Genova Delicatessen

Pin It Now! In the East Bay, Genova Delicatessen is legendary.  Long lines are the norm here all day, every day.  After pulling a ticket at the counter expect to wait at least an hour.  Anything under 30 minutes, consider yourself lucky!

Fresh made raviolis with the option of meat or cheese (I chose meat) are lovely pillows of pasta and meat.  Make sure you use the garlic bread to sop up all the delicious meat sauce.

A side of salad comes with the combo, which I find an afterthought and rather save room in my tummy for the sandwich.

In an Italian deli, you can never go wrong with the Italian combo.  Lots of thinly sliced meats (sliced upon ordering) between two slices of dutch crunch bread.  Loved the flavorful sandwich, but the dutch crunch was missing its crunchy top.   

Address:                  Genova Delicatessen
                                 5095 Telegraph Ave.
                                 Oakland, CA
 

Type:                        deli

Popular chomps:       pastrami sandwich
                                  Italian combo
                                  ravioli  

Chomp worthy:         Italian combo
                                   ravioli   

Paradiso Delicatessen & Restaurant

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I feel like these days I'm leaning more to going back to the basic, simple foods, especially sandwiches.  Paradiso Deli reminds me a little of Molinari's (see post HERE) in the city.  An old school Italian deli that serves up home cooked lasagne, raviolis, and sandwiches. 

The one thing that drew me here was the meatball sandwich.  The sandwich is huge and its literally made up of one meatball.  Yes, just one giant meatball that squashed a little so its sandwich ready.  Topped with fried peppers, provolone cheese, and super soft bread, this reminds me of a kicked up version of Subway's meatball sandwich, which is not a bad thing because I love their meatball sandwiches.  Its bite after bite of sloppy, messy goodness.  Think sloppy joe of meatball sandwiches and grab a stack full of napkins. 

I'm a sucker for raviolis.  Its an embarrassing fact to say that I really love the canned beef ravioli from Chef Boyardee.  These raviolis are handmade and are plumped full of beef.  Love the soft texture of the raviolis.  Paradiso is perfect for someone like me who can never decide on one thing because you can actually get a combo of ravioli and lasagne.  I'm not quite sure, but the sauce from the meatball, ravioli, and lasagne may be the same or at least very similar.  You can never go wrong with Garfield's favorite food.  Here the layers of pasta are a little firmer so it doesn't fall apart and you are able to get a good bite in with lots of layers.  It has a nice crusty top going for it as well.  While the food here isn't mindblowing, it is good comfort food. 

    

Address:                   Paradiso Delicatessen & Restaurant
                                  791 Auzerais Ave
                                  San Jose, CA
 

Type:                         Italian/sandwich

Popular chomps:       lasagne
                                   ravioli
                                  meatball sandwich

Chomp worthy:         meatball sandwich     

BUILD Pizzeria

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Kramer from Seinfield envisioned a pizzeria where you can make your own pizza and choose whatever toppings you want.  BUILD Pizzeria has made that Kramer's dream come true, sort of. 

After sitting down, your server will give you a ticket to make your own custom pizza.  There's choice of sauce, cheese, meats, and other toppings.  Once you design your own pizza, the servers will bring the pie to your table once its been cooked in the wood fired oven.  The very thin crust pizzas come to your table pretty quickly.

There is a wide range of toppings to choose from so you can customize your pizza to your heart's content.

Surprisingly, there is no margherita pizza option on the menu, so I built one myself.  This one is the rosso (tomato sauce) base with hand pulled mozzarella, fresh basil, and olive oil.  The crust is very, very thin with a nice crisp texture.  Pretty tasty, but I wish I had told them to add a pinch of salt.

The second pizza option was a little more adventurous:  pesto with slices of potato, Italian sausage, spicy calabrian peppers, and an egg.  Pretty delicious for something custom made, although I probably could have gone a little more wilder. 

 

Address:                  BUILD Pizzeria
                                 2286 Shattuck Ave.
                                 Berkeley, CA 
 

Type:                        pizza

Popular chomps:      pizza
                                  burrata
                                  budino

Chomp worthy:         pizza  

Mozzeria

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With many pizzerias (Delfina see post HERE; Beretta, etc  ) within walking distance, sometimes its hard to distinguish one pizza place from the next.  First thing you notice while seated here is how quiet this place is.  Owned and staffed by deaf servers, its definitely a different SF dining experience.  Having been exposed to this environment my whole life, it wasn't anything new to me.  The servers are friendly and very attentive, just make sure you look at them when you speak so they can read your lips clearly.  There is a some paper and pencil on each table, just in case. 

In a city where an average meal is at least $100, I almost forgot what its like to have a bargain meal.  Mozzeria serves dishes a la carte, but on Tues and Weds, they serve up a pre fixe meal.  The $39 Tues meal includes a choice of 2 small plates, 1 pizza, 1 pasta, and 1 dessert.

I can never say no to a ball of burrata.  For a special menu dinner, this one was quite generous in portion size.  Not as soft and fluffy on the inside as I would have hoped, but it still hit the spot, especially with the chili jam.  It gave a nice kick to the subtle dish.

Crispy balls of goodness sums of what aracinis are.  Deep fried balls of gooey rice and cheese with a nice crispy crust.

My first choice of the  bucatini wasn't available so I had to default to the gnocchi.  Covered in bolognese and fennel with a giant dollop of ricotta on the side, this was not my favorite dish.  The balls of dough were on the heavy and dense side.

The pizza here is definitely the star of this meal.  Super, super thin (possibly the thinnest slice, I've seen in SF) with a nice charred, blistered crust.  Its just a slice that bursts with amazing flavor, from the tomato sauce to the crust.  This pizza is some of the best pizza in SF, second only to Pizzeria Delfina.

The dessert of the day was the bombolino.  They are fried doughnuts filled with lemon curd and rolled cinnamon sugar.  Fluffy and delicious. 

  

Address:                    Mozzeria
                                   3228 16th St.
                                   San Francisco, CA
 

Type:                          pizza

Popular chomps:        margherita pizza
                                    pizza

Chomp worthy:           margherita pizza   

Del Popolo Truck

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 Thin pizza is literally everywhere in the Bay Area, but I never get tired of trying out all the new ones.  Del Popolo is another truck I've been trying to track down for a while.  You have to really keep an eye on their website for their weekly locations.  To date (in the Bay Area, there are two pizza trucks roaming around - Del Popolo and Caseys' (see post HERE).  Casey's was not bad, but the pizza at Del Popolo deserves all of its awe inspired praises.  This isn't your ordinary food truck.  Not only is the pizza absolutely fantastic, the design of the truck is ultra cool.  Their glass window on the side of the truck allow you to peer into the pizza making operation. 

 This ricotta, olive oil, mozzerella, arugula, and rapini pizza is probably as close to a white pizza as I've seen on a artisinal thin pizza.  You need to make sure each bite has a little bit of each ingredient so you can get the whole flavor of the pizza.  Pretty amazing stuff going on here.
 

The standard classic of all pizzas in my book - the pizza margherita.  The foundation of all pizza is the crust.  This one hit all the right notes - charred, bubbly crust, the right amount of chewiness to the crust, globs of mozzerella, and the right amount of sweetness to tanginess in the tomato sauce.  Definitely on the top five best thin crust pizzas in the Bay Area.  Hard to believe a pizza this good came out of a truck.

Address:                  Del Popolo
                                 Various location (Bay Area)
 

Type:                       Italian/Pizza

Popular chomps:     margherita

Chomp worthy:        margherita   

Una Pizza Napoletana

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The concept is simple at Una Pizza Napoletana.  Five pizzas all around $20, six on Saturdays.  When Anthony Mangieri runs out of dough, they close up the shop. 

The place is small, but the space is open and airy.  After reading that this place fills up quick and the wait can be atrocious, I noticed that even around 6 the restaurant still hadn't filled up.

Margherita at Una Pizza Napoletana-  2013 7x7 SF's Top 100 Eats

All the pizza choices are relatively the same with a couple ingredients omitted or added.  One thing that stands out is the crust.  Its chewy with a nice charred flavor.  I think it needs a touch more salt because its a little bland for my taste.  I still prefer the crust at Delfina, which I think has a good flavor and a nice crisp crust.  The margharita at Una Pizza Napoletana had San Marzano tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, fresh basil, and sea salt.  I didn't think the ingredients on the pizza tasted very fresh or stood out.  I've had San Marzano tomatoes before and these didn't have that distinct flavor that distinguishes San Marzano tomatoes from all other tomatoes.

The Illaria pizza was the only one that had different ingredients from the rest since I wasn't lucky enough to come on a Saturday.  Its topped with smoked mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, arugula, extra virgin olive oil, and sea salt.  The smoked mozzarella made up most of the flavor of this pizza with its smokiness that reminded me of smoked salmon.  The cherry tomatoes were tart and the arugula lacked that peppery bite.  Usually I'm a fan of the more basic pizzas like the Margherita, but here the Illaria was the better of the two.

updated - Working my way through the 2013 7x7's SF big eat 100 things

Address:                   Una Pizza Napoletana
                                  210 11th St.
                                  San Francisco, CA 

 

Type:                         pizza

Popular chomps:       margherita
                                  apollonia  

Chomp worthy:         nothing    

Molinari Delicatessen

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It seems like every neighborhood in San Francisco has their own Italian deli, but the best, of course, is in North Beach.  Molinari Delicatessen churns out the best Italian sandwiches.  Simple, but satisfying its not a surprise that their take on classic Italian sandwiches is so popular.
Similar to Lucca (see post HERE) in the Marina, to order anything here, first take a number.  If you are getting sandwiches make sure you walk over to the sandwich bin on the left side of the store and pick out your bread of choice and hand it off when your number is called.

Not surprisingly, the line at Molinari can get atrociously long, but there are plenty of Italian treats like dried salumis, canned goods, and sauces to look at while you are waiting.

Each sandwich is made with freshly sliced meats.

Renzo special at Molinari Delicatessen-  2013 7x7 SF's Top 100 Eats

Usually my nose wrinkles a little when I see the words, "sun dried tomatoes", but the Renzo Special has to be one of the few items I've eaten where it works.  Paper thin slices of prosciutto, coppa, fresh mozzarella, and sun dried tomatoes between your choice of bread is so simple, but amazingly delicious.  Not too much meat, the perfect creamy mozzarella, and just a hint of chewy sun dried tomatoes is utter perfection.  Though, this sandwich does have a horrible habit of getting stuck in your teeth..

updated - Working my way through the 2013 7x7's SF big eat 100 things

Address:                   Molinari Delicatessen
                                  373 Columbus Ave
                                  San Francisco, CA
 

Type:                         Italian/deli

Popular chomps:       renzo special
                                   ravioli
                                   potato salad

Chomp worthy:         renzo special       

Dianda's Italian American Pastry

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Dianda's Italian American Pastry's location in the Mission area of San Francisco seems misplaced amongst the blocks and blocks of taquerias. 

St Honore Cake at Dianda's Italian American Pastry-  2013 7x7 SF's Top 100 Eats

The St. Honore cake is this bakery's claim to fame.  A creamy rum cake surrounded by a ring of rum filled cream puffs.  Unfortunately, you can't buy this cake by the slice, but they do sell the cream puffs that are filled with the same rum filling.

Its somewhat cheating on the 7x7 2013 list since I'm not going to buy a whole St Honore's cake right now.  Although, I'll have to remember to pick one up when the holidays roll around again.  They pointed me to their cream puffs that are filled with the same rum filling and drizzled with a sugar glaze.

When they tell you it's a rum based filling, they really mean rum.  Its probably one of the strongest liquor flavored food items I've had in a long time.  The sweet rum flavor mixed with the cold whipped cream is utterly finger licking deliciousness.

You cannot walk into an Italian bakery and not get a cannoli.  Cannoli derives from the Silicilian word "cannolo" meaning tube.  This Sicilian pastry is made of a tube shaped fried pastry dough piped with cream. 

Although I prefer the tiramisu cakes layered with lady fingers, this tiramisu was decadent.  They don't hold back on the liquor here, the cake was sweet, creamy, and heavily soaked with liquor.

These days I don't have much of a sweet tooth, but when it does make an appearance it comes out full force.  I love the fact that the eclairs here come with an option of custard or the traditional cream filling.  This chocolate covered pastry filled with whipped cream is a classic eclair done right.

updated - Working my way through the 2013 7x7's SF big eat 100 things

Address:                    Dianda's Italian American Pastry

                                   2883 Mission St.
                                   San Francisco, CA
 

Type:                          bakery/Italian

Popular chomps:        St. Honore cake
                                    tres leches
                                    tiramisu
                                    eclair
                                    cannoli

Chomp worthy:           St. Honore cake
                                    tiramisu
                                    eclair      

Tony's Coal Fired Pizza & Slice House

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I've been to Tony's Pizza Napoletana (see post HERE) and I found the menu to be a little overwhelming when it comes to pizza, from what type of oven to what temperature the pizza is cooked at.  Next door at Tony's Slice House, they keep it much simpler with only a couple choices: cheese, pepperoni, slice of the day, and Silician.

I prefer the thin style pizza over the thicker style.  The Sicilian was the only thick style pizza at Tony's Slice House.  Slices of peppers, prosciutto, and pepperoni are topped on a thick slab of what takes like focaccia bread.  The bottom of this pizza has a nice crisp crust that has a buttery taste.  Surprisingly, this slice was better than their thin slice of pepperoni.

Mini pepperonis that resemble moon craters are speckled over a cheese slice to create Tony's pepperoni slice.  Each slice glistens with grease so much that I have to refrain from dabbing it with a napkin before sampling it with a bite.  The pepperoni doesn't have much flavor, but I do like the thicker texture of the pepperoni. 

Cheese slice at Tony's Coal Fired Pizza & Slice House-  2013 7x7 SF's Top 100 Eats

The best slice ever?  Definitely not, but its a decent slice.  Its crust is sturdy enough to do a proper New York fold and the cheese stays put after each bite.

updated - Working my way through the 2013 7x7's SF big eat 100 things

Address:                   Tony's Coal Fired Pizza & Slice House

                                  1570 Stockton St.
                                  San Francisco, CA
 

Type:                         pizza

Popular chomps:       cheese slice

Chomp worthy:         cheese slice
                                   Sicilian   

Little Lucca's

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So I've heard Little Lucca sandwich shop and deli is better than Ike's.  Its pretty big talk so I had to check it out for myself.

Even arriving close to open, the line was already out the door.  It probably took about 40 minutes to get a sandwich in hand.  If you do get a sandwich here, I recommend calling an order in.  It will still take around an hour for pickup though.

The modest shop has about 4 people making sandwiches, but they take their time here and each sandwich is made with care.

The sandwiches are huge here.  They are probably the largest sandwiches I've seen in the Bay Area.  Much bigger than Ike's so one sandwich is more than enough for two people to share.  At around $8 dollars a sandwich, it's a good deal.

The two things they are known for here are the dutch crunch and the garlic spread.  Each of the sandwiches comes with both the garlic spread and hot pepper sauce.  You'll find that most of the customers will ask for extra garlic sauce.  Both can be purchased in the store.

The fire roasted steak sandwich seems to be the most popular sandwich here.  Between two slices of bread are fire roasted New York sirloin, carmelized onions, melted cheese of your choice (this one has pepperjack), and a GENEROUS squirt of caesar dressing.  Originally I wasn't going to ask for extra garlic sauce, but everyone seemed to be doing that so I went for it on this sandwich.  First of all, this sandwich is nothing like Ike's sandwich.  Its more a hearty deli sandwich than a monstrous creation that Ike produces.  The dutch crunch is nothing out of the ordinary and I think Roxie's dutch crunch bread is MUCH better (see post HERE).  The sirloin is thinly sliced and it has way too much sauce so that you don't get to taste much of the actual sandwich.  The sandwiches here don't come toasted, but they do microwave the meat before putting it on the sandwich.  There is so much sauce lathered on the sandwich that it soaks into the bottom layer of the bread creating a soggy platform for the ingredients.  Not really impressed much with the sandwich or the pesto looking garlic sauce.  If you do take one of these hefty sandwiches home, I recommend toasting it at home.

The Luccas's Spicy Buffalo was another disappointment.  The buffalo chicken strips were already precooked and cold before being popped into the microwave.   Again, more sauces (Ranch, buffalo sauce, garlic sauce, hot pepper sauce) were generously spread.  The chicken lacked any type of crunchy batter since it was microwaved.  I actually ate half one day and then toasted the other half the day after.  10x better toasted, but still not enough for me to rave about.

Address:                  Little Lucca Sandwich Shop & Deli
                                 724 El Camino Real
                                 South San Francisco, CA
 

Type:                        Italian/sandwich

Popular chomps:      fire roasted steak sandwich
                                  buffalo chicken sandwich
                                  garlic sauce
                                  dutch crunch bread
                                  

Chomp worthy:         nothing      

Pizzeria Delfina

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I've had pizza all over the world, even in Italy, and one of my favorites is still Pizzeria Delfina.  It's definitely the best in the city!

I always either the fresh mozzarella ball or the burrata, but today they only had the fresh mozzarella.  (check out other Delfina starter options HERE)

As if you really need to make their pizza any better, but if you do they provide a plate of condiments for your tasting pleasure.  Clockwise from the left: sprigs of dried oregano, crushed red pepper, and grated Regiano cheese.

#16- Pizza Magherita at Pizzeria Delfina - 7x7's 2012 Top 100

The margherita pizza here is the best in the city, possibly the whole Bay Area.  The crust is thin and crispy with a slightly charred crust.  It's topped with tomato, fior di latte mozzarella and a couple leaves of basil.  Pure perfection. 

Usually I forgo any specials and stick to my regular margherita at Pizzeria Delfina.  When it comes to the pizza here, the less toppings the better.  Too many toppings weighs down this thin crust pizza and makes it soggy, plus you miss out of the tasty flavorful crust.  The purgatorio is the only special pizza I get excited about.  Essentially a very simple pizza, just kicked up a little.  Its spicy tomato (reminds me of arrabbiata sauce) with two farm fresh runny eggs.  After the pizza is taken out of the oven, thin slices of pecorino are freshly grated onto the top so it melts right into the surface.  It seems so simple, but the ingredients give it complex flavors.  Its so good its almost better than the margherita here.  Yes, its THAT good.

updated - Working my way through the 2012 7x7's SF big eat 100 things

Address:                 Pizzeria Delfina
                                2406 California St.
                                San Francisco, CA
 

Type:                       pizza/Italian

Popular chomps:     Margherita
                                 fresh stretch mozzarella
                                 insalata tricolore
                                 meatballs
                                 burrata

Chomp worthy:       Margherita
                                 fresh stretch mozzarella
                                 insalata tricolore
                                 meatballs
                                 burrata
                                 purgatorio