The Accidental Pizza
“Oh my God, that’s it, that’s IT!” I exclaimed as I rushed off towards the yellow sign. Everything else blurred out of focus. I just had to get a quick look.
I reached the front doorway and grabbed a takeout menu from the outdoor box. My husband and the Frenchman had caught up with me, only to find themselves dumbfounded at the sight of a crusty, bubbly, char-edged pizza that was sitting at a woman’s table on the sidewalk. The tomato sauce was a robust red, pieces of mozzarella melted into gooey masses, fresh whole leaves of basil strewn on top. It was too much to bear.
“We’re going in,” said the Frenchman.
“But we just had lunch,” laughed my husband.
“We’re going IN,” repeated the Frenchman, firmly resolute.
In an elated daze, I closed the menu and followed the Frenchman and my husband into Pizzeria Delfina, where Paradise awaited us.
It was by pure accident that I found Pizzeria Delfina. I can’t remember how I’d heard of it, but several days before I departed for San Francisco, I had posted on my Facebook wall:
Unfortunately, through the vast lack of responses the answer was a resounding NO. Not wanting to lose any time in SF, I gave up on the idea of finding this place.
As it turns out, our Monday had us driving through Pacific Heights on our way back from Sausalito. Having read about a local bakery, I wanted to make a quick stop. We parked the car at the corner of Fillmore and California, where I got out and surveyed the scene. Lo and behold, there it was. I swear, I could almost hear a choir of angels singing “Hallelujah” upon seeing the yellow sign in the distance.
There are times, not many, when I believe in a little thing called Fate.
We ordered a Margherita pizza, a 4 Formaggi pizza, and some pig’s ears with lime and chili oil for an appetizer. The pizzas were splendiferous, the crusts perfectly crisp and thin, but not too thin (yes, slightly charred, but we didn’t care it was so good), the toppings fresh and enticing with just the right amount of sauce. Considering we had just gotten lunch an hour before, I must say these pizzas were very light on the stomach but very fulfilling in the appetite department.
The pig’s ears were one of the daily specials and the dish seemed to be such an intriguing choice on an already promising menu. They came thinly sliced and fried, covered in a light dusting of seasonings and lime zest. A bottle of chili oil and fresh lime wedges accompanied the delectable snack.
“Oh Dear, oh D-d-d-dear, dear!” Sorry, Piglet.
Incredibly fatty, but these piggy ears were absolutely delicious. Best eaten with an ice, cold beer. The acid of the lime and heat of the chili oil were perfect agents to counteract the fattiness of it all. There was also a few mysterious fried strips that had us guessing. One tasted like onion, another lemon peel, the next fennel. Quite complementary.
And yes, we did make it to the bakery I had originally wanted to visit, an adorable boulangerie, La Boulange Bakery.
This little bakery on Fillmore was an endearing little shop with a delightful, charming staff. Vegetable tarts, quiche, baguettes, mini-ficelles, chocolate pots de crème, cookies and many more enticing sweets filled the cases and lined the walls. Perfectly satiated, I only picked up a couple of macarons to add to my pastry collection which I’d gotten from Bouchon Bakery the day before.
Clockwise starting from top right: Raspberry, Black Currant, Lemon, Mango Passionfruit and Cherry on top (no, that was unintentional!)
Black currant was definitely my favorite. And I loved the little crystal sugar bits that adorned the dainty pastries. I’m no macaron expert by any means, but these were nicely crisp on the outsides and like a dense, moist cake on the insides. Sandwiched between were fruit preserves, rather than buttercream or ganache which seem to be more customary.
Also of note, our Frenchman purchased a small bag of crystal-sugar dotted cream puffs that had been filled with what tasted like pastry cream lightened with the addition of whipped cream. Positively divine. ”King’s Desire”, I believe is the name, only in French,(except that I can’t speak the language, dagnabbit…)
*Sigh*…
Macaron-less…
Pizzeria Delfina
2406 California Street
San Francisco, CA 94115
415.440.1189
La Boulange Bakery
2043 Fillmore Street
San Francisco, CA 94115
415.928.1300
2 comments
I live in SF and recently bought that chocolate pot de creme, but what do I do with it? any suggestions?
Sam: Enjoy it for dessert!
Maybe with some coffee or espresso.
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