February 27, 2007
The East-Bay Pizza Round-Up: Cheeseboard, Zachary’s and Gioia
We think a lot about pizza here at SFist, maybe a little too much. And since San Francisco has some pretty good pizza, we were a little nervous to move out to the East Bay. (Golden Boy, we don’t mind that you’re in North Beach, you can do no wrong with your clam pizza.)
But as we continue to search for the perfect pizza true to our east coast roots (our hearts belong to New Haven, CT brick ovens), we are happy to report that what we’ve found here in the Eastern Bay is much better than we expected. Certainly better than some of the latest thin crust impostor pizzas in the city (that’s right, we said it. Sorry Little Star, but you are over-hyped).
First up - Cheeseboard: Anytime we mention our new move to Berkeley, someone asks us if we’ve tried Cheeseboard yet. People are crazy about Cheeseboard out here, a little enclave in North Berkeley on Shattuck. It’s a worker-owned collective, so you can feel socially-responsibly while you eat your slice.
But most important, is the pizza worth the love? And the answer is yes. Yes, Cheeseboard pizza is good. However, it’s pretty California in its taste and style, with quasi thin crust and ingredients like zucchinis, lemon zest or Bulgarian feta atop the pizzas.
And speaking of Bulgarian feta, Cheeseboard certainly does like their feta. The ‘Board -- open Tuesday- Saturday -- only offers one kind of pizza a day. Which means that if you also find that feta overpowers the rest of the pizza, then you need to plan carefully which day you go. This past week four out of the five pizzas had feta.
Let it be known, we have nothing against feta, goats or Bulgaria for that matter. But when it comes to The Cheeseboard…well, sometimes we’re just a little cheese-bored. (Oh how we make ourselves chuckle.)
But all and all- Cheeseboard is good stuff.
By Jessie, contributing
Second stop- Zachary’s: This is another one of those East Bay places people kept telling us about. But unlike Cheeseboard, we’re not really sure why. Zachary’s pizza, in Rockridge and Albany, is known for its deep-dish Chicago-style pizza (although they do have a thin crust pizza too).
Now perhaps we are biased. After all, we are at heart thin-crusters, so maybe the whole deep-dish thing isn’t for us. But on repeat trips to Zachary’s, we decided, no. We just don’t like it.
For one thing, the tomato sauce is chunky and kind of tangy in flavor. Chunky tomato sauce on a pizza? Also, the pizza crust is usually burnt, and the dough is a little too much like a flaky piecrust for our liking.
All told, the lines at Zachary’s baffle us. Is this truly authentic Chicago pizza? Windy City, what’s the deal with your sauce?
Last stop: Our final stop of Pizza d’ East Bay is at our favorite. The best. Probably the best east-coast pizza in all of the Bay Area. Yes that’s a bold statement, but once you too have been to Gioia’s in North Berkeley, you will believe.
We love Arinell (although there’s an Arinell in the city and Berkeley, so we really can’t include it in the round-up). But Gioia is on another plane entirely. Yes, admittedly a more expensive plane, but we can live with that. We won’t say too much more here because Gioia is like one of those movies you want everyone to see but you don’t want to say too much about and spoil it. So just go.
We had anchovies with hot chilies recently and have a whole new respect for the little anchovy now. This is east coast thin crust pizza at its best. Made with all the fresh Berkeley ingredients like Cheeseboard, but with a more subtle flair. Salty, thin tasty crust, greasy in a good way.
Yes, East Bay, you’ve done us well after all.
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There's so much more to East Bay Pizza.
We might forgive you for putting down Zachary's, but it's unlikely. God, is it good. Not authentic Chicago by a longshot, but I've never had anything that compares with it *glares at Little Star...not even close*
Check out Lanesplitter, on San Pablo just south of University (they have a new location, Telegraph at 48th in Oakland, but never been). Bar with pizza. Yum. Great beer selection. Ginormous salads.
After that, go to Jupiter right in downtown Berkeley. Another bar with pizza. Great beer. Beautiful back patio, music on the weekends, and a huge firepit to keep your butt warm.
I've heard great things about Pizzaiolo on Telegraph in Temescal -- never been, but I guess it's pizza brought to you by Chez Panisse (or more accurately, Chez Panisse alumni). Not cheap though.
Dopo on Piedmont in Oakland is also great, if pricy. Ever-changing menu, fresh ingredients.
No SF pizza can compare with the best the East Bay has to offer! And now, I'm damn hungry!
Lanesplitter. That's all there is to say.
I am shocked and appalled by your praise of SF pizza. They have bread with cheese and tomato sauce out here, but it's not pizza. Only NYC and nearby environs can produce TRUE pizza. For shame!
Zachary's "chunky" or thick tomato sauce is made the way they do it in Chicago--and though spinach and mushroom is not your standard deep dish/stuffed pizza filling in Chicago, it is available, and after living in Chocago for three years, I would say that Zachary's is better than 95% of the pizza joints I ate at in Chicago. A lot of those places are resting, sleeping even, on their laurels.
If you like Arinell's and Gioia, you might also want to check out Pie in the Sky, around the corner from Arinell's on Center. Their specials are decidedly Californian--eggplant, spinach, feta (again with the feta) and walnuts (!) on one--but their crust makes up for it, and you can obviously construct your own to order.
Also, a more upscale option (and not available for takeout, I think) is Pizzaiolo on Telegraph in Oakland. I don't think there are enough superlatives to apply to this pizza--but for you homesick New York transplants--it is NOT NY-style pizza, and I don't think you can make any substitutions.
Lanesplitter is a great local pub, and their pizza is OK, but be sure to ask for the crust to be well-done or crispy unless you like your crust soggy and underdone. Lanesplitter's carryout/delivery location in Albany has the best pizza deal in the East Bay--a large is something like $13-15 IF you pick it up in Albany.
Zachary's thin crust isn't bad. Give it a shot and let us know what you think....
An acquaintance once quipped that, given its Berkeley location and its command-economy "you'll eat what we decide we're making today and like it" policy, it really should be called the Cheese Politburo.
As for gen-yoo-wine NYC pizza: feh, overrated. Italy-style pizza is where it's at. Pizzeria Delfina's the closest I've found here, though I haven't tried A44, but more and more I've been preferring to make it myself at home with prosciutto, anchovies, wild mushrooms, quail eggs, or whatever on top.
i'm with Lanesplitters on this one. the heartstopper is amazing.
little star is known for its deep dish; only an someone not in the know would order thin crust from them. Arnelle's on Mission is one of the best thin crust pizza shops; and Pizzetta in the sunset is the best in the bay.
I'm a new yorker (born there) and grew up on John's & Joes on Bleecker.. so I consider myself a pretty picky pizza eater. (Say that five times fast!)
That being said, I really like Zachary's -- no, its not NY/East coast style thin crust, but NY Pizza isn't Italian style pizza. They're different styles and you shouldn't compare apples to oranges. Also, I like a high Sauce to Cheese ratio.. when cheese gets cold it congeals.. gross.
And to the person who said to try Pie in the Sky... for shame.. that place is no where near as good as Arinell and its a block away!
And to the NYC snob above: get over yourself, people in different places have different palattes (as I have sadly come to terms with - re:Bagels & Pita..) and you just have to deal with it.
When I did my obligatory backpacking trip across Europe, I lived off pizza while in Italy. And you know what I thought: "Man, we do pizza better back in the States!" I know, I know, I'm ignant, but hey, in my little mind, it's the truth.
As for East Bay pizza, I want to hate Cheeseboard because it's so, so, so...sissy. No tomato sauce, no meat. But man! It's a damned good pizza. It's all about the cheese at Cheeseboard. Oh, and the garlic and those little extra slices they give.
A buddy of mine who went to med school in Chicago said that the best Chicago style pizza ain't in Chicago--it's in Berkeley. He meant Zachary's, of course.
Word. Went to Chicago while I was living a block from Zachary's in Rockridge, and didn't get what the big deal was with windy city pie. Maybe it was all the smokers in the restaurants, though. Ugh.
Other posters are right on with Pizzaiolo and Lanesplitter. Looks like the 3 best pizzas in the bay are made within a mile of each other.
Oakland pride.
People like Zachary's because they like eating melted cheese. And nowhere else can you get a full pound of cheese (my estimate) on a medium pizza.
I agree on Zachary's. I may be the only Berkeley native not too like it, but chunky tomatoes on pizza doesn't work for me.
But I'm kinda tired of the attitude that it's unfathomable that there may be good pizza outside of New York. The commenter who observed that people from different places have different tastes is right on -- people are individuals and like different qualities in pizza. The commenter who thinks NY produces the only 'true pizza' should be reminded pizza wasn't invented there....
Also, there seems to be a problem with the links in this post, with quotes in the code so they are not clickable.
I agree on Zachary's. I may be the only Berkeley native not too like it, but chunky tomatoes on pizza doesn't work for me.
But I'm kinda tired of the attitude that it's unfathomable that there may be good pizza outside of New York. The commenter who observed that people from different places have different tastes is right on -- people are individuals and like different qualities in pizza. The commenter who thinks NY produces the only 'true pizza' should be reminded pizza wasn't invented there....
Also, there seems to be a problem with the links in this post, with quotes in the code so they are not clickable.
I agree on Zachary's. I may be the only Berkeley native not too like it, but chunky tomatoes on pizza doesn't work for me.
But I'm kinda tired of the attitude that it's unfathomable that there may be good pizza outside of New York. The commenter who observed that people from different places have different tastes is right on -- people are individuals and like different qualities in pizza. The commenter who thinks NY produces the only 'true pizza' should be reminded pizza wasn't invented there....
Also, there seems to be a problem with the links in this post, with quotes in the code so they are not clickable.
i kinda like the pie in the sky pizza (and sometimes the desserts are really good too) but i wouldn't really compare it with arinell's, i'd be more inclined to compare it to the cheeseboard and its california-cuisine-ish pizza. . . given the choice i'd always take the cheeseboard but occasionally i'm not around that area and/or i'm in the mood for cheeseboard outside of their lame hours, so then i go to pie in the sky. . .
but sometimes, of course, i'm in the mood for arinell's and there really isn't any substitute. . .
one thing about little star is that i'm a big zach's fan so when a friend told me there was this place in sf that had a better deep dish, i scoffed. . . but then went out there to see for myself. . .
i found it hard to compare 'cuz the crust was so different, but i have to admit that i thought it was as good as zach's. . . didn't think it was better or worse, just different. . .
little star ain't bad. but there is no equivalent to a proper new haven brick oven pizza here. period. got a problem with that?
Don't forget Lococo's on Piedmont in Oakland. Their eggplant pizza is to die for!
Hella WEAK.......
SFist shows it's true lack of Yay Area insight....go back tothe snow already.
Zach's is God. Chicago natives always ask me to bring one out to them when i visit. (true!)
All good..one less non-native in line the better. I hope you tell your friends so those of us raised here can get on with our weekly pilgrimages to the east bay. Pah-cheese is a welcome addition to Hayes Valley but it ain't no Zach's.
If you like it thin check out Lo CoCo's just up Shattuck from Cheeseboard. And a Marin location too.
When in the city you have to go to original 100+ year old brick oven of North Beach's Tomaso's. Green Onion, Pep, Mushroom = heavily.
Truth be told all the really good thin spots in the east bay have gone....Sunshine Pizza on Piedmont, Gugliermo's on College.....a shame.
5 star = zzzzzzzzzzz
Lanesplitter's pizza is weak but they gots the IPA selection and it's cheap..plus one of the only places in the east bay open after 10 so there ya go.
When in NYC check out Lil Frankies on 1st between 1st and 2nd. Ain't too shabby although the sauce is all Naples style sweet but you can get a glass of Brunello for $6.
"Don't hate on me"
I like Little Star because their Mission location is two blocks from my apartment, but it is a poor man's Zachary's.
Coming from Boston, the pizza here is 95% school-lunch quality.
In my book Fellini makes some of the best pizza in the Bay Area. The Mixed Mushroom pizza with gruyère cheese? To die for (or at least travel across the bay for). Plus, they have a vegan cheese option that's actually really good.
I lived in fear of expressing my opinion for many years because everyone is so coo-coo for cocoapuffs over Zacharys, but... I think it tastes like butt (and not in a good way). I'm a big Cheesboard and Delfina fan. I have friends who love Little Star although they say the quality can be uneven on any given night. I only tried Lanesplitters once and I have to say I wasn't so impressed. Have you tried Pauline's in SF?
I discovered Zachary's when it was brought as lunch when I was doing Habitat for Humanity one spring. Karma at its finest. I could not believe my eyes, nor my tastebuds. Zach's is the best deep dish pizza in the world with only one exception - Papa Del's in Champaign Illinois.
What about Cafe Rustica? It's still my favorite in California though I now live mostly in LA (Have yet to try Mozza). I greatly prefer Rustica to Zachary's. I'm not a big deep dish fan tho.
SUNSHINE PIZZA!!! I almost forgot. What a shame. The pesto dipping sauce and french bread they served before the pizza, to die for. But what stands there today, Cato's Ale House, though I did not try it, looked as though they had great pizza, proven by everyone else indulging. Next time. Great spot though, nice quasi pub-style atmosphere.