When the Moon Hits Your Eye

One of the bigger food trends in San Francisco over the past 12 months is (wait for it ... wait for it) pizza. Yeah, I know ... how can pizza be trendy? If you live in SF, you'd know that one of the bigger voids over the years has been a complete lack of good, non-chain pizza (that you didn't have to cross the Bay Bridge to enjoy). So, maybe this isn't a trend, per se, but merely restauranteurs waking up to the fact that this is potentially one of the very few slam dunks on the SF restaurant scene. High demand with a comparatively low overhead. Genius.

Armed with my new superhero pills, I've been slowly eating my way through many of the new - and not so new - pizza joints in town. Granted, these aren't your typical NYC slice-slinging store fronts (which btw, are still untouchable) ... they are a little more cafe-like. Each creates its own unique, intimate vibe. Most joints are leaning towards thin crust, but there's also a handful of deep dish for those Chicago-style faithful. Not counting Amici's and Pizza Inferno, I've tried A16, Little Star, Pizetta 211, Zachary's, Pauline's ... and earlier tonight, Pizzeria Delfina.

Pizzeria Delfina is by far the best of the lot. Perfect sized crust, which isn't too chewy or too crispy. Just the right amount of sauce. I didn't get to taste all of the different pies, but I could see that they didn't overload the pizzas with too much of each topping. Last night, I tried the Napoletana (if you don't like salty toppings, stay away from this one) which was topped with tomato, anchovies, capers, hot peppers, olives and oregano. Ridiculously good! It's a tiny, bright space that has approx. 8 counter seats and 16 table seats (indoors and sidewalk). Delfina-esque service. No reservations and an already rabid fan base.

Before experiencing Pizzeria Delfina, Little Star was top o' the list (and still might be, depending on what kind of experience I'm looking for that night). It's a dark hipster joint over in the Western Addition. (This critic puts it perfectly: The Western Addition is the new Mission, apparently, and that means it's ready for a restaurant with a jukebox that sounds like a rock critic's iPod and a bar that serves Pabst Blue Ribbon in cans. I am fine with all these things – I even like PBR, perhaps because I don't like beer much – but there's a thin line between cool and trying too hard, and listing the contents of your jukebox on your Web site, as Little Star does, is maybe on the nether side.) Anyhow, they've got both thin-crust and deep-dish. And while I'm not a huge deep-dish fan, this place has given me a newfound appreciation for it. Their sauce is chunky and totally fresh and the crust is all sorts of good.