When looking for an affordable and filling meal, not much tops the simple pizza (though good dim sum comes close). And the Bay Area, along with its great Italian restaurants, is home to some fabulous pies. If you're in the mood for a casual taste of The Boot, might we suggest these
Top Pizza restaurants, fresh from our 2009 San Francisco/ Bay Area Restaurants guide:
1586 Hopkins St., Berkeley; 510-528-4692
“A slice of New York meets Berkeley organics” at this “tiny take-out pizza joint” in the East Bay whose “real-deal” thin-crust slices and pies with “blistering” crusts and “fresh” toppings cause homesick “East Coast expats to weep”; its “personal” service and “local” feel are additional assets, so who cares if there’s “virtually no seating or atmosphere”?
400 Valencia St.; 415-551-7827
846 Divisadero St.; 415-441-1118
The pies “deserve a big star, not a little” one at this pair of pizzerias in the Mission and Western Addition where “you can get your pizzas thick or thin” – though most pop for the “decadently bad-for-you deep-dish” variety with its “preternaturally perfect” “crunchy cornmeal” crust; you’ll “feel like an instant local” in the “dimly lit” room, but those who cringe over the “loud”, “chaotic” atmosphere and the “humongous wait” say “hold the onions and the hipsters” and “make it to go”; P.S. bring some bucks since “they don’t take credit.”
5008 Telegraph Ave., Oakland; 510-652-4888
“Toques off” to Chez Panisse alum Charlie Hallowell for bringing “killer”, “creative thin-crust pizzas” and “absolutely fantastic” Southern Italian fare to the “hip” “new Temescal gourmet ghetto” in Oakland; the “well-trained staff” provides service that “varies from good to excellent”, but some warn the “rustic, noisy” space “tends to get packed and stay packed”, so “make reservations” or prepare for an “interminable” wait.
3611 18th St.; 415-437-6800
“Spectacular” thin-crust pizzas with “tip-top toppings” and “extraordinary” antipasti attract “young hipsters” to this “Mission institution” next door to its “mother ship, Delfina”, where you can “sit outside and people-watch” with some vino from the “varied” list or vie for one of the “very few seats” in the “cramped” interior; either way, bring “a measure of patience”, because the “wait can get ridiculous”; P.S. pie-zani are “looking forward” to the new Pac Heights location due to open in 2008.
316 Magnolia Ave., Larkspur; 415-945-8900
“Marin hikers and bikers” “satisfy their pizza jones” at this “teeny-tiny” “Neapolitan paradise” (offspring of chef Bruce Hill’s Picco) in “leafy Larkspur”, where “beautifully blistered” “microthin” pies with “inventive toppings” from the wood-burning oven are joined on the menu by “fantastic fresh local salads” and “organic ice cream”; since servers are “friendly”, the “only downside is the lack of seating”, especially “if it’s not warm enough to sit outside.”
For more Bay Area Top Lists, click here.