The Big Cheese
In search of the perfect West Coast pizza. By Dan Leone  "Why doesn't
someone come up with an all-the-way great, memorable, and inimitable West
Coast pizza instead?"
"Dan does not live by burritos
alone," I said, misquoting Joan Baez. "There must be good pizza, as well."
How about marinated shrimp and
clams with lemon zest, pesto and Swiss cheese? That's what I had at
Panhandle Pizza on Hayes Street in the Upper Haight. . . . Panhandle
features a cornmeal and olive oil crust, rotating types of pesto, and various
fancy cheeses, like fontina and goat. They'll also do it without cheese, or
with soy cheese -- although I can't imagine why anyone would want them to.
Some of the wackier toppings
include: eggplant, walnuts, corn, marinated breast of chicken, and barbecue
sauce. Panhandle's 10-inchers range from $6.50 to $8.50, and 14-inchers
(which they call large) go for $12 to $16.50. . . .
I loved the seafood pizza,
which also contained unadvertised celery, parsley, and onions, with big
chunks of garlic. The cornmeal crust was definitely the most distinctive and
probably the best I had in these
parts. I also enjoyed a small salad
with raspberry vinaigrette and a great painting of a couple of clowns
sharing a huge pizza with whole, smiling fishies on it.
Panhandle wins the award for
the most unique, most California-ish pizza. Three cheers for it!
- The San Francisco Bay Guardian, September 21, 1994 LUNCH
Thursday/Friday 10:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
DINNER
7 nights 4:00 - 11:00 p.m.
WEEKEND HOURS
3:00 - 11:00 p.m. |
panhandle@sfpizza.com
