Urban Stomach

Margherita Pie

When my family first moved to the Bay Area in 1981, pizza here flat out sucked. Dan Ledeux, one of my first friends in sixth grade, enthusiastically told me that Straw Hat and The Pizza Machine were “rad”. Even coming from Michigan, where the locals swear by Buddy’s horrific excuse of a pizza, Straw Hat and The Pizza Machine were dreadful. My parents hinted that I might break off my new friendship. Goodbye Dan Ledeux. In my family, suggesting a bad restaurant is about the worst offense there is. Talk about us behind our backs, swindle us out of our money, steal our possessions but please, for God’s sake, don’t you dare send a Hochman to a lousy restaurant. It won’t be forgotten. Ever.

Our move to the city in 1984 didn’t improve the pizza situation much. Other than Giorgio’s and Tommaso’s, San Francisco was a pizza wasteland (it’s no coincidence that both of these places are still thriving). But in 2005, things began to change quickly. Delfina Pizza and Picco, in Marin, both opened and were instant hits. The floodgates opened and we’re now overrun with really good pizza. Gialina, Pi Bar, A16, Pizzaiolo in Oakland…the list goes on and on. Just when I thought that the pizza craze had gone too far, along came Tony’s Pizza Napoletana in North Beach. I think that I’m falling in love.

The New Jersey Style Tomato Pie With 1/2 Sausage

Tony Gemignani’s pizza career has been well documented by the local food media. He and his brother have long owned a pizza place in Castro Valley and he was the first American to win the World Pizza Cup in Naples, Italy in 2007. However, I was skeptical when learning of his plans for a new pizza place in North Beach last year. Why? Gemignani planned to install four pizza ovens so that he could prepare four different styles of pizza. Uggh. This sounded like a recipe for disaster and a little gimicky as well. San Franciscans don’t dig gimmicks. Two recent visits have proven me totally wrong.

The first pizza that I tried was a 1/2 sausage New Jersey Tomato Pie under the “Classic American” section of the menu. It flat-out rocked. The crust was thin and crispy but not annoyingly so like some cracker crusts in town. It had some substance. Even on the sausage side, with a little extra grease, the crust held up well. The perfectly sweet tomato sauce was evenly spread on top of just the right amount of cheese. The outer crust, fluffy and crispy all at once, is worthy of being a snack unto itself. This “Classic American” pizza is meant to evoke orgasmic memories of East Coast pie palaces and it succeeds. If I smoked, I would have lit up a cigarette after scarfing this pizza and laid in a daze for an hour or so before passing out in pizza bliss.

Yes, there are three meatballs under that blanket of sauce and cheese.

The Margherita Pie from from the “Napoletana” section of the menu has the pedigree of an odds-on favorite at the Kentucky Derby. This is the pie that won the World Cup and only 73 are made each day. Ingredients include extra virgin olive oil from Campania, San Marzano tomatoes, Mozzarella Fior di Latte and “dough mixed by hand using San Felice flour then proofed in Neapolitan wood boxes”. While this pizza was also delicious, it ranks slightly behind the Tomato Pie for me. Why? I was taught from an early age by my New Yorker parents that a crisp crust is the proper crust . A true Napoletana pizza has a crust that is chewier rather than crispy as it spends only 90 seconds in a blistering hot, wood fired oven. Tony’s Margherita is exemplary of this style. The flavors are amazing but I simply prefer a crispier crust. Still great stuff.

I can’t finish this review without mentioning the meatballs. If you’ve ever salivated watching Tony Soprano eat meatballs, order these. For five dollars, this hefty order is a steal and not to be missed. Tony’s is an easy place to come either on a date or with friends and family. The vibe is festive and there’s a full bar with many beers on tap. On both of my visits, service was really friendly. Tony’s feels like a pizza place should. I didn’t even get to the Calzones, the Sicilian Style pies or the Strombolis but I’m already plotting my next visit.

Tony’s Pizza Napoletana
1570 Stockton St. (corner of Union)
San Francisco, CA 94133
415-835-9888
Website
Wednesday-Sunday: Noon-11:00 PM
No reservations
The Original Tomato Pie $15
Margherita Pie $18
Meatballs 3 for $5, 6 for $7