Two relatively new restaurants to the Pacific Beach scene and one OG will keep your mouth happy for National Pizza Day on Feb. 9 with three distinct approaches to the textures and tastes of pizza.

Sauced Pizzeria’s Supreme pie with a crispy thin crust, Hoboken Pizza & Beer Joint’s thick Sicilian squares, and The Friendly’s spicy pepperoni, bacon, and jalapeno contrast in styles, techniques, and flavors, but all are worthy of seeking out for a mouthwatering meal.

SAUCED PIZZERIA

This spot at 4475 Ingraham St. has been an Italian restaurant for more than 70 years. When Christina Cunningham (above) bought Marino’s Italian Restaurant in 2021, she knew she would continue the family-owned Italian restaurant tradition for that location – albeit with some sprucing up. The red and black tiled floor remains, as does the old upright piano (played on Friday nights by an MBHS music student), but the kitchen is upgraded along with the menu, which now includes vegan options.

And now, out of their massive old-school pizza ovens, come some of the best pies in PB. The most popular, the Supreme, is piled with just about all the veggies and meats in a red sauce, on a delightfully light and crispy crust, and covered with a mix of cheeses. The ham, the fresh sliced red onions, the well-seasoned sausage, and the crunchy green peppers come together for a feast on your tongue.

“One bite and you can taste why it’s our most popular pizza,” said Cunningham, whose nephew, Chad Fields, is the executive chef.

Fields, who had previously worked in pizza shops, took a little from here and there and fine-tuned the dough and sauce to react perfectly with the 650-degree ovens in the salty coastal air. The result is a masterpiece.

“Our pizza reviews are amazing,” Cunningham said. “We love that local families, who have been coming to this spot for generations, keep coming back. Now, we are all part of a new family.” saucedpizzeriapb.com.

HOBOKEN PIZZA & BEER JOINT

This ode-to-Jersey pizza place at 1459 Garnet Ave. has been slinging NY/NJ-style pies in Pacific Beach since 2002 and has won over countless East Coast-biased critics for decades. “I think we have the best New York-style pizza around here. Who’s better?” asked longtime owner Tony Kruk, who still makes the sauce every morning, from a recipe ingrained in his brain that’s not for sharing.

The round pie has the credentials, but it’s the thick, square Sicilian with the Tri-State bonafides. “People come in here only for that pizza,” Kruk said. “The original owner (from Jersey) taught me everything. This Sicilian pie was his recipe.”

Sicilian pizza is a process. It takes a lot of time and effort, every single day. “It’s kind of a pain in the … but it’s unique and you can’t find it like that anywhere else around here,” Kruk said. “That’s why people keep coming back for it. We’re dependable. Our food is consistently good. That’s the reason locals have kept coming in for 20 years. And we appreciate that.”

The thick pie is cooked to golden cheese perfection with pepperoni, some sausage that crisps on top, a thin layer of red sauce, and those corner slices with the crunch of the crust. Like North Jersey, it’s something that has to be experienced in person. Fuhgettaboutit. hobokenpizza.com.

THE FRIENDLY

The Dirty Flat Top cheeseburger may have put this North Park eatery on the map, but don’t overlook the spicy and savory pizza options. The Pacific Beach outpost, at 1344 Garnet Ave., opened in 2022 with a no-frills dining room and outdoor seating in front. Diners can order whole pies or by the slice from the display case, and there are plenty of satisfying selections available.

The most popular pie is the pepperoni, bacon, and jalapeno, followed closely by “The Becky,” a white pizza with mushrooms and ricotta cheese.

“The crunch of the bacon, the spicy jalapenos, and the meaty pepperoni, it just makes sense,” said The Friendly manager Bruce Heelan. “The mushroom and ricotta pizza is also trendy – one of our best-sellers.”

To give the mushrooms an added pop, they are cooked Duxelles style – a French technique with shallots, herbs, and sautéed in butter. “I don’t think any other place does that, it really adds to the flavor,” Heelan said.

The locals who started the original eatery in 2018 had all worked in the restaurant business for years and put their heads together to come up with interesting flavor combinations – such as the “Did I Tell You I’m a Vegan” pie, which has Diya cheese, garlic, spinach, red bell pepper, mushrooms, red onion, and artichoke hearts. Somehow, it all works. @thefriendlysd.

Any way you slice it, the options in Pacific Beach will satisfy any pizza cravings you have and keep you satiated on National Pizza Day and beyond. Now, that’s amore.