Tony's in San Francisco

Essen1

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Tony's in San Francisco

« on: September 08, 2009, 07:22:13 PM »

Tony Gemignani opened a new place here in SF, with four different types of ovens. That man's definitely passionate about pizza Grin

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/09/06/FD4F19DEVU.DTL&type=food

More than five years ago, as New Yorker Ed Levine was researching his book, "Pizza: A Slice of Heaven," I told him the Bay Area didn't have much of a contemporary pizza culture.

Of course, we could get in fistfights with our state mates to the south defending whether Wolfgang Puck or Alice Waters started "California pizza," and we've always given kudos to places such as Tommaso's that installed the first brick pizza oven on the West Coast when it opened in 1935. Still, pizza certainly wasn't in everyone's oven.

In the past few years, I've more than eaten my words; the trend has spread faster than a Britney Spears rumor. Quickly we're becoming Pizza Central, especially with the latest addition - Tony's Pizza Napoletana, which opened in July in the heart of North Beach.

Just about anyone who loves pizza has probably heard of owner Tony Gemignani, who refuses to be pinned down to any one style. At his new restaurant, in the space that housed La Felce for years, he's installed four different ovens to make Italian, American, Sicilian and Napoletana pizza. He even has a deep-fat fryer so he can make his version of calzone ($11-$12).

For those not up to speed on pizza culture, let me explain. Gemignani shocked the Italians in 2007 when he went to Naples and won the prestigious Italian pizza contest, Trofeo Citta di Napoli Campionato Internazionale per Pizzaioli, beating out 50 other contestants.

This is no small feat; the rules on how to make a proper pizza go on for pages. When he came back home to his restaurant, Pyzano's in Castro Valley, he couldn't produce the winning pie because he didn't have a wood-burning oven and couldn't install one. Now, he's opened Tony's in San Francisco, which also houses a pizza school so he can train others. He's in North Beach full time, while his brother runs the Castro Valley operation.

His menu can be about as hard to decipher as the rules for making a proper Margherita pizza. We were fortunate to have a waiter who explained everything, holding up the double-size, laminated menu like a flight attendant giving emergency instructions.

At the top of the menu, in the shape of a T, are Neapolitan specialties, cooked in the wood oven that's visible to diners in one of the dining rooms. Along the left side of the menu are seven Italian classics baked for about eight minutes in a domed brick oven. On the right side is the American style, baked in a flat-topped oven; at the bottom of the T are the thick Sicilian-style pies baked in the Italian Cuppone electric brick oven.

Each style is made with different flour and formulations, and through a small window in back, diners can see the pizzaiolo shaping and tossing dough. No one does it better, in fact. Gemignani's first claim to fame was as a pizza acrobat, a world-renowned pizza tosser.

The Margherita ($18) that made him famous is in limited supply. He makes just 73 per day, and they're cooked in the 900-degree wood oven for 90 seconds. The number is inspired by the day he won the international combination. The pizza is textbook perfect, with a medium crust that bends in the center with a hint of crisp char and a light wash of Marzano tomatoes seasoned with sea salt, mozzarella, leaves of fresh basil and extra virgin olive oil from Campania.

There are seven Napoletana combinations, including one with lardo ($15) where the fat melts across the tomato sauce and mozzarella, and another topped with burrata, triple cream cheese and truffles ($38).

The Italian style is shaped and tossed to produce a crust that is tender with a little resistance. Many patrons swear by the Cal Italia ($18), which won a gold medal in the Food Networks Champion Challenge. It combines asiago, mozzarella and Italian Gorgonzola with fig preserves and prosciutto; it's for those who love a sweet and salty combination that could almost double as dessert.

Seven American pizzas have more familiar toppings, including the Americano with pepperoni, salami, mushrooms, olives, peppers and sausage ($17). His Original Tomato Pie ($13), New Jersey style, made a friend from that state nostalgic because as with the other pizzas, he hit the flavors perfectly. Of all the styles, this is my favorite because the crust is a little crisper and thinner than the others. But on another day, I might decide another style is best.

A rectangular pizza, the Sicilian has a thick crust and fills an entire cookie sheet ($24-$28). Toppings are familiar, but the pie is like bread generously slathered with tomatoes, cheese and various toppings.

It's so easy to get filled up on the pizza, many diners might overlook other items, including a familiar and extremely well-done rigatoni in a bright red tomato sauce ($15). I'm tired of fried calamari ($11), but I'll order it again at Tony's. The batter is thick and crispy, but the essence of the seafood still emerges; the best part is the chile-horseradish sauce served alongside.

Gemignani creates seven well-made salads, each served on a rectangular plate that can serve four. Little Italy combines mixed greens with olives, walnuts and Gorgonzola ($11), and the Greek ($9) features romaine with feta, onions and kalamata olives. The Caesar ($10) has a nice creamy texture and a mild flavor.

Like the pizza, the look of the 70-seat restaurant is more sophisticated than you'd expect from the retro sign out front. One room is dominated by a dark wood bar and booths that give it the feel of a classic bar and grill. The main dining room has storefront windows and the prominent pizza oven on display. Utensils are wrapped in cloth napkins and set in quart-size San Marzano tomato cans.

The entire place is filled with the seductive char and yeasty essences of baking crusts, and on most nights you can see Gemignani at the ovens in his white T-shirt and red handkerchief tied around his neck. Maybe now we can entice him to perfect the Roman pizza. After all, he must be itching to conquer another style.

Pluses: Four styles of pizza under one roof, take your pick. Good old-fashioned pasta and salad. Minuses: Menu can be confusing if you aren't up on pizza styles. Often a wait for a table.

The wine list

Tony Gemignani goes above what's expected at a pizza parlor, so it makes sense that the beverage options would set the same standards. While the list is relatively small, it offers some well-chosen wines that covers various regions of Italy.

Aside from a full bar, staffed by people who know what they're doing, the restaurant features five draft beers and 15 bottles.

The wine list concentrates on a well-thought-out selection of Italian wines - 42 compared with 11 American choices - and the prices range from $25 to more than $200. The most are appropriately in the $30 range. The list also features carafes of wine and 19 by-the-glass selections. ranging from $7 to $12. Each wine is first identified by the varietal and producer, which makes it easy to find what you want.

If you bring your own wine, corkage is $20.


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