Comparing Pizzas

Like hamburgers, John has acquired a refined taste for pizza. I imagine we've tried half the pizza delivery joints in the city, though remained faithful to eXtreme on Union for the last 2 years. Discovering the Yard Sale with, well, you can probably imagine, everything but the kitchen sink. Once we figured out to replace the italian sausage with garlic, the search for our favorite pizza was put to bed.

This week, to show my appreciation for John's infinite patience with my around the clock work hours, I took him to a new pizza place he's been interested in trying. Little Star Pizza, in Western Edition (and one on Valencia just south of Market) doesn't take reservations but makes you feel right at home with a cool beer. We were starving 45 minutes later when we were shown a cozy table against the wall, all dark wood in the candle lit space. Already having had plenty of time to peruse the menu, we promptly ordered caprese salad and garlic bread to kick things off. The tomatos were sweet and firm, perfectly paired with the soft and peppery fresh mozzarella and basil. Garlic bread was something else. A loaf of soft white bread with thick but soft crust arrived, sliced, next to a dipping bowl of homemade mayonnaise and 2 roasted garlic heads. The idea was to spread a few cloves on the bread then slather on a coating of buttery mayonnaise. It was so good we finished off the entire loaf and started spreading garlic on the salad croutons!

We selected a deep-dish classic pizza with salame, sausage, onions and green peppers, adding black olives because it seemed like they should be included. I don't usually care for deep-dish but this was great. The crust was oily and crispy. Thin, like I like it, but tall to pack in the inch and a half of toppings. I'm such a sucker for great pizza sauce. I don't think I've ever had it layered on top of pizza toppings, but it was a knockout. Highly recommended for both atmosphere and great pizza.

So which is better? As you can see, I ate a slice of each for breakfast Saturday morning (yes, we had Xtreme Thursday night and Little Star Friday night—I have no explanation). In the light of day, there's something to be said for gourmet pizza from Little Star, the whole experience of dining there should be repeated. But on any given Thursday night, I'll still opt for a garlic-laden Yard Sale.