For the Ultimate in Pretentious Pizza: Pizzaiolo
Written: Oct 24 '05 (Updated Jun 06 '07)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Food and Presentation: |
 |
|
| Ambiance and Decor: |
|
|
| Quality of Service: |
 |
|
|
Pros: Tasty fare and good wines by the glass
Cons: $100 for pizza? Excuse me?
The Bottom Line: Give me a break....
|
|
|
| lyagushka's Full Review: Pizzaiolo |
While we were living in Europe, we became thoroughly spoiled by the pizza from a tiny local pizzeria run by Italians who did things pretty much just the way they had back in Italy: thin-crust, modestly sized pizzas, cooked in a wood-fired oven. The pizzas were fantastic and sold for about $10-12 each. Back here in California, thin-crust pizzas have become more and more popular over the last couple decades. Now there are at least a few pizzerias around that imitate (with varying degrees of success) the "authentic" Italian pizzeria model and proudly boast their wood-fired oven credentials. A new place called Pizzaiolo opened up in Oakland while we were away, and we'd heard such good reports of it that we finally gave in and decided to give it a try. The chef/owner is apparently a "graduate" of the Chez Panisse finishing school of cuisine, which tends to guarantee a degree of quality in the food. One of my co-workers who'd lived in Italy for a year told me it was the best pizza he'd had outside of Italy.
We decided to head for Pizzaiolo early on a Friday evening, figuring that without reservations (the restaurant doesn't take them), we'd do best to show up sooner rather than later. We arrived at 6:15 pm and were told that the wait would be 45 minutes. This was alright with me as I wasn't ravenously hungry yet. The restaurant had placed some wooden benches out on the sidewalk for waiting patrons. We perused the menu, which changes daily, while we waited. It consisted of six different antipasti, priced from $7 to $16; six primi - mostly pasta dishes priced at $14 each; two "secondo" (Hint to menu writer: If you're going to affect a sophistication with Italian vocabulary on your menu, at least be conversant with Italian plurals.) - roasted chicken or fish stew, each $20; several different pizze priced from $10 to $15; and three contorni. There were also three add-ons for the pizzas: anchovies, prosciutto or rocket ($2.50, $3.50 and $5, respectively).
I noticed some other waiting patrons had pints of beer, so I perused their wine selections and decided to enjoy a glass of Lyn Zin from the Muccigrosso Vineyards while I waited. I paid cash for my wine at the bar, so this wasn't calculated into the check we received at the end of our meal. You'll see why this matters later on.
The wait turned out to be closer to an hour. There were a lot of people waiting, and tables didn't turn over as frequently as I might have expected. It didn't help matters when an employee showed up on her off night with seven of her friends only to be ushered straight to a prime table with no waiting. So much for first come, first served. Waiting outside the restaurant wasn't too bad from 6:15-7:15. The sun was going down, and this part of Telegraph Avenue is reasonably sane, if not scenic. The car and foot traffic wasn't as bothersome as it would be on other parts of "The Ave." Once the sun went down though, all the waiting patrons decided it was too chilly to wait outside and instead moved inside, right near the door where we were seated. Consequently, the volume went up significantly in the restaurant, so that conversation was difficult.
The wine I had selected was excellent. I liked the way the menu laid out the wines. On the back of the paper menu, printed daily, the beverages are grouped first by color and then by body. Whites were either "quafable" (spare me) or "more full bodied." Reds were divided into "lighter," "med to full" or "earthy and/or more full." Most of the three dozen wines on the list were available by the glass. The cheapest glass was $6.25 while the costliest was $12. Most were in the $8-9 range. Despite the precious nomenclature, the wines we tried were aptly described by the categories they were grouped into. Also the two wines we sampled that night were excellent.
I noticed one "problem" with the interior of the restaurant while we were waiting outside. Pizzaiolo features a glass front along its entire width, and it faces due west. There are some sheer curtains hung inside, but there are gaps left between them. People sitting facing the street in the main room of the restaurant were squinting and shading their eyes. Waiting patrons outside had the sun reflected right back at them as they sat on the benches.
In other ways, the decor at Pizzaiolo is one part shabby architectural chic, and two parts upscale California-Mediterranean. The walls had patches of artfully exposed brick, partially-eroded plaster and improbably fortuitous remnants of vintage wallpaper. There was a lovely sit-down bar area and an open line designed to showcase their wood-fired oven. The tables were nice solid wooden affairs without tablecloths of any kind, but set with starched napkins and fancy stoneware plates.
We'd had plenty of time to peruse the menu while we waited outside, so we were ready to order by the time our butts hit the seats others had so recently vacated. However, we were left to our own devices for about 10-15 minutes before our waiter showed up to tell us he'd be "right with us." We were offered water by a busgirl during that time, but otherwise ignored. The couple at the table next to us had been seated at about the same time, and had lots of questions about the menu, which our waiter answered knowledgeably. I had just one question about the "pizza pizzaiolo," and then I was ready to order. (The pizza pizzaiolo turned out to be whatever the pizza chef felt like sending to the table. It didn't vary by the day; it varied by the order. I wasn't so trusting or so bold.) Between my husband and myself, we ordered the frito misto (for a scandalous $16), a rocket salad with toasted walnuts and pecorino, and two pizzas - one with yellow cherry tomatoes and pancetta, plus the rocket add-on, the other with broccoli rabe and fennel sausage. We also ordered another glass of wine to share with dinner, an $11 glass of Pinot Noir from Siegfried Estate.
One thing I noted while our waiter was taking orders is that he second-guessed the wine choices of the patrons at the table next to ours. While I'm often happy to ask the advice of waiters when ordering wine, I was astounded that such "advice" was offered when it hadn't been sought out. He used the words "I don't know if I would go with that wine with your entree." The man at the table seemed abashed and quickly agreed to the alternative suggested by the waiter. This sort of commentary turned out to typify our experience at Pizzaiolo. The waiter wasn't wearing Versace, but he certainly gave the impression that the staff were hipper than much of the clientele.
The busgirl brought a plate of two thick slices of bread from one of the fantastic east bay bakeries with a slab of butter and a small bowl of kosher salt. Our appetizers arrived in reasonably short order. Neither of them were generous by any stretch of the imagination. The fritto misto contained a few perfectly fried, non-greasy slices of fennel, onion and eggplant, and some mushrooms along with the sophisticated restaurant gesture du jour: a batter-fried slice of lemon. The salad was prepared with exceedingly fresh greens and dressed with the perfect amount of unobtrusive vinaigrette. Due to their small size and tastiness, both appetizers disappeared in very short order.
There was a slightly longer interval before the pizzas showed up. When they did, they looked beautiful. The tiny orange cherry tomatoes on my pizza were as sweet as candy and the rocket added to the pizza was fresh. (I had expected that the rocket would be wilted as the pizza cooked, but apparently it was thrown on just before it arrived at our table.) The pizzas were good, but far from outstanding. The pizzas were about 14 inches in diameter with a very thin crust in the middle and thick chewy crusts on the edge.
Our water glasses were kept full while we dined and the waiter did check with us to see if we needed anything. Beyond that, the service was unremarkable. Meanwhile, the general level of noise in the restaurant made a romantic meal out of the question. Even socializing with friends would have been challenging. I did use the bathroom just to wash my hands before eating and found it well kept and reasonably attractive.
The real shock came when we asked for the check. Our tab for one glass of wine, a small salad, a small plate of fried vegetables and two personal pizzas, came to about $85! For reasons that remain completely opaque to me, my husband left a slightly generous tip, rounding the tab off to $100. That's right, $100 for pizza for two! This is really where it breaks down for me. I'm willing to pay $50 per person for a truly outstanding meal with good service that provides a memorable occasion. Pizzaiolo didn't come close to providing that. The appetizers were much better than the pizzas, and I still feel they were wildly over-priced. The service was self-satisfied and the ambiance far too loud for civilized discourse.
In short: fool me once - shame on you; fool me twice - shame on me. I won't be going back.
For better results, I'd recommend a meal at these restaurants:
San Francisco
• Boulevard - hands down, the best restaurant in San Francisco
• Woodward's Garden, which is almost as good as Boulevard
• Betelnut - highly recommended for a fun night with a group
• Suppenkuche - unpretentious German bierhaus charm in Hayes Valley
• Helmand - little known but excellent Afghan place and a great value
East Bay
• Á Coté - lively pan-Mediterranean tapas in a sleek but fun atmosphere
• Café Rouge - best choice for steak or high quality meats in the East Bay
• Cha-ya - vegetarian Japanese restaurant in the Gourmet Ghetto
• Chez Panisse Café - Alice Waters' sumptuous fare at about half the price
• Lalime's - superb New American fare in an intimate setting
• Manpuku - a cheap and simple ramen bar in the Elmwood
• Nan Yang - fantastic Burmese in north Rockridge
• Oliveto - exquisite Italian in Rockridge
• Pho 84 - paradigm-shifting (really!) Vietnamese in downtown Oakland
• Rick & Ann's and La Note - both offer excellent choices for breakfast
• Shen Hua - great Chinese in Berkeley's Elmwood neighborhood
On the other hand, I can't recommend Cafe Cacao, which is part of the Scharffen Berger chocolate empire.
Recommended:
No
Kid Friendliness: Yes
Vegetarian Friendly: Yes
Notes, Tips or Menu Recommendations Want good wood-fired oven pizza? Try Cugini.
Best Suited For: Trendy Crowd
|
|
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.