Category Archives: Pizza

First Look at Howie’s Artisan Pizza in Palo Alto

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Dining room and bar under construction. (Photo courtesy of EcoModern Design)

Mark your calendars now. The much anticipated Howie’s Artisan Pizza place is expected to open Nov. 19 in the Town & Country Village in Palo Alto.

Yes, New Haven-style pizza by well-regarded Chef Howard Bulka, former head chef of Marche in Menlo Park and Silks in San Francisco.

Construction is still going on and dishes still being perfected, but here’s a sneak peek at all the work that’s been going on in the once-vacant spot near Sur La Table.

Retro light fixtures in the main dining room. (Photo courtesy of EcoModern Design)

Berkeley’s EcoModern Design is transforming the space with earth tones, exposed timber-frame ceilings, cork walls, bamboo counters with brass inlays, hand-forged iron fixtures, and retro lighting fixtures.

One of the coolest features is the divider between the bar and dining room. It’s made of glass panels filled with olive oil. Yes, really.

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Noshing on Pizza at Oakland’s Marzano

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Calamari pizza, anyone?

There was a time when my husband was on a kick to eat at every San Francisco Chronicle “Top 100” restaurant in the Bay Area. Not in one year, mind you. But just to be to able to check each one off the list eventually.

There was a time when I was fully employed, too. Ahh, the good old days. (Am I sounding like my parents yet?)

Since those two factors went together hand in hand — one does need a certain amount of income to knock off that full list — the hubster rejiggered his goal when I was laid off from my job as the food writer at the San Jose Mercury News.

Now, we still try to make it to restaurants on that list that we haven’t been to yet. But these days, they’re apt to be the more moderate-priced ones than the go-for-broke ones.

Marzano in Oakland fits that bill perfectly.

The warm, lively Oakland restaurant is indeed on that list. It’s easy to see why. It’s a neighborhood spot that’s comfortable enough and priced well enough to chow down at regularly — even in these tough times.

The wood-fired oven turns out pizzas that are blistered, thin in the center, and with a thick, chewy edge. The crust has a lot of character, full of that deep-fermented flavor of well-made artisan bread.

The "Bianco.''

Ten pies are offered on the menu. The hubster went for the “Bianco” ($14) — prosciutto, wild arugula, Parmigiano Reggiano, and extra virgin olive oil. I had my eye on the “Calamari” ($14) — yes, rings and tentacles strewn over the pie with spicy tomato sauce, gremolata, Pecorino, baby artichokes, red onion, and radicchio.

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Remember This Awesome Ricotta Pound Cake Recipe From Pastry Chef Gina DePalma?

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The woman behind the best ricotta pound cake ever.

If you’ve ever baked it, you’ll never forget it. It’s that good.

And if you’ve loved eating it as much as I have, then you’ll want to help the wonderful woman who created it, who is now waging a battle against cancer.

Pastry Chef Gina DePalma of Babbo. (Photo courtesy of Gina DePalma)

The ultra talented, James Beard-award-winning Gina DePalma, the pastry chef of New York’s acclaimed Babbo, was diagnosed last year with ovarian cancer that had spread throughout her body. After surviving a nine-hour surgery last year that left her hospitalized for a month, as well as the ravages of six rounds of chemotherapy, her cancer is now in remission. But the 42-year-old is now fighting to regain her strength and health. She’s now only able to work part-time at Babbo.

“I alternate from being hopeful, and grateful that we caught this when we did, to being shocked and stunned that it happened to me,” DePalma says. “I get angry, sad, and truly terrified at what lies ahead. Getting cancer is an isolating experience, even if you are surrounded by as much love as I have been.”

She started a non-profit to help publicize her battle, and to help spread the word about this affliction, which claims so many women each year. Her Cowgirl Cure Foundation will be hosting a cocktail reception on May 18 at Jim Lahey’s New York pizza joint, Co., to benefit ovarian cancer research at Mount Sinai Medical Center. Tickets are $250 per person. Contact David Semanoff at dsemanoff@quinnandco.com for more information.

Beginning today, there also will be a benefit auction to raise funds for the medical center’s research. Among the items you can bid on are dinner for four at Babbo, and a dessert party for four at your house with DePalma. The auction will run for 10 days, so be sure to get your bids in now.

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Pizzanostra SF Knows How to Slice It

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Pizza with clams, calamari, and

When a new pizza joint opens in San Francisco where the pies are made by a guy who placed sixth one year and seventh one year in the World Pizza Championship in Italy, you can’t help but have carb-loving, high hopes for the place.

Pizzanostra SF, which opened in March in San Francisco’s hip Portrero Hill neighborhood, delivers on that.

The executive chef is David Bazirgan, who has worked with celeb chef Todd English, and who has cooked at Baraka, Chez Papa Bistrot, and Chez Papa Resto, all in San Francisco. The pizza maestro is 37-year-old Giovanni Aginolfi, one of Europe’s foremost pizza chefs with 18 years of experience.

Recently, I was invited to try the pizza at this industrial-looking eatery that seats 36 inside and 45 outside when the fog hasn’t rolled in too thickly.

Grilled octopus salad.

We started with an antipasti of tender, smoky grilled octopus tossed with nutty chickpeas, lemon, and celery ($9). Pizzanostra SF serves a variety of pastas ($9 to $16), and even a grilled burger ($12). But of course, we were there to test the pies.

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A Dreamy Meal of Pizza and Soft-Serve

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Pizzeria Picco's Margherita.

We came for the pizza. We stayed for the soft-serve.

After all, when no less an authority on Italian cuisine than Mario Batali declares in a national food magazine that the Margherita pie at Pizzeria Picco in Larkspur is the best in the country, well, one must high-tail it over there to try it pronto.

My hubby and I finally did (hey, it is a hike from the South Bay).

A cyclist, my hubby got a kick out of how so many of the pies are named after bikes, including the “Specialized” (Hobbs’ pepperoni, house-made sausage, tomato, mozzerella, and basil), and the “Seven” (oyster mushrooms, mozzarella, parmesan, pecorino, and oregano). Since his nickname is Meat Boy, he opted for the “Cannondale” (house-made sausage, roasted peppers, spring onion, mozzarella, and basil; $13.50). I, of course, went for the Margherita (tomato, basil, house-made mozzarella, parmesan, and De Padova extra virgin olive oil; $10.95).

Vanilla soft-serve with olive oil and sea salt. Unbelievably good!

Since the pizzeria itself is teeny-tiny and it was a beautiful, warm evening in Marin County, we sat outside at a wrought-iron table. The Pizzeria is adjacent to the larger Picco Restaurant, which has a more expansive menu. Both were started by long-time Bay Area Chef Bruce Hill.

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