Beyond The Pie: San Francisco's Pizzerias

This summer, I am living in San Francisco. Although there are dozens reviews of pizza places outside of New York City on I Dream Of Pizza, this is the first time I've been away for a prolonged period of time. As such, I'll have the opportunity to do an in depth exploration of the pizza scene out here.

I've tried a few places so far, and while the pizza has been fine, what has really impressed me is the pizza places themselves. The signage, the architecture, and the character of each place. Each pizzeria has its own personality.

In New York, many places are impossible to differentiate between. Neon lights and an awning are almost a requisite of the corner slice joint. Sure there are exceptions. But out here being different, is the rule. 

As such, I'll be starting a feature on I Dream Of Pizza this summer: Beyond The Pie. Every week, I'll post a photo (or photos) of an architecturally unique or fascinating pizzeria for your enjoyment.

Today, I'd like to introduce you to The Pizza Place On Noriega (3901 Noriega Street) in the Outer Sunset neighborhood.

Trattoria Lungofiume: Tasty Pies In Tokyo (When You'd Least Expect It)

The third and final pizza place I visited on my spring break trip to Japan was located in the same neighborhood (Nakameguro) as both Seirinkan and Trattoria Pizzeria Il Lupone. Yet it wasn't somewhere on my list of places to try. I've always felt one of the best ways to gauge a local pizza scene is not to hunt down the best place in town, but rather to stroll into a random place and see how it stacks up. I've done this in cities such as Rome with little success. And to tell you the truth, most of these experiences don't make it onto the blog. But my experience in Tokyo was different.

The place at hand is called Trattoria Lungofiume (Meguro, Aobadai, 1−23−3). It's a no frills cafe-like spot along the bank of a canal that cuts through the neighborhood. While Seirinkan was more of a hidden, too-cool-for school joint, and Il Lupone was an upscale restaurant, this spot was your run of the mill pizza spot. Except that it wasn't. Their Neapolitan pies were quite delicious. And while not as good as the other two spots, so much better than any other place you could expect to walk into randomly. 

You can take out a pie for about $7.00. Or stay and take advantage of their lunch special which features an assortment of pies paired with a house salad for $10-$15. When the weather is nice, grab a seat out front, overlooking the canal. The service was great, they have an all you can drink fresh juice bar (well, more like a table), and the pizza was tasty. In Tokyo, whatever food place I went to, placed so much emphasis on using only the best ingredients. And Trattoria Lungofiume was no exception.

Ramp Alert: Truck Pizza In Hudson, NY

Last week, some friends and I headed upstate to Hudson, NY for the 2012 Hudson Ramp Festival. For those who aren't familiar with ramps -- they're an early spring wild onion/scallion/leek-like vegetable that grows between North Carolina, New England, and Minnesota, and are in season only from late March to early May. They're one of my favorite seasonale ingredients and I was excited to see that a new pizza truck - Truck Pizza - would be present at the event.

 

As pizza trucks are becoming more and more high tech, I'm always curious to see if advances result in better quality pies. You can see in the above photos that the wood fired oven is comparable to what you might see in a restaurant. A blog documenting how the truck was created and the oven installed in a must read.

The vendor was serving only one pie with white cheddar grits, ricotta, leeks, ramps, and lemon -- a nice combination of ingredients. Although not one of the best bites at the festival, the crust was crunchy and charred, and cheddar grits added a particularly unique flavor to the pie.

 

Other notable eats at the festival included:

Spit Roasted Lamb
W/ Pickled Ramp and
Sheeps Milk Yogurt

 

Ramp Pancake
W/ Ramp Kimchi &
Pulled Pork

 Ramp & Carolina
With Rice Custard and
Ramp Pesto

The Best Pizza In Philadelphia

I've had some enjoyable pizza eating experience in Philadelphia over the past few years including Pizzeria Stella, Osteria, and Tacconelli's. Props must go out to the website uwishunu.com for compiling a comprehensive list of the city's best pizza spots. It's must read material for anyone who might be venturing to Philly in hopes of downing some tasty pies.

You can read the article here.

Trattoria Pizzeria Il Lupone: Tokyo's Best Pie Will Cost You

During a week-long spring break trip to Japan, I wasn't quite sure how many pizza places I would be able to hit. The final day of my trip had arrived, and I'd only been able to make it to one place thus far. I decide to spend my last few hours in Japan eating -- not tempura or sushi -- but pizza.

I'd really enjoyed my meal at Seirinkan, which serves, only margherita and marinara pies. And I was interested to see how Trattoria Pizzeria Il Lupone (2-10-19 Nakameguro, Meguro) would stack up. After all, the place was certified by Vera Pizza Napoletana -- a trade association that gives its seal of approval to Neapolitan pizza places around the world. There are only a few hundred members globally, including about 15 in the United States.

 

Step inside the place and you'd think you were in Naples. The main dining room seats about 30 people and the place was completely full on a Sunday afternoon. White tablecloths adorn the tables, and the walls are almost bare. We ordered a Margherita pie to-go. Sometimes, when traveling abroad, you don't notice how expensive items are because of the exchange rate. Well this officially goes down as one of the most expensive pizza places I've ever been to. Our Margherita was 1,600 yen -- about $20 depending on the exchange rate. Other pies -- including a four-cheese and arugula w/ prosciutto -- creeped up to about $28 each.

 

While it was delicious (I'd say the Margherita was even better than that at Seirinkan) it was not worth the money. Eating here is definitely a "treat yourself" experience. It's located in Nakameguro -- alongside a canal bordered by upscale boutique shops. A quaint afternoon away from the hustle and bustle that usually characterizes Tokyo. If you're looking for the best pie in the city, you very well might find it here. Just be prepared to break the bank.