VinDivine

PRO: good pizza, fresh ingredients and a weekly rotating menu
CON: very small, so expect to wait

I warned you, didn’t I, that we are on a pizza crusade? Yes. So not to let you down, I gassed up the hoopty (yes, this is the correct spelling, though you can also spell it ‘hooptie’ but I also opt for less letters) and made the road trip to the Richmond (the SF neighborhood silly, not the gang-violence riddled east bay rathole!)  But hey if I knew for real, for real real that I could get a killer thin-crust ‘za there I might pack some heat take my chances.

So ‘Pizzetta’ means ‘lil’ pizza’ in Italian, and 211 is the address on 23rd  avenue. All starting to make sense now, right? Ergo Pizzetta 211. This place is one of those ‘cute tiny little tucked away places’ that you love at first sight, and just hope the food doesn’t suck and ruin your first impression. Well, pizza ‘hos, it definitely did not disappoint!

First off – like I said before this is a tiny spot, 4 small tables and a 3-4 stool bar inside and a coupla small tables outside. (Bonus, the outdoor tables have heaters above them for the 359 days a year it feels like winter out there.)

Continuing with the small theme, all the servers are midgets! Kidding, kidding. The menu is pretty piccolo as well. But that’s OK it’s a tight selection that rotates weekly. They have 5 thin-crust pies three of which change occasionally, and two – Margherita and Rosemary with Sardo Cheese and Pine Nuts – that have full-time billing. An interesting one is the Rosie’s Farm Egg, Shiitake Mushroom, Prosciutto, Pea Shoot pie. This would never make it on the east coast! They also offer a calzone, a couple salads and some great desserts to boot. And, a small but pretty decent wine list for a small establishment.

That rare sunny day, we started with a special Golden Beet Salad with Kale & Crostini + Goat Cheese number. Excellent preparation and presentation with sea salt adding a nice touch to the beets and very fresh and tangy goat.

Then we moved on to the Margherita pizza, ½ with pepperoni ½ pure, basic marg. Why, you ask? Because I wanted to. That’s why. And, I think one of the best ways to get a handle on a pizza place is to go with the basics and get a good feel for the ingredients and all-important CRUST. Feel me? Good.

The pizza hit the spot for sure, people. Excellent, fresh and organic ingredients made for a nice sauce, although they could have put a little more on the pie. The Mozzarella was good as well, except I would  prefer, and would pay a little more for, real Bufala. And the basil was there but it was chopped up very thinly, where I prefer larger parts of the leaf. For the pepperoni ½, the meat was fresh and not all greasy & grimy, so the pie stayed nice, fresh and crisp. And most key when you’re talking thin crust? The crust of course. They rock the crust pretty well. Thin, just a little semolina left from the board and with enough body where you could fold it in half or keep it flat.

So is it worth the journey to the outer regions for this pie? Sure thing, especially if you want to try one or two of their specialty pies.

VdV Rating: 3

Hours:
Mon-Tue. 5:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Wed-Fri. 12:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Wed-Fri. 5:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Sat-Sun. 12:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Pizzetta 211
211 23rd Ave (between Clement & California)
San Francisco, CA 94121-2008
(415) 379-9880

PIZZA!