Posted by Adam Kuban, September 5, 2009 at 1:12 PM
Ladies and germs, I'm in San Francisco again. Got a wedding to go to—a friend of my girlfriend's is getting hitched. And while the GF was out having a "day of beauty" with the bride and her amigas, I was abandoned at the Powell Street BART Station like a litter of puppies no one wanted.
But that's OK, 'cause I like nothing more than being in an unfamiliar place, left to my own devices to explore the pizza on offer. Unlike previous visits, though, this time I'm a bit more organized—I came armed with a San Francisco Pizza Wishlist map and my new piePhone, which I'd programmed with all my stops.
Anyway, long story short, I wanted to check off at least two places on it yesterday afternoon, but these laid-back San Franciscan pizza-makers don't seem to get on the stick till 5 p.m. Well, thank goodness for hardworkin' gents like Tony Gemignani—at least he's got enough of a work ethic to fire up his oven so it's ready at noon.
L. A. Pizza Maven already went into detail about Tony's Pizza Napoletana in July, so I won't rehash much here. Suffice it to say that I took LAPM's advice and ordered the special Margherita pie (only 73 made each day) but had half of it topped with sausage.
The pie was pretty damn good, I'll tell you what. As I've said before, I'm always skeptical about the competitive pizza-tossing guys (and Gemignani is a giant in that world)—that they're all about the dough acrobatics and not about the flavor or texture of a pie. But Gemignani is as serious about the pizza as he is about the dough-throwing, and he made a seriously good pie for me yesterday.
I found what LAPM said to be true: The pie, though Neapolitan in style, is more crisp than the typically "wetter" Naples-style pizza. Mine was firm enough that I didn't see tip sag and definitely didn't need to resort to the knife and fork. The crust was tangy and flavorful with some nice crisp-chewiness to it, even if the medium-range hole structure left it a bit less airy and a bit more chewy than I would have liked.
Tony's Pizza Napoletana
1570 Stockton Street Union Street, San Francisco CA 94133 (at Union Street; map); 415-835-9888; internationalschoolofpizza.com Pizza Style: Amazingly, all kinds Oven Type: Again, amazingly, four different types The Skinny:World Pizza Champion team member Tony Gemignani's combined pizzeria/pizza school is a veritable university or museum of pizza, with four different oven types to make an endless variety of pizza styles, from Neapolitan to New York to Trenton tomato pies, and more See also: Tony's Pizza Napoletana: Pizza Paradise in SF [7/20/2009]
But what really got me was the sausage. It reminded me of the wonderfully porky, brilliantly spiced sausage being used at Veloce Pizzeria in Manhattan. It was at once a little bit sweet, a little bit spicy, and its bite finished with a sagey, almost floral note. The waiter told me that Gemignani gets it from a Chicago-based purveyor, which would explain its awesomeness—Chicagoans know pork sausage like nobody's business.
From what I've had in SF so far (a very limited selection), it's comparable to Pizzaiolo and Delfina (the only other Neapolitanesque pies I've had here). And if the pizza were the only thing I was looking at, I'd have a hard time choosing. But as Epicurean Zealot gets at in that comment I linked to above, the atmosphere at those other places trumps the atmosphere at TPN, no question—they're both airy, energetic, and vibrant whereas TPN is very much dark and clubby feeling. You might take your aunt to TPN, but you'd take your friends to Delfina or Pizzaiolo. As far as service goes (one of EZ's other sticking points), I had no complaints. My server was friendly, attentive, and courteous. And since I didn't try any of the other food on the menu (I was saving room for Bi-Rite Creamery), I can't speak to his other complaint, either.
Anyway, it's getting on in the day, and I have to get ready for that wedding. It's up near Larkspur, so with any luck, I'll be able to convince the GF to let me detour to Pizzeria Picco. Anyway, I'll talk at y'all later.
While I agree with both of you on the pizza-tossing, didn't Gemigniani also win competitions in Naples for pizza making?
We're pretty eager to get out to SF and taste the pizza... especially after our disappointment at not getting to eat at Cheeseboard (they were closed for vacation) last time we were in Berkeley!
Yo AK, Glad to hear ya made it to SF and had an excellent pie at TPN..Nice balance among the sauce, cheese and sausage...I wonder if the Chitown sausage is the same one that supplies Grimaldi's in Vegas and probably their other outposts too..A review of Picco in Larkspur is comin..was there friday nite..Bruce Hill told me hes been tryin to get you and Sr. Levine to come out...Scrumtious pies..local, artisanal suppliers of very tasty ingredients...more the "neapolitan" style...Depending on the ingredients, the crusts may or may not hold up but who cares...nice wood burning oven and a full service restaurant next door,too...chow
"a veritable university or museum of pizza, with four different oven types to make an endless variety of pizza styles, from Neapolitan to New York to Trenton tomato pies, and more"
@seriouspizza: I had the Neapolitan-style Margherita.
@passion4: Yes, Tony has won awards for actual pizza, but I have judged in pizza competitions before--granted, not in Naples--and sometimes a pretty lame pizza comes out on top, either because of the way judging was set up or because you might have a bad set of judges. (This often happens when you have any sort of "celebrity judge" on the panel.). So I'm always a bit skeptical about pizza competitions. The good news here is that Tony deserves whatever accolades he's gotten. He makes some great pizza-- at least judging by that single pie I tried.
I was at Tony's this past Sunday for lunch. I got there a half-hour before it opened and was the second patron through the door. I sat at the bar on the far end so I could talk it up with the wait staff and observe the front of the restaurant. There was a line forming out the door by around 12:30. The staff were all outstanding. The pizza was superb. I had the margherita and the clam & garlic (in fact, I had the only one they made that day since Tony apparently ran out of clams). Well worth the trip. I heartily recommend pizza afficionados try this place if they are in the bay area. Next time I go to San Fran, this will be a must-stop.
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8 Comments:
I've always shared your skepticism about pizza-tossers, but Tony's pizza looks and sounds serious.
Ed Levine at 7:24AM on 09/06/09
While I agree with both of you on the pizza-tossing, didn't Gemigniani also win competitions in Naples for pizza making?
We're pretty eager to get out to SF and taste the pizza... especially after our disappointment at not getting to eat at Cheeseboard (they were closed for vacation) last time we were in Berkeley!
passion4pizza at 10:21AM on 09/06/09
Yo AK, Glad to hear ya made it to SF and had an excellent pie at TPN..Nice balance among the sauce, cheese and sausage...I wonder if the Chitown sausage is the same one that supplies Grimaldi's in Vegas and probably their other outposts too..A review of Picco in Larkspur is comin..was there friday nite..Bruce Hill told me hes been tryin to get you and Sr. Levine to come out...Scrumtious pies..local, artisanal suppliers of very tasty ingredients...more the "neapolitan" style...Depending on the ingredients, the crusts may or may not hold up but who cares...nice wood burning oven and a full service restaurant next door,too...chow
L.A. Pizza Maven at 12:16PM on 09/06/09
"a veritable university or museum of pizza, with four different oven types to make an endless variety of pizza styles, from Neapolitan to New York to Trenton tomato pies, and more"
What style is the pizza you ordered Adam?
seriouspizza at 12:18PM on 09/06/09
@seriouspizza: I had the Neapolitan-style Margherita.
@passion4: Yes, Tony has won awards for actual pizza, but I have judged in pizza competitions before--granted, not in Naples--and sometimes a pretty lame pizza comes out on top, either because of the way judging was set up or because you might have a bad set of judges. (This often happens when you have any sort of "celebrity judge" on the panel.). So I'm always a bit skeptical about pizza competitions. The good news here is that Tony deserves whatever accolades he's gotten. He makes some great pizza-- at least judging by that single pie I tried.
Adam Kuban at 9:01PM on 09/06/09
Adam, try Gaspares next time you're in the city on Geary. Nothing fancy, simple old style Italian, but better than most.
Nick
Raoul Duke at 11:36AM on 09/07/09
Thanks for the added review on Tony's Pizza, Adam. I am headed to San Fran later this week and it is definitely on my pizza-must-try list.
Mad Ernie at 9:55AM on 09/08/09
I was at Tony's this past Sunday for lunch. I got there a half-hour before it opened and was the second patron through the door. I sat at the bar on the far end so I could talk it up with the wait staff and observe the front of the restaurant. There was a line forming out the door by around 12:30. The staff were all outstanding. The pizza was superb. I had the margherita and the clam & garlic (in fact, I had the only one they made that day since Tony apparently ran out of clams). Well worth the trip. I heartily recommend pizza afficionados try this place if they are in the bay area. Next time I go to San Fran, this will be a must-stop.
Mad Ernie at 11:16AM on 09/18/09