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Pizzaiolo
5008 Telegraph Ave.
Oakland, CA
510.652.4888

http://pizzaiolo.us/

P to the izza, I to the olo

What kind of tosser doesn't like a reasonable bill for a perfect pie? Not me. When I charge a Pizza at this place, I owe low.

Service:
Friendly and efficient. The staff is well versed in the food due to their staff meal which includes the dishes that they serve to their customers. They have a Blue Bottle coffee barista to insure a consistent product.

Atmosphere:
This casual space boasts beautiful hardwood floors and partially stripped, brick walls with lots of sunlight spilling in through the picture windows in the early evening. Lots of people in jeans or slacks. Not a suit in sight. There is a bar for singleton diners or those who arrive too late for a table. This is a great vantage point to observe the cooks at the wood burning oven and to guess which pizza has your name on it.

Nettle pizza ($15.00 plus $2.50 for additional anchovies):
This perfect pizza arrived beautifully blistered from the wood burning oven. The nano-thin crust was perfectly cooked and had no trace of sogginess. Slivers of red onion and anchovy fillets were baked into the pecorino under a canopy of herbaceous nettle leaves. This combination of flavors was wonderfully balanced to create one of the best pizzas in the Bay Area.

Braised Pork shoulder ($20.00):
Niman Piggy shoulders are cooked in a broth with carrots and onions. The polenta is from Anson Mills. It's freshly milled and the perfect backboard for the flavorful pork. The romano beans were cooked to a crisp doneness and were almost too mature to be served in this way, but pulled the dish together to as a fresh relief to the richness of the other components.

Fig gelato and lemon sorbet ($5.00):
The fig gelato was very rich and had a nice texture. However, I was absorbed by the refreshing lemon sorbet with bits of mint throughout. The little ginger cookies were crisp and buttery.

Espresso ($2.00):
They serve Blue Bottle coffee (part of the third wave coffee movement.) It's rich crema was deceiving, it seemed less concentrated than it's foamy cap suggested, next time I'll ask for a ristretto.

Pizzaiolo is so good that they don't need a sign out front to beckon customers. The restaurant gets packed on weekends. Arrive at 5:15 (15 minutes before they open) to avoid getting on the long waiting list. Their brief wine list favors Italy but covers other old and new world bottles as well with most in the $30-$40 range.

 

Three carrots out of four

This is the place to go for delicious, simple preparations with top quality ingredients sourced from producers interested in sustainability.

 

"Great!"


Pizzaiolo Bathroom Rating


One room for each gender in the back. There can be a line for those with skirts when it’s busy. They are clean and well stocked.

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