Sweet & Savory

Pizza à la Antica

Sunday night, we had dinner with some friends (Joy & Mike) at Pizza Antica over at Santana Row. They had apparently become regulars there on weeknights when they'd had to work late. This thin-crust pizzeria, which prides themselves on using artisan ingredients, had also made its way into our own favorites list.

On this particular visit, J, being the fervent fig fanatic that she is, was on a mission to try one specific pizza on their menu — one whose season was almost over — the Proscuitto de Parma, Black Mission Fig, Gorgonzola and Fontina pizza. And, even though I am allergic to figs (unfortunate, I know), I was sure I'd find one of their other pizzas more than adequate to satisfy me.

We were definitely not disappointed. The four of us shared an equal number of small pizzas, so that we could enjoy a variety of flavors. The fig/proscuitto pizza (we got it with fresh mozzarella in place of the gorgonzola) was a big hit with the other three diners, as expected, and we all agreed that the Spicy Fennel Sausage, Portobello Mushroom and Roasted Onion pizza might just be our all-time favorite. It was news to me, but they apparently make fresh mozzarella in-house and use it on their classic Tomato Sauce, Housemade Mozzarella and Fresh Basil pizza. (I just realized that it says so in the name, but I guess I never noticed that before.. but it does make sense, since I always felt the cheese on this pizza tasted very pure, characteristic of fresh mozzarella.)

Dining at Pizza Antica seems always to inspire me to try my hand at making my own thin-crust pizzas at home. In fact, when we first discovered the restaurant in early summer, J and I had tried to reproduce the flavors in our own oven. I even took pictures and started an entry, but never finished it. Well, here it is now..

We tried to mimic a variety of the ingredients that Pizza Antica used: various meats (Italian sausage, grilled chicken, thinly-sliced soppressata), yukon gold potato and caramelized onion, and tomato and fresh mozzarella.

It was really a time of experimentation, so we ended up with four pizzas with different combinations of toppings:

First, our Potato Onion Pizza got good reviews. It turned out to be quite close to the original Heirloom Potato, Caramelized Onion and White Truffle Oil we had at the restaurant. The only thing we were missing was the truffle oil, but the potato and onion were intense enough to hold their own. This one was definitely a thumbs-up for me. I think J said she was neutral on this one.

Next, our Margherita Pizza disappointed us. It was a bit soggy in comparison with the restaurant's version. This was probably due to the difference in our furnace temperatures. Whereas the restaurant had a wood-fired furnace, which is easily capable of producing that nearly-blackened crisp crust we were after, we had to rely on a pizza stone heated in a home oven. Although the flavors were well blended, the lacking texture got this pizza two thumbs down.

Then, our Meat Lovers' Pizza wowwed us. It was not exactly like the restaurant's Spicy Fennel Sausage, Portobello Mushroom and Roasted Onion pizza, but it had similar flavors. The Italian sausage I'd used was a premade mix, but we could taste a strong fennel seed presence in addition to the pepper that we could visibly see. This got a thumbs-up from both of us.

Finally, we combined the remaining toppings to make a Chicken Potato Onion Pizza, which surprised us. The potato/onion combination was mild, and while J gave this pairing a neutral review before, the addition of smoky-flavored grilled chicken bumped her opinion up to a thumbs-up. I originally thought the addition of grilled chicken would bring down the flavor of the potato/onion original that I already liked, but it was actually not unpleasant. This pizza got two thumbs up as well.

Some other toppings I'd like to try next time include olives/chevre/walnuts, fig/proscuitto (for J), and pesto or garlic with grilled chicken. I think in the to experience great flavor combinations, then perfect the crust, and eventually host a gourmet pizza party to share our it all with our friends.