Monday, June 28, 2010

Pizzeria Picco

After killing those slices at The Cheese Board in Berkeley, I decided to head north and explore Sausalito and Napa Valley. I'm going to be blunt with you- I am a beer guy, and no matter how hard I try, I never learn anything about wine. I enjoy it just fine, but given the choice I'll always choose suds. That being said, I took a quick tour of the Mondavi winery before heading back south, eventually stopping in Larkspur to check out the much-hyped Pizzeria Picco.


Founded by Bruce Hill five years ago, the pizzeria gets its name from the Italian word for 'hill' or 'peak,' a combination of the fact that Picco sits on a slope overlooking Larkspur in conjunction with the founder's last name.


Picco's got a nice funky style befitting the vibe emanating from the charming town it inhabits. In typical California style, nearly all the toppings were fresh, local, and organic. Contrary to this, I was caught off guard when I was told Picco flash freezes all their pizzas to be baked at home. Wha?? I'm curious to see how that would work...


This place really isn't all that big, sporting a few inside seats at the bar/kitchen, and a few tables outside. The brick oven is conveniently built into and tucked away in the corner to make maximum use of what space they have. The building itself is shared with Bruce's other restaurant, simply named Picco. Unsure of what to get, I ordered three different guys-


Of course I had to get the obligatory Margherita. The flavors on this pie were tasty but not earth-shattering. While the flavor of the basil didn't quite come out strong, the sauce was perfectly sweet and cheese had a nice salty taste to it. Granted this was cooked in a brick oven versus gas, but Delfina could stand to learn a lesson in flavor from Picco.


Next on the list was the "Son of Yeti" - a white four-cheese pie (mozz, Fontina, Pecorino, and Parmesan) with garlic, leeks, thyme, and hen of the woods mushrooms.


This pie tasted great and it had that organic feeling that the ingredients were picked right from the backyard, with the strong Fontina holding everything together.


Just as I was satiating my appetite, the waitress beleaguered me with the third and by far the heaviest pizza of the three, the Specialized, named after the nearby bicycle company-


Here we have tomato sauce, mozz, Hobb's pepperoni, house-made sausage and basil. Woof. Thankfully Picco sports three-tiered pizza pan... holders (?) keeping the small tables as clutter-free as possible.


I did as much damage as I could on this before eventually asking to relegate the remains to a box, but I'm pretty proud of the assault I launched on these pizzas. Picco definitely has it going on and is one of Larkspur's best kept secrets, but they could definitely stand to expand.

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