Two's Company

At a pair of new pizzerias, you’ll find thin crusts, big ideas and a lot of heart.

You could claim that SF’s pizza renaissance started back in 1985—when Pauline’s opened in the Mission—but in the last decade, it’s really picked up speed, with the arrival of thin-crust meccas Pizzetta 211, A16 and Pizzeria Delfina. The latest wave brings Piccino Cafe, in Dogpatch, and Gialina, in Glen Park. At first glance, the two appear similar: Both are cozy, modern corner storefronts in out-of-the-way neighborhoods serving a small menu—pizzas, antipasti and a few salads—printed in a Smith Corona–ish font. But to get to them, their owners have traveled very different routes.

After cooking at the likes of the Last Supper Club and Slow Club, Gialina’s Sharon Ardiana decided this winter to make a longtime dream come true. “Pizza’s something I’ve always loved,” she says. “There should be a really good pizza place in every neighborhood, and there just isn’t.” Named for her Italian grandmother, Gialina raises the neighborhood-pizza-place bar: Along with the expected margherita and three-cheese pies, you might find butternut-squash-and-sage or potato-green-garlic-and-bacon, and their ingredients include Niman Ranch meats, SF’s own Giusti organic flours and produce from Mariquita and Star Route farms.

The pair behind Piccino, Sheryl Rogat and Margherita Sagan, are first-time restaurateurs, though Rogat has worked in the business (including a brief stint at Pizzetta 211) and Sagan and her husband are partners in the Blue Bottle kiosk in Hayes Valley. “We wanted Piccino to be like an old Italian bar,” Rogat says. “In the morning you get your coffee, in the afternoon you pick up something nice to eat and in the evening you wrap it up with some wine.” The fact that the wine’s likely to be from Kermit Lynch and the coffee is, of course, Blue Bottle has set a high standard for the pizza, which it meets. “Our philosophy,” Rogat adds, “is to serve the best of what’s out there that’s organic and sustainable and all those key words.” Words that translate into a sausage pizza made with rapini from, yes, Mariquita and Star Route, or a margherita topped with fresh oregano because basil isn’t yet in season.

So, how to decide between the two pizzerias? At first, it was easy: Piccino was open for only breakfast and lunch, whereas Gialina was dinner-only. Now that each has extended its hours, the verdict may hinge on coffee and dessert. Gialina is, so far, the only restaurant in SF to serve Bi-Rite ice cream, whereas Piccino holds the Blue Bottle card.

Piccino 801 22nd St., 415-824-4224

Gialina 2842 Diamond St., 415-239-8500

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