That's a Pizza!

An issue has been grumbling in my tummy for some time now and I must finally weigh in: pizza. Yes, pizza. One of the most glorious foods ever produced by mankind. I, being Italian, have a special affinity for the stuff. But here in the Bay Area, great (and affordable) pizza is not easy to find. The best of the bunch I've experienced is PanCoast Pizza. Located in Walnut Creek on South Main, it advertises as "A slice of the East Coast." I guess I have a prejudice for New York style pizza, but PanCoast does offer an authentic version. The owner is from back east, and it shows. Everything about this pizza, from the complexion of the crust, to the tasty sauce to the perfectly-melted cheese, sings. In other matters, the restaurant has equal things in favor and against. The decor includes a beautiful large photo of the Brooklyn Bridge along with one of the Golden Gate Bridge to symbolize the connection. The tables are quality wood, chairs (wooden with leather seats) comfortable, and large windows let the light in but shaded areas are always available. The staff is friendly. And the soda is always "fresh." I know that sounds strange, but just go to any Subway and you'll understand what not-fresh soda tastes like. Then come here or Fat Maddie's Grill in San Ramon and you'll taste the difference.

The list of needed improvements is short but significant: the parking. The lot is shared with other businesses, and each spot is reserved for a business. PanCoast gets just two spots, and sometimes one of their delivery cars assumes a position. On weekends, you can get away with parking in Las Lomas next door, but otherwise you might end up parking on the street (the lot is small, not much space to wait, turn around, etc.). Second, the view. Sure it's Walnut Creek. It's also a part of Main Street inhabited by a few, nondescript businesses or the backs of homes. Finally, Sirius radio or a CD is always playing and the type and volume varies. Sometimes it's the Grateful Dead, one time I heard Frank Sinatra, but usually it's some form of classic rock or hard rock. Not terrible music, but it's all up to the staff on hand and what time of day/night it is.

Nearby is Pizza Guys. Every Italian bone in my body says, "resist, resist" but I end up there more often than I think. It's not exceptional pizza by any means, but it's become a kind of comfort food. The people are nice, the pizza good enough for most nights, and it's easy in and out.

Recently, I went to the much-ballyhooed Zachary's in Pleasant Hill. This is the chain that began in Berkeley. They have one in San Ramon as well. I did not try their famous Chicago style because I don't care for Chicago style, and in both trips (one was to the SR location), I just got a slice of pepperoni and a side Caesar. Therefore, it's too early to make a true call on it, but overall I would rate the pizza good to very good. Since freshly-made is always better than slices, the jury is most definitely still out.

After PanCoast, though, I really love Round Table Pizza. There is something a little different with their pizza that to this day I cannot put a finger on. I just know I love the taste. I also dig their atmosphere, furniture, etc. I'd be a regular customer if it weren't for the price. The last time I almost caved in was during the World Series. It was late, I was hungry, the game was on. A small two-topping pizza and a soda was going to be $17.50. Just couldn't open the wallet on that. That price is downright highway robbery for a chain as big as Round Table. There used to be one in Berkeley on University that had substantially lower prices, perhaps to cater to college students, and I'd go there (back in the day) on my independent movie sojourns (before Century 5 became CineArts) and on therapy nights (as I saw a psychologist nearby).

The one I cannot figure out why it's popular is Rocco's. The decorations are impressive. And...that's it. The pizza always comes out of the oven looking great but tastes crappy. You can literally taste the staleness or after-frozen stigma in each part of the pizza. Additionally, the service is horrible. Want a refill on that drink? Easier to stand up, go in the little alleyway the servers use, and refill it yourself. And they always look like they're hardly trying, like inside their minds they're already dreaming about what they're going to do after work.

When it comes to "the best pizza I ever had," the answer is easy: Italy. In 2009 my father and stepmother took a bunch of us on a Mediterranean cruise. We departed from Venice but had a day and a half to get acclimated and sight-see. That first day my father and I stopped at a pizza place. Much like the ones in New York, there wasn't much seating in it, and you ordered from the counter. Seeing all those pizzas there, steaming and ready to eat, is an image I hope I never forget. I settled on a ham and mushroom slice and also a cheese slice if memory serves. I will not ever be able to rightly describe the taste and consistency, but it was beyond great. It was magical, as if a bunch of Italian fairies circled around my head, cascading red, green, and white pixie dust. I knew at that exact moment that I would never, ever experience that taste in America, so enjoy each and every delicious bite. The freshness just exploded in my mouth. And sure enough, before and since, I have never tasted anything like it.

In 2007, and also in 2009, I visited my brother in New York City. I had some great pizza there as well. The first time around, my brother made a list of about five places I had to try to get the authentic experience. One was Joe's, where a scene from Spider-Man was filmed. Very good, but did not knock my socks off. I think I made it to 3 of them, and my favorite was Lombardi's. It is a very unusual restaurant. It claims fame as the first pizzeria established in the United States. The restaurant has a couple of floors and a maze-like configuration, and there were many decorations of Italian theme plastered everywhere. I was so overwhelmed (in a good way), that I can't recall exactly what we had. I believe we had some kind of half-and-half going. I just remember it being so satisfying. Right after I got back from that trip, I went on a license plate trip in Scottsdale, Arizona. Driving through, I noticed a Gilardino's restaurant. This was one of the ones I didn't visit in New York. The pizza was definitely New York style and very, very delicious. I asked about the origin and it was certified legit by the server. I don't remember how, exactly. I believe it was a relative of the New York Gilardino family. I could not convince my brother, however. He insisted there was no way it was the same and that even if it looked like a duck, walked like a duck, and talked like a duck, it couldn't be a duck (so to speak). I would have to research my journals and photo books to see exactly how many of those 5 and which ones I ended up visiting between the two New York trips.

Outside of all that, it's tapping my inadequate memory. I remember one on a So-Cal boardwalk that was pretty much other-worldly. In Tennessee where my father lived for three years there was a hole-in-the-wall place that served delicious pizza cut into squares. When I was a boy, Freddie's, in downtown Lafayette, was wildly popular. The place was canvassed in napkins with drawings on them, it had pinball, it was crowded and had red brick walls. Eventually they moved down to the street to a bigger, nicer, but much less memorable building and their customer base seemed dwindle. Could have been the building. Could have been the pizza (the original Freddie retired in the day-to-day sense, if memory serves). Could have just been growing up, but soon it lost its magic. Eventually it closed and the location is now a Mountain Mike's.

Having no means to Italy for the foreseeable future, and less reason and resources to go to New York, I'm resigned to trying to find the next great pizza joint close to home. For awhile there was a spot in Pleasant Hill called NYPD Pizza (a chain based primarily in the east). They were excellent, but the first pizza I had there after the cruise made all my previous engagements with the place seem like an illusion. PanCoast is definitely my first choice, but such is the expensive nature of pizza that I have to limit myself.

I love pizza, but I am sad that most Americans experience it via Pizza Hut and Domino's. Those places do not serve pizza. They are like McDonald's of the hamburger world: a cheap imitation, nothing else. There's all kinds of variations. There's the fancily-named or fancily-priced Italian restaurants that offer a decent product, "artsy-fartsy" places like California Pizza Kitchen (oh, don't get me started), individual ones with an Italian first name which are passed on for a known entity in whatever cuisine.

So until I return to my grandmother's homeland or "The City That Never Sleeps," it's a whole lot of gambling without much payoff. So I stick to a small satellite of restaurants, still hoping for the diamond in the rough.