Escape from New York Pizza

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Usually I pick up a slice at the Escape from New York Pizza at the Haight street location, but the Mission location is pretty cool with an awesome music selection.

I remember the first time I had this slice a very long time ago and I thought potato on pizza, that's so weird.  But then I had a bite and it was so good.  Thin slices of potatoes, whole pieces of garlic, along with pesto.  Yup, still as good as I remembered.

    

Address:                   Escape from New York Pizza
                                  3242 22nd St.
                                  San Francisco, CA                  
 

Type:                         pizza

Popular chomps:       potato pizza

Chomp worthy:          potato pizza

Marcello's

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Marcello's Pizzeria is another slice house in the city that opens late (till 1a). 

I prefer my pesto with a little more pesto, more like slathered with pesto sauce.  I did like the thin slices of potatoes, but I wished there were more.

The cheese slice is covered with a lot of cheese.  Its a nice greasy slice when to satisfy a late night outing.

The combo was my favorite slice with a bunch of toppings that reminded me of Round Tables King Arthur.

Another good slice was the mushroom, cheese, and sausage.  I feel like you can never go wrong with mushroom.

  

Address:                  Marcello's Pizza
                                 420 Castro St.
                                 San Francisco, CA
 

Type:                       pizza

Popular chomps:     combo
                                 cheese and mushroom
                                 

Chomp worthy:        combo       

Artichoke Basille's Pizza

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Its finally here!  Straight from New York, Artichoke Basille's has finally made its way across the country and settled in a city that already has a large number of pizza places - Berkeley.  I was eagerly waiting for this place to open since I missed out on eating a slice when I was in New York recently.   A closing hour of 4a and within close proximity to Top Dog, I can see Artichoke Basille's settling in very nicely here.

The only three slices available today were the Sicilian, margherita, and artichoke.

I wasn't expecting a slice so sloppy.  The drippy white sauce reminded me of Davis's Woodstock white pizza, but this tastes so much better.  Surprisingly, it wasn't super cheesy, but actually tastes like cream of mushroom sauce to me, which isn't a bad thing.  Gooey with chunks of artichoke, this slice was my favorite of the two.  Half the sauce ended up back on the plate, but it helps to use the crust to sop it all up.

The margherita slice was thin and delicious.  The basil was very aromatic and fresh and the crust was tasty.

Address:                     Artichoke Basille's Pizza
                                    2590 Durant Ave.
                                    Berkeley, CA
     

Type:                           pizza

Popular chomps:         artichoke pizza
                                     margherita pizza

Chomp worthy:            artichoke pizza
                                     margherita pizza

Golden Boy Pizza

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I've never been crazy about Sicilian pizza until having a square at Di Fara's (see post HERE), which is one of those life changing good eats.  Sicilian pizza is not too popular in San Francisco, but Golden Boy Pizza in North Beach is an incredibly popular slice house that serves these tasty squares.

Pizza is sold by the slice (square) as well as by the pie.  Its North Beach location makes it a popular spot after a night of drinking (its open till 2:30a Fri/Sat).

There is a slice for everyone's taste.  One of everything!  From top left; clockwise: pepperoni, pesto, combination, cheese, sausage, and clam garlic.  The slices are fluffy with a nice bottom crust.  My favorites were the pesto whose thin slices of vegetables lent a nice crunch to the soft pizza.

     

Address:                   Golden Boy Pizza
                                  542 Green St.
                                  San Francisco, CA 
 

Type:                         pizza

Popular chomps:       clam and garlic
                                   pesto vegetarian
 

Chomp worthy:          pesto vegetarian
                                   combination

Pieology Pizzeria

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Pieology Pizzeria adds to the growing list of popular Southern California chains that have migrated up North and made its home in the Bay Area.  Similar to Build Pizzeria in Berkeley (see post HERE), this pizzeria works as an assembly line so you customize your own pizza.  This very affordable ($7.95 a pizza) pizza place lets you customize to your heart's content.  You can add as many toppings as you like with the fixed price.

They don't have a standard margherita pizza, but you can easily build your own - red sauce, fresh mozzarella, chopped basil and olive oil drizzle.  The chopped basil gives a nice freshness to the delicious pizza.  The crust is super thin, which reminds me a lot of a flatbread.

My wild creation pizza was herb butter, chopped mushrooms, sausage, meatballs, jalapenos, artichoke, green peppers, olives, and chopped garlic.  Not bad, but even with all the toppings I think it needed some more flavor.  Its definitely something that you need to work with to figure out a flavorful combination.

I was really pleased to see that even with the plentiful toppings the pizza stayed very crisp from tip to crust.

 

Address:                 Pieology Pizzeria
                                1095 E. Brokaw Rd.
                                San Jose, CA
 

Type:                       pizza

Popular chomps:     herb butter spread

Chomp worthy:       herb butter spread    

Zachary's Chicago Pizza

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Zachary's is an East Bay institution.  Even after all these years, its still get crowded and you can barely fit though the door.  The trick is to order to go otherwise the wait for a table could take over a hour.

This pizzeria actually has thin crust, but the crowd favorite is the stuffed pizza (deep dish).  Zachary's special (sausage, green pepper, onion, and mushroom) and carne (Italian sausage, bacon, salami, pepperoni, and mozzarella) are popular choices, but my favorite is the spinach and mushroom.

The crust at Little Star (see post HERE) is definitely better.  Its ultra buttery and crispy.  Call it nostalgia, but I prefer the taste of Zachary's pizza, especially the spinach and mushroom.  The tomato sauce is on the sweeter, tangier side, but I love the juicy chunks of tomatoes.

      

Address:                      Zachary's Chicago Pizza
                                     5801 College Ave.
                                     Oakland, CA 
 

Type:                            pizza

Popular chomps:          spinach and mushroom
                                      carne
                                      zachary's special

Chomp worthy:             spinach and mushroom
                                       carne
                                       zachary's special   

Nick's Pizza

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Nick's Pizza seems to be a well loved pizza place in the East Bay area.  Oddly, I've never seen it driving along Shattuck.

The slices here are more on the greasy side, which isn't a bad thing, but I found the flavors to just be a little better than the average chain pizza.  Especially compared to all the amazing pizza in the area, both the cheese and the pepperoni slice fell a little short of expectations.

The mushroom was probably the best of the three, but even so the taste of the crust here is nothing special.  Its probably a decent spot if you are in the area and needing of a slice, but other than that its not raveworthy.

 

Address:                 Nick's Pizza
                                6211 Shattuck Ave.
                                Oakland, CA
 

Type:                       pizza

Popular chomps:     dino kale pizza
                                 sopresetta
                                 mushroom
                                 pepperoni

Chomp worthy:        nothing       

Rotten City Pizza

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San Francisco needs more slice houses.  In the meantime, I've been heading to the East Bay to grab slices.  The level of pizza in the East Bay never ceases to surprise me.  Rotten City Pizza has to be probably the on my top 5 best slices in the Bay Area with my obvious number 1 Berkley's Gioia's (see post HERE).

This bare bones slice house showcases whats its all about - the slices. 

The slices here are ultra thin, wide (foldable, if that's your thing), a little greasy (not a bad thing), and just delicious in every way.  While the mushroom pizza doesn't over throne Gioia's Fungi, the slice is certainly satisfying.  The porchetta pizza toppings are a little hard to distinguish, but its topped with slices of pork belly, ricotta, salsa verde, and parmigiano.  The salsa verde gives this slice a surprising kick.  I thought this slice would be my sure winner here, but even though it was good, it was probably my least favorite of the four.

The cheese slice here has all the right things going for it - a good cheese flavor with just the right bout of stringiness.  On the bianco verde slice, a pesto swirl decorated the slice in a artistic circular fashion.  The sprinkle of chili flakes gave it a nice spicy touch.

Address:                   Rotten City Pizza
                                   6613 Hollis St.
                                   Emeryville, CA

Type:                          pizza

Popular chomps:      porchetta
                                    pesto
                                    spinach
                                     meatball sub

Chomp worthy:         cheese
                                     pesto
                                     mushroom     

Slicer Pizzeria

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It feels like the East Bay is always opening another pizza place.  Slicer is brought to us by the same owners of Pizzaiolo and Boot and Shoe (see post HERE).

A yummy selection of slices with super fresh ingredients.  The slices are different than Pizzaiolo with a flatter, but still flavorful crust.

There a lot of fresh watermelons and melons on the counter when you walk in so its a no brainer to order an aqua fresca here.  The watermelon is refreshing and sweet. 

A good nibble on the crust showed that this slice is definitely noshable.  A good combination of crispiness along with the right amount of chewiness made this crust delicious.  The sausage slice was topped with housemade sausage, peppers, and red onions.  Yum!

The eggplant slice had a small sprinkling of mint.  I would have never thought to put mint on a pizza, but it was welcome fresh taste.  You can never go wrong with a plain slice of cheese pizza.  At Slicer, its pretty delicious and satisfying.

    

Address:                    Slicer Pizzeria
                                   4395 Piedmont Ave
                                   Unit A
                                   Oakland, CA
 

Type:                          pizza

Popular chomps:        panna cotta
                                   agua fresca 

                                   cheese pizza

Chomp worthy:          agua fresca
                                   cheese pizza
                                   sausage pizza
                                   eggplant pizza       

Goat Hill Pizza

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Pizza Monday!  Goat Hill Pizza is a popular San Francisco pizzeria that has made its home in a couple neighborhoods with Potrero being its original location.  Mondays are THE day here where they offer a $12 all you can eat pizza and salad for $10.95.

The Monday buffet here has been on my to do list, but this time around I took the pizza to go.  The special combination is similar to a supreme pizza.  Topped with salami, pepperoni, Italian sausage, ground beef, mushrooms, green bell peppers, green onions, black olives and garlic, it smelled so good when I opened the box.  The slices aren't super thin.  The thickness is more along the lines of a regular pizza slice like Round Tables or Pizza Hut.  Not sure if it was the massive amounts of meat toppings, but the slices were greasy and soggy.  So much so that the middle of the pizza ended up in a mushy, salty, mess and had to be scraped off with a fork.  Their claim to fame sourdough crust did have a nice tang to it, but overall wasn't a wow factor like Little Star's (see post HERE).  I know not every pizza can be as great as Pizzeria Delfina (see post HERE) or Pizzetta 211 (see post HERE), but I can't understand the huge following for this pizza.

       

Address:                    Goat Hill Pizza
                                   300 Connecticut St.
                                   San Francisco, CA
 

Type:                          pizza

Popular chomps:       special combination
                                   Portuguese
                                   Hilda's Favorite

Chomp worthy:          nothing     

Gioia's Pizzeria (SF)

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I'm attempting to do Pizza Mondays in honor of football season (also, its a good excuse to try more pizza spots!).  Hopefully, I'll be able to scrounge up enough good pizza spots to keep it going.  Any suggestions are welcome!

I'm a week late into the season, but I figured the three pizza places in New York sort of made up for the first week.  First up, is Gioia's in San Francisco.  So Gioia's in Berkeley (see post HERE) is one of my favorite slices in the Bay Area (pies are also available to go at the Berkeley location), especially their Funghi (mushroom) pizza.  After opening up a restaurant in the city, its been on my list of spots to try, but somehow never got checked off.
Gioia's in the city is more of a sit down casual restaurant that reminds me a little of Pizzeria Delfina in the look and feel of the restaurant and menu.  Side dishes like meatballs, salads, and pastas are offered, but the pizza is the main attraction.  Like the Berkeley location, the funghi, cheese, and even the Julian are offered here.  Having my mind set on the mushroom, I was able to pick up an 18" pizza to go.  The prices do seem a little higher than the Berkley location, but that's almost a given being in the city.   

I was glad to see the pizza look the same with the thicker sliced mushrooms and golden thin crust.  However, the crust was on the soggy side and didn't have that nice crispness I fell in love with at the Berkley location.  Even with an extra toasting in my oven, the taste still seemed off.  Its a little sweeter either from the sauce or the actual crust.  I definitely prefer the Berkeley location over this one. 

Address:                  Gioia Pizzeria (SF)
                                 2240 Polk St.
                                 San Francisco, CA

 

Type:                        pizza, Italian

Popular chomps:      Julian
                                  funghi
                                  Salciccia
                                  Arugula/Prosciutto                                  

Chomp worthy:         nothing 

Roberta's

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In a random, middle of nowhere location, and a small discrete door, you would never think that it would be a 2 hour wait for a table!  It's defined as a hipster spot, but I think that the Mission is more hipster than this place.

The spacious inside isn't the only misleading this when stepping up to the doorway, its the sweet outside bar area.  If you opt not to wait, you can get mini pizzas made with day old dough outside, as well as some bar snacks.

At two hours, I sort of expected more from this place.  The pizza is very chewy and doughy so great if that's your thing, but I like my pizza crust with a little crunch.  This one had none at all.  It did have nice charred marks on the dough, but the smokey flavor didn't transfer onto the slices.  Fresh basil, tomato sauce, and fresh mozzarella topped the pizza, but they didn't stand out. 

I attempted to make my own Purgatorio (from Pizzeria Delfina) using Roberta's Amatriciana and then adding an egg.  With the tomato, pecorino, guanciale, onion, and chili plus runny egg, I was hoping for something gooey with a little kick.  Purgatorio has easily become my favorite at Pizzeria Delfina, but this New York substitution didn't come close.  The egg was barely runny and each slice tasted like only of onions.

      

Address:                  Roberta's
                                 261 Moore St.
                                 East Williamsburg, NY 
 

Type:                        pizza

Popular chomps:     margherita
                                   
Chomp worthy:        nothing

South Brooklyn Pizza

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There are hundreds and possibly thousands of pizza places in New York so its always hard to narrow down which ones to eat.  With the deliciousness of DiFara's square (see post HERE) on my tongue and mind, I ventured over to South Brooklyn Pizza, which contrary to their name was not in South Brooklyn. 

Its hard to not just get a slice of margherita.  The pizzas here are mostly premade and then reheated after you order.  The margherita slice had decent flavor with a crunchy bottom.  Overall, a good slice when you are in the area or for a after drinking noshing, but I still think Joe's (see post HERE) in the West Village has the best slice in NY.

DiFara has made me into a Sicilian square believer.  I've never really ate one with an open mind, but I was determined to try one in another popular pizza spot in the city.  The square at South Brooklyn was thick and full of toppings, but it didn't have that magical touch and fresh flavors that DiFara's did.  I actually prefer the regular slice here over the square.

     

Address:                   South Brooklyn Pizza 
                                  122 1st Ave.
                                  New York, NY 
                                      

Type:                         pizza

Popular chomps:       square
                                   margherita slice    

Chomp worthy:          margherita slice     

Di Fara Pizza

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I never thought that I would ever get the chance to go to Di Fara Pizza.  After many trips to New York, I've always found the excuses of being too lazy, its too far, or did I even want to wait that long?  Finally, I made the 40 minute train ride to Brooklyn and lucked out on a less than 40 minute wait since it was a holiday weekend.

Dom DeMarco makes every single pizza, from the loving pour of olive oil to the cutting of the basil.

Di Fara's menu.  Since the wait is so long, most people just order a whole pie.

Bunches of basil are hand cut over every pizza.  I love this technique.  You can definitely taste the freshness of the basil.

At about $1-$2 for each topping, this slice can get pretty pricey.  Unfortunately, today they didn't have porcini mushrooms so I had to get regular mushrooms instead.  Still good, but now I'm wondering how good the earthy porcini mushrooms would have made this slice.

The regular is the standard margherita.  Cheese, tomato sauce, and fresh snippings of basil.  The perfect combination of ingredients topped with the delicious olive oil.  Love the thinness as well as the crisp texture of the crust.  Overall, a good slice, but I wouldn't say the best.

This Sicilian slice alone was worth the wait.  I've never been one for a thick slice of pizza, but this square has made me a believer.  The freshness of the ingredients here is just amazing.  The quality of the olive oil can be tasted in every bite.  The cheese has just the right amount of gooeyness.  The best thing about this square is biting into it, you first notice the pillowy softness then the finishing move is the bottom crunch.  I admit I'm a little mad at myself for not making the journey here sooner.   

  

Address:                 Di Fara Pizza
                                1424 Ave J
                                New York NY

Type:                       pizza

Popular chomps:     square - Sicilian slice
                                 regular
                                 porcini mushrooms

Chomp worthy:        Sicilian slice