On Pizza

There's a lot to love about living in California. Nice weather, close proximity to the ocean and the mountains, and an excellent variety of delicious cuisines. Unfortunately, it's common knowledge that the locals can't seem to make a decent pizza.

Don't get me wrong. At the end of the day, pizza is still just melted cheese on bread, and let's face it, that's always going to be good. Still, I've been out here 5 years and have always had trouble finding pizza that could equal even an average East coast pizza like Bertucci's. And certainly nothing could compare to my favorite Massachusetts pizza chain, Sal's Pizza. So imagine my excitement when the Wacky Chinawife found out that my beloved Sal's Pizza has opened two locations in the Bay Area!

But before we continue this tale, we must ask, "why does California pizza suck so bad?" Besides the fact that Californians don't know what good pizza is, it's hard to come up with any one thing that can explain it. But let's quickly break it down:

Tomato Sauce
Though the sauce is a key component, I don't think this has much to do with the lousy pizzas in California. Sauces can sometimes be too tangy, but this isn't a huge deal to me. Too much sauce is a common error, but I think both East and West coast pizzerias often make this mistake.

Toppings
Californians tend to gravitate towards toppings that are not particularly pizza-like, such as BBQ chicken, avocados, artichokes, salad greens, etc. This is a little annoying, but since everyone still offers pepperoni, sausage, bacon, garlic, pepper, and meatballs, we can safely say that the toppings aren't the real culprit here.

Crust
No doubt, 97% of California pizza makers can't get the crust to be quite as good as you'll find on the East coast. It's pretty common to get crust that's too greasy/oily. It's also common to get crust that's too thick. But perhaps the biggest issue is that most crusts are too tough and don't taste quite right. Why is this? According to this article in Wired, the problem is the local water supply:

"Water," Batali says. "Water is huge. It's probably one of California's biggest problems with pizza." Water binds the dough's few ingredients. Nearly every chemical reaction that produces flavor occurs in water, says Chris Loss, a food scientist with the Culinary Institute of America. "So, naturally, the minerals and chemicals in it will affect every aspect of the way something tastes."

This sounds a little bit hand-wave-y, but I have heard from a few people that California water's high iron content does affect the way the crust tastes.

Cheese
IMO, this is the thing that separates the good pizzas from the great pizzas. And no California pizza uses the right kind of cheese to make their pizza GREAT. The mozzarella cheese should be melted evenly over the pizza to the point where it nearly binds itself to the crust--it should not be possible easily pull off a hunk of cheese off of the bread. And the cheese consistency should be such that the strings of cheese are very thin--I believe thick strings are characteristic of lesser quality cheese. And lastly, the cheese shouldn't give off too much orange grease--that should come from the meat. I think using 100% whole milk mozzarella is what gets these characteristics, but to be honest, I'm not exactly sure how this can be accomplished.


So we went down to the closest Sal's location yesterday to see if this was the pizza that could reverse the "crappy California pizza" trend. Now keep in mind, I've been burned by countless pizzas out here, many with the promise of "tasting just like it does back East" and all of them falling well short. So I admit I walked into Sal's with some apprehension. We ended up getting a slice of meat lover's and a slice of spinach & garlic (a white pizza). So what was the verdict? Tomato sauce--excellent. Toppings--great. Crust--extremely good. Cheese--better than most, but not perfect. But overall--best pizza in the Bay Area so far, though still not quite there yet. (At this point, I'm obligated to mention that I love the Wacky Chinawife).

I talked pizza with the guy behind the counter for a few minutes and mentioned that the crust was almost exactly like the Sal's back east, but the cheese wasn't quite the same. He told me that I was right--they don't use the same mix of cheese out here, because they don't order as much volume as the east coast chains. But they put a lot of effort into the crust--even going so far as to install an expensive water filtration system to give it the doughy texture they desire. He also told me that they'd like to open a lot more stores out here. Um, yes please!

So to update my Bay Area pizza rankings (heavily tilted toward South Bay, where I live):
1. Sal's Pizza
2. Pie in the Sky
3. A Slice of New York
4. Giovanni's Pizza
5. Costco (surprisingly good)