served on toast with olive oil and sea salt. The burrata wasn’t as smooth as the burrata they serve at Mozza, but it was still delicious, and I really loved the toast.

Our primi was the potato gnocchi with braised lamb ragu. The gnocchi was light and fluffy, the lamb was tender and the ragu was smooth and rich. This was by far the best dish of the night, and I’d love to curl up with a big bowl of this on a cold winter’s night.

The Long-cooked Greens and Sausage Pizza was the first to arrive and it was okay. I thought the sausage was a little bland, especially when compared to the strong fennel flavor in the sausage served at Mozza or Picco. The crust was really good though…crispy in the right places and it had a really nice bite to it

The next pizza, a Pizza Margherita with anchovies and an egg was really good. The tomato sauce was really vibrant and fresh and I loved the salty kick from the anchovies. Unfortunately, there was only one egg on the pizza (you can also add an egg to any pizza for $2), and we didn’t want to break the egg and spread its yolky goodness. Luckily, I got to eat most of the egg, including the yolk, and it was great. Egg on pizza is something everyone should try if they get a chance. (Come to think of it, a nice egg can enhance almost any dish—burgers, fried rice, lomo saltado.)

If you don’t have a reservation, you’re likely in store for a lengthy wait during peak dining hours. They take reservations as far back as a month, but I called about 5 days ahead and got a reservation for 7:30pm on a Saturday. If you encounter a long wait, and you’re there before 7pm, I’d suggest walking to the end of the block to Bakesale Betty for a snack if you need something to tide you over. (More on Bakesale Betty in a future post.)

While Pizzaiolo didn’t surpass Picco or Mozza in the pizza department in my book, it’s still great pizza. If their other pastas are as good as the gnocchi with lamb ragu, then I’m definitely going back for more. I hear their fried chicken is to die for, and you know how much I love the fried chicken…

INFORMATION
Pizzaiolo
5008 Telegraph Ave
Oakland, CA 94609 map
510.652.4888
Web site

Possibly Related Posts:

• Pulled Pork Adobo Sandwich at Cafe Gabriela – Oakland, CA
• Eating Downtown Oakland – Cam Huong and Battambang
• Cook the Book: Ad Hoc at Home – Asparagus and Steak
• The Twitter Chocolate Chip Cookie Smackdown 09
• wd~50

In the April 2006 issue of Gourmet magazine, Mario Batali declared the pizzas at Larkspur’s Pizzeria Picco “the best in the country—the margherita pizza is so good, it’s enough to make you cry.” That’s a big statement from Batali, who happens to own a few pizza places himself, including my own personal favorite, Pizzeria Mozza in Los Angeles.

Ironically, Pizzeria Picco first appeared on my radar when I saw a tantalizing picture Picco’s housemade salumi plate on Susannah’s blog, Amuses Bouche. Considering that Susannah and I share a love for Grimaldi’s Pizza in Brooklyn, Pizzeria Picco instantly joined our list of places we had to visit.

As luck would have it, my friend Nina Storey, an incredible singer/songwriter based in L.A., was in the Bay Area a few weekends ago to play a show in Larkspur just down the street from Picco, so our Friday night was destined to be great. The pizza was so good, we returned the next weekend with a friend (another Pizzeria Mozza fan) for more.

• Marin (roasted garlic, young potatoes, mozzarella, parmesan, rosemary oil)
• Cannondale (sausage, roasted peppers, seasonal onions, mozzarella, basil)
• Margherita (tomato, basil, hand-pulled mozzarella, parmesan
• Pizza of the Day (sausage, tomato sauce, garlic, mozzarella, and wild nettles)

While all of these pizzas were excellent, the Marin was a standout and the only pizza we felt compelled to order on both visits. There’s just something about potatoes on pizza, and the rosemary oil added a depth and flavor that made us say “ooooh” while we were eating it. I haven’t been a fan of white pizzas until recently, but with the Bianco Pizza at Mozza and Picco’s Marin, let’s just say I’m officially a convert. The Pizza of the Day is probably my second favorite of the bunch and was as beautiful as it was tasty. It was a perfect combination of sauce, cheese, meat and veggies. This is to take nothing away from the Margherita or the Cannondale, which are great pizzas in their own right. In fact, the Margherita might be the finest cheese pizza I’ve ever had (if you think of a classic cheese pizza from your childhood that’s just tomato sauce and cheese).

Aside from pizza, the aforementioned salumi plate was another decadent treat. All the meats are made in house and feature lardo, salumi, soppresata, coppa, and mortadella. When our plate arrived though, the lardo was missing. We asked our server and she said that they didn’t include it because most of the time, it’s just left on the plate. She told us that she’d have the lardo brought out to us, and when it arrived, the chef that delivered it cheerfully thanked us for requesting it. It’s a shame that a majority of their customers seemingly have no appreciation for this beautiful fatty goodness.

   

We finished off our respective meals with some incredible soft serve ice cream. Normally, I don’t really go for soft serve, but when it comes from Straus Dairy, that’s a different story. We tried the chocolate soft serve on our first visit (because they were out of vanilla) and got it drizzled with some pumpkin seed oil and sea salt. The chocolate was rich and smooth and didn’t really need the other additives, although the sea salt was a pretty nice combo. The combination they’re famous for is the vanilla ice cream with olive oil and sea salt, which we got on the return visit, and it’s amazing. If you only come here once, that’s the dessert to get.

So is Pizzeria Picco the best pizza in America? That’s a really loaded question, and I’ll leave it up to you to decide for yourself. Personally, I still like Pizzeria Mozza a little better mainly because of the wider selection of high-quality toppings and the more diverse menu. My wife and friend also put Mozza ahead because they liked Mozza’s crust better than Picco’s. If we’re just talking about the Bay Area, I’d put Pizzeria Picco at the top of the list.

How long will it reign? I’ll let you know after I visit Pizzaiolo in Oakland.

INFORMATION
Pizzeria Picco
320 Magnolia Avenue
Larkspur, CA 94939 map
415.945.8900
Web site

Possibly Related Posts:

• Pulled Pork Adobo Sandwich at Cafe Gabriela – Oakland, CA
• Eating Downtown Oakland – Cam Huong and Battambang
• Cook the Book: Ad Hoc at Home – Asparagus and Steak
• The Twitter Chocolate Chip Cookie Smackdown 09
• wd~50

At lunch, the dining room at Pizzeria Mozza is bright, sunny and bustling. It’s a relatively small space and Pizzeria Mozza’s popularity ensures that is always packed. It was apparent when we walked in that Pizzera Mozza isn’t your ordinary pizza joint. I mean, would you really expect the ordinary when Chefs Silverton and Batali join forces?

We started with Nancy’s Chopped Salad, an upscale take on the classic antipasto salad that featured iceberg, radichhio, garbanzo beans, grape tomatoes, red onions, mozzarella slices and some delicious salumi (I think from Mario’s dad in Seattle). I thought it was a bit overdressed, but it was still delicious, especially the salumi. I even took a couple bits and wrapped it around the skinny, crunchy breadsticks that are on the table.

I ordered the Bianco Pizza (three cheeses and sage) and added some sausage to it (a tip from my favorite food writer, the LA Weekly’s Pulitzer Prize-winner Jonathan Gold). The fennel sausage at Pizzeria Mozza is the most heavenly Italian sausage I’ve ever had, and it complimented the cheeses perfectly. My only complaint was that the middle of the pizza was really oily, probably due to the thin crust and all the cheeses, but the pizza was still really good. Find a way to get some sausage on your pizza, even if it means adding it as an extra. My wife’s squash blossom, burrata and tomato pizza was fantastic. The toppings were really fresh, especially the burrata (mozzarella mixed with cream), and the crust was perfect…no sogginess to report.

We finished off the meal with a gelato/sorbet combination (3 choices for $7). We had chocolate hazelnut and caramel vanilla gelatos, along with the Frutti di Bosco sorbet (strawberry, blueberry, raspberry blend). The vanilla was okay, but the chocolate hazelnut mixed with the fruity sorbet was sinful.

If it wasn’t for the soggy pizza, Pizzeria Mozza would definitely get five stars, but I really want to go back. There’s so many things on the menu I want to try.

UPDATE: We’ve been back to Mozza several times since this first visit, and I really love the creativity of the pizzas, especially the fresh and sometimes exotic toppings. This is more than enough to warrant a half-star bump for a full five-star rating.

INFORMATION
Pizzeria Mozza
641 N. Highland Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90036 map
323.297.0101
Web site

Possibly Related Posts:

• Pulled Pork Adobo Sandwich at Cafe Gabriela – Oakland, CA
• Eating Downtown Oakland – Cam Huong and Battambang
• Cook the Book: Ad Hoc at Home – Asparagus and Steak
• The Twitter Chocolate Chip Cookie Smackdown 09
• wd~50