When I first ventured into San Francisco with my friends, we always headed for North Beach. I loved hanging out in cafes and pizza places. Hearing Italian spoken there made me want to study the language and live abroad. It was only when I got back from Italy that I realized--they weren't speaking Italian in those pizza places, but Portuguese! It turns out San Francisco's pizzerias are predominantly run by Brazilians, not Italians.
When I moved into San Francisco in the Fall of 1989, I lived on Telegraph Hill, just the other side of the hill from North Beach. North Beach Pizza was the only place I went to for pizza. As time past I moved on from Telegraph Hill and moved on from North Beach Pizza.
Yesterday I had my first pizza from North Beach Pizza in ages. Yahoo! and North Beach Pizza gave away free pizzas all day. It was the Yahoo pizza, which is topped with the most searched toppings on Yahoo! Yahoo! has launched a Best of campaign to encourage people to share their feedback about local business and North Beach Pizza was the top pick for pizza. Way back when I lived in the neighborhood there was no Yahoo! Funny isn't it? Looking online is now the way we find everything, pizza included. Then again, maybe no funnier than going to Italy to learn Portuguese...
So how was the pizza? Excellent! A thin, crispy crust with little charred spots and a mild pesto topping, fresh slices of tomato and a thick layer of cheese. North Beach Pizza is kind of known for their loaded pizza. But this one was a nice harmony of elements. I do hope they keep it on the menu.
