What a Difference an Oven Makes: Tony’s Pizza Napoletana

Tony's Pizza Napoletana, San Francisco

They serve 10 styles of pizza cooked in gas, coal, electric or a 900-degree wood fired oven.  But if you want to eat the famous Margherita Pizza at Tony’s Pizza Napoletana in San Francisco, you better get there early.  Tony’s only makes 73 of this pizza each day.  As the 2007 winner of the World Pizza Cup in Naples, Italy, it goes to reason that this is one popular pie. 

It behooves one to get to Tony’s at an early hour for more than just the famous Margherita Pizza.  It is one of those rare restaurants with rock star status- everyone wants to be in Tony’s aura and they are willing to wait a long time during peak hours just to get a glimpse of what makes this pizza as legendary as it is.

On a recent holiday trip through San Francisco I endeavored to introduce John to Tony’s.  Although not quite experts, John and I have eaten more than our share of pizza around San Francisco- A16, De La Rosa-, New York- Otto, Bleecker Street Pizza-, and LA- Mozza, Gjelina-, to know a good pizza when we taste one. 

I had eaten at Tony’s several times always with groups large enough to justify the order of at least three different pizzas all done in different cooking methods.  Our waiter was a bit skeptical when I ordered two pizzas for just John and myself.  “Have you dined with us before?”  He asked, eyebrows conspicuously raised. 

I confirmed, yes, we were ordering two pizzas.  John had to understand what a difference an oven makes.

Our late dining hour meant the crowds had gone but so had the award winning Margherita.  In its place was a pizza with the exact same toppings but made with caputo flour instead of the San Felice flour of the limited edition pizza.  We ordered one of those, cooked in the wood fired oven, along Diavola Con Rucola done in the “Classic Italian” 650 degree gas oven. 

The Margherita was as I remembered: sweet sauce made of San Marzano tomatoes, sea salt, creamy mozzarella, extra virgin olive oil.  The crust was perfectly browned, nicely chewy on the edges, thin and crisp under the toppings.  John looked happy.

Then came the Diavolo.  The coal oven seems to produce a thinner, crispier crust than the wood oven, with a denser edge.  This was well suited to the pile of toppings- spicy sopressata, mozzarella, parmesan, topped with a scattering of arugula and drizzled in hot red pepper oil.  John’s face changed with one bite.  “The Margherita was like drinking a fine pinot noir. Now this,” pointed to the Diavolo, “is like moving onto a well aged Napa Cab.” 

I couldn’t have put it better myself.  Whether Tony’s makes the best pizza in the world or even the best pizza in San Francisco is up for debate (2007 was several years ago after all).  But it is the only place I can think of where you can do a virtual vertical of pizza, sampling your way through the icons of the pizza world from Italy to Detroit.  At the near toddler age of two and a half years old, one can only hope that like a fine wine, Tony’s Pizza Napoletana keeps getting better with age. 

Amy Powell is a food and travel writer based in New York City. She is a graduate of Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration and the French Culinary Institute. Follow her on Twitter @amymariepowell

All Roads Lead to Sardinia

January 29, 2011.  That is the day I fell in love with Sardinian food.  And I was nowhere near the Italian island that is as physically close to Tunisia as it is to Rome.  I was in San Francisco.

I had been hearing about the small family owned La Ciccia for sometime.  Perhaps it was the location, in the far reaches of San Francisco’s Noe Valley, which kept me from going sooner.  John’s birthday seemed a good excuse to try something new and make the trek across town. 

Lorella Degan, the wife half of the husband-wife team behind the restaurant, ushered us into the small converted house space with the intimacy and warmth of a host who had known us for years, even though we just met.  Through the tiny window behind an equally tiny bar, Massimiliano Conti, the husband, was feverishly working the stove. 

There was no need to dally over food selection, the menu is among the smallest out there when it comes to Italian restaurants.  Five appetizers, four pastas, four mains, two pizzas, a couple of sides, plus one or two specials are all you ever have to choose from.  Flipping the large single sheet menu over it became clear why a small selection of food requires such a physically huge menu- on the back in type so small it almost requires a magnifying glass are over 180 wines from all across Italy. 

That night was my fist experience with Sardinian classics like spaghetti bottarga- pasta tossed with olive oil, breadcrumbs, and dried mullet roe, the “caviar of Sardinia”.  Fregula, a Sardinian version of couscous, comes in a potent sauce of tomato, sea urchin and tuna heart.  Malloreddus, a semolina based gnocchetti, arrives bathed in a seductively rich pork ragu and aged Pecorino. 

Since that first night I can’t seem to get enough.  On a holiday at the Four Seasons Maldives last summer, John and I were giddy with excitement when the menu at the Italian restaurant, Blu, offered fregula and a salad with bottarga- specialties of the Sardinia born chef.  We order Sardinian wines when we find them at generic Italian restaurants and wine bars.  And I scour Italian markets, bringing home the dried pastas and aged Pecorino that are hallmarks of this special island. 

As the saying goes, all roads lead to Rome.  But for my personal quest for authentic, regional Italian, these days I’m partial to boats- the kind that cruise right past Rome on their way to the beautiful beaches and fascinating cuisine of Sardinia.   

Coming up Wednesday, cooking fregula at home.

Amy Powell is a food and travel writer based in New York City. She is a graduate of Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration and the French Culinary Institute. Follow her on Twitter @amymariepowell

One Week in SF:

Of Restaurants Running Out of Food AND Revisiting Old Friends

One would think that when the weather men had been predicting sun and high temps for San Francisco for over a week, proprietors of restaurants known for patios that crowd under blue skies would plan accordingly and order extra food. At least, that is what one would think.

Market Bar at the Ferry Building, one of San Francisco’s few dining destinations known for its large outdoor patio seemed to have been caught unawares by this temperate weather and the throngs of people that came with it. Or so it seemed when John and I arrived for our dinner reservation only to be told by a surly host that we were “just in time” they had almost run out of food.

At first we thought this was a joke. No sadly, no joke at all. The waiter informed us that they were out of 90% of their entrée options including main course salads and sandwiches. As for the lengthy appetizer list, out of about 50% of that as well. He did not attempt to stop us, or apologize, when we got up and left.

It was all for the best, however, because RN74, Michael Mina’s Financial District tavern, welcomed us with open arms. We perched up at the bar, by then relatively quiet after the departure of the after-work crowd. We nibbled on greaseless and airy tempura maitake mushrooms dusted in yuzu salt and tangled with ribbons of fried green onions. Although the Pastrami-cured salmon was nothing extraordinary, it was still a fine silken example of the tartare genre. For entrees I went to the starter section for manila clams that were livened up with some pork belly and an addictive broth rich in brininess and unctuous pork fat, perfect for sopping up with a basket of sourdough bread. Even the chicken, a standard boneless breast, avoided the pitfalls of banality with a fall hash of sweet corn, carrots and sweet potatoes served with a garnish of confit chicken leg-stuffed egg roll.

As the week rolled on I took up some lighter lunch-time meals around town. Fancy Mexican food at the strangely named Mexico DF proved that attractive lighting and good salsa can score points, but nothing beats tacos served down and dirty on a Formica table, under harsh fluorescent lights, at the local taqueria. One of organic restaurant chain The Plant’s newest locations in the Marina served out a veggie burger for even a meat eater to love. Although, I’m pretty sure my California Plant Burger- a lentil patty with jack cheese and avocado- would have tasted even better if it came topped with bacon. But it was Starbelly in the Castro that really won me over with their weekend brunch. Thin crust pizzas, salads fill

ed with tender greens, and a BLT with end of summer heirloom tomatoes had me ordering lunch while breakfast was still in full swing.

To cap off the week I checked out two joints in the Marina, one a pioneer on the fine dining scene in that neighborhood, the other a more recent addition. Sitting at the chef’s table at A16, my first visit since the departure of chef Liza Shaw, one shared Bianca pizza and Maccaronara pasta with ragu Napoletana and a packed bar was enough to conclude new chef David Taylor is living up to the high quality Italian food legacy of his predecessors. A few blocks uphill on Union, Café des Amis has brought a bit of sophistication to the predominantly casual dining scene of the neighborhood. Elegant atmosphere, finely mixed classic cocktails (like my Corpse Reviver #2), and a selection of French bistro classics such as steak tartare and steak frites are a rarity in the area. Just the sort of place for a quiet Monday night dinner with my grandfather, or an intimate weekday date like many people around us appeared to be having.

San Francisco is a like an old friend, if our encounters are not always fresh and exciting, at least they are comfortable and reliably good. Even the new spots that work, like Café des Amis, work because it makes me feel like as though it has been there forever. Same as it ever was can be a delicious thing indeed.

Market Bar, 1 Ferry Building

RN74, 301 Mission St.

Mexico DF, 139 Steuart St.

The Plant, multiple locations

Starbelly, 3583 16^th St.

A16, 2355 Chestnut St.

Café des Amis, 2000 Union St.

Amy Powell is a food and travel writer based in New York City. She is a graduate of Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration and the French Culinary Institute. Follow her on Twitter @amymariepowell