San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
7 more spots for the latest wave of crispy-edged, hefty pies
The Bay Area has been in love with Detroit-style pizza for a few years now. Those rectangular pies, fenced-off with crisp cheese around the edges, strike a nostalgic nerve for a generation of kids who had a childhood crush on crunchy pan pizza from Pizza Hut.
During the pandemic, our relationship with Detroit pizza got even more serious, with folks like Joyride Pizza and Square Pie Guys primed for takeout success. Those two pizza outfits, along with the small chain Slice House, have expanded aggressively with multiple locations each. Square Pie Guys, specifically, became the face of the regional pizza, though the first to introduce the style to this area was prolific pizzaiolo Tony Gemignani.
San Francisco and Oakland are probably our local Detroit capitals, but Gemignani’s Slice House has outposts in Walnut Creek and San Leandro as well as San Francisco. Newer players such as Freewheel Pizza Co. in Clayton and Slice of Homage Pizza in San Jose stretch the Midwestern pizza’s reach farther. The expansion isn’t just geographic — there are many takes on the genre as well. Some stick to the tradition set by D-town pizza originator Buddy’s, using brick cheese or spooning red sauce on top, while others add tons of creativity, like Sunset Squares with its mapo tofu pie, or the corned beef and mustard pizza from Pie Punks.
Detroit-style pizza is no fling: It’s here to stay. So I set out to find those who are doing it best. Since Square Pie Guys has gotten its due, I excluded it from this list to explore what else the landscape has to offer.
Carbona Pizza
Carbona Pizza in Oakland’s Dimond District serves Detroit-style pizza at its most casual but it still embraces tradition. Started by the team behind Grand Lake Kitchen in Oakland, this pizza is perfectly tailored for delivery and has become one of my go-tos. There’s the thick pepperoni ($20) for when the ’roni craving hits, the thick mahalo ($20) for those seeking a prosciutto-draped Hawaiian-esque pie and thick Pollan ($20) for a cheesy, savory mushroom pie. Make sure to grab some craggy, melty mozzarella sticks. Takeout only.
4-9 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. 2042 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland. carbonapizzaoak.com
Cellarmaker House of Pizza
Cellarmaker in Bernal Heights is all about two things: craft beer and square pizza. You can order a whole pie, but the brewery-pizzeria also has Detroit-style slices with pepperoni ($6) or Red Top cheese ($5.50). While the pepperoni will never disappoint, the Red Top cheese impresses with pure, buttery crispness. Part of its richness comes from the final embellishment of shaved Toma cheese, turning up the indulgence a tad. If you’re dining there, make sure to hit your slice with the garlicky, sweet and acidic fermented hot sauce that’s made in-house. The tavern setting is lovely, with ceiling windows illuminating the space.
4-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 4-10 p.m. Friday, 3-10 p.m. Saturday. 3-9 p.m. Sunday. 3193 Mission St., San Francisco. cellarmakerbrewing.com/ mission-pizzeria-and-beer
Freewheel Pizza Co.
Operating out of a commercial kitchen in the back of a Clayton city shopping plaza, Freewheel Pizza Co. is proof the Bay Area’s strong pizza scene extends far. Freewheel chef Randy Martin makes just 40 pies a night, which include round, grandma (a thinner, sheet pan pie) and Detroit-style. Martin exclusively uses Stanislaus tomatoes. To create the stiff, caramelized-cheese skirt, known as frico, on his Detroit pies, he uses a blend of aged cheddar and mozzarella. The classic Detroit ($35) benefits greatly from the addition of confit garlic and fresh basil, and follows tradition with two red racing stripes of tomato sauce on top. Toppings like crimini mushrooms ($3), blistered shishito peppers ($2) or meats ($4-$5) are all available. Takeout only.
4-7 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday. 5433 Clayton Road, Suite A-1, Clayton. freewheelpizzaco.com
Joyride Pizza
Joyride Pizza is a fast-growing Detroit-style pizza operation in San Francisco with over four locations in its first year of opening. It also serves some of the more petite pies among its contemporaries — 8 by10 inches, to be precise. The Mission District spot, one of the original locations, is geared for takeout and delivery. If you’re looking to dine in, try the three other locations, like the Lower Haight, which has a parklet and patio. The pies range from traditional favorites like cheese with tomato sauce ($17), a.k.a. the red racing stripes, or
curled, crisp pepperoni ($18). I tend to reach for the Bacon Me Crazy ($24), which is crispy, creamy and smoky, full of ricotta, bacon and crimini mushrooms. If none of those catch your fancy, the pizzeria is fully modular — you can create your own. It offers gluten-free and vegan options as well.
Hours vary. 411 Valencia St., San Francisco. 530 Haight St., San Francisco. 685 Market St., San Francisco. 730 Howard St., San Francisco. joyridepizza.com
Pie Punks
Pie Punks excels at crunchy pizzas, whether round New York-style, square grandma or crisp-cheese-lined Detroitstyle. The SoMa pizza joint has a casual atmosphere with white brick walls and wooden bar and tables. Certain components stay traditional to the Detroit form, like the use of buttery brick cheese and red-sauce-topped pies. But the most exciting pie on the menu is the mustard ($23), which pizzafies a corned beef sandwich. It’s slathered with mustard and garnished with small bits of pink corned beef and acidic sauerkraut. Rich cheese helps stand up to the acid, but this pie daringly commits to the mustard tanginess. You can dine in-person and grab a cocktail or call for pickup.
11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Friday, noon-10 p.m. Saturday. 145 Second St., San Francisco. piepunkssf.com
Sunset Squares Pizza
Sunset Squares Pizza built a reputation for “inauthentic” takes on the Detroit style, producing wild, wondrous combinations. The Mid-Market location also shares space with a brewery and a Filipino food spot, while the NoPa location is a low-key slice shop. Both have a chill atmosphere where you can order a cold pint and an inventive pizza like you’ve never had before. The mapo tofu pie ($30.50) is among the most daring, adding the braised tofu dish on a crisp, cheese-walled pizza. If at first it doesn’t make sense, it will when you try it: The lush tofu melts into the tingly tomato sauce spiced with Sichuan peppercorns. The Bulldog ($30.50) squarely marries Japanese and Korean flavors such as smoky-sweet Bulldog sauce, beef bulgogi, kimchi and fishy, umami-rich bonito flakes.
4:30-10 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday, 4:30 p.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 10:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Sunday. 59 Ninth St., San Francisco. 4:30-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, Sunday, 4:30 p.m.-2:30 a.m. Friday-Saturday. 553 Divisadero St., San Francisco. sunsetsquares.com
Slice House
The many pizzerias that make up Tony Gemignani’s Bay Area empire —
Tony’s Pizza Napoletana, Capo’s and several branches of Slice House — are all comprehensive places of pizza worship, with various styles of pies at each restaurant. In 2011, Gemignani was among the first to introduce Detroit-style pizza to the Bay Area, and in 2012, he watched as a chef competing with the then-obscure style won the influential International Pizza Challenge. Gemignani’s is a textbook version, complete with a crisp bottom, fluffy bread and cheesy and crispy frico. If you’re willing to commit to a whole pie, sit-down restaurants Tony’s and Capo’s have you covered while Slice House is the casual takeout arm. Depending on the location, some Slice House locations like Walnut Creek have daily rotating slices of Detroit pizza, while others list it as “when available.” You might encounter crunchy, meaty indulgences like a sausage and ricotta slice ($6.10) and another with suction-cup-like pepperoni ($6.10). Otherwise, whole pies ($23-$36) can be customized to your heart’s desire.
11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday. 1500 Mt. Diablo Blvd., Walnut Creek. slicehouse.com