Por Frank Sabatini Jr. | Descripción del restaurant
Guy Fieri of the Food Network said that if he lived in San Diego, he’d have a “signature account” at Pizzeria Luigi. The compliment was paid when the spiky-haired television host began shoveling down various pies at the Golden Hill pizza shop for his “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” show.
For proprietor Luigi Agostini, the national publicity propelled him into San Diego’s elusive, but highly competitive, pizza hall of fame.
Agostini, a young Italian immigrant, has since carbon-copied the menu at a second location in North Park while sticking to a dough recipe that uses high-gluten flour and purified bottled water. The result is a thin, elastic crust with an air-blown gentleness that finicky pizza-lovers largely embrace.
The vibe at Golden Hill is reminiscent of a neighborhood pizza parlor in San Francisco, situated within a quaint hodgepodge of old houses and businesses that reminds Agostini of his hometown in Varese, Italy. His shop in North Park feels more like Ocean Beach, slightly disarrayed amid grunge art and wooden picnic tables. At either location, display cases are stocked with a kaleidoscopic assortment of pies that excite the senses upon entering.
All slices are $2.75 except for plain cheese, priced at $2.50. The pizzas are also available in whole form, with the most expensive capping off at $20 for such creations as the no-sauce Sports Bar topped with thinly sliced potatoes, bacon, cheddar, blue cheese and green onions. Yes, it tasted like a loaded baked potato all the way through.
The Mona Lisa pizza was spotlighted on Fieri’s television show and landed subsequently in the recipe section on the Food Network’s website. Though hardly unconventional, the merging of pepperoni, sausage, bell peppers, mushrooms, onions and black olives leaves a savory and salty good impression in the mouth.
Agostini’s tomato sauce plays a vital role in the pizzas using such proverbial toppings. He injects into the sauce what too many pizzerias in San Diego tend to underplay or overlook: red pepper flakes, granulated garlic, fresh basil, Parmesan cheese and essential oregano. With those ingredients in check, even a bare cheese slice escapes the pitfall of blandness. And speaking of cheese, the shops offer a vegan version from Daiya, which costs an extra $4 per pie.
Other specialty pizzas include the titillating Frenchie topped with blue cheese, honey ham and a novel addition of pears. The “salad pie” features spring mix lettuces, kalamata olives, tomatoes and onions, all dressed in vinaigrette and splayed over hot, crispy crust. Made without cheese, it’s the most guiltless pizza in town.
A short list of baked items includes stromboli and calzones, along with a meatball roll encasing far more ricotta and mozzarella than beef. Served generously as two weighty logs, I didn’t encounter any meat until a quarter of the way into the first section. What finally did surface were finely crumbled meatballs, never in whole or partial form. The accompanying marinara sauce, however, was bright and expressive.
The menu extends also to paninis, lasagna and a few tossed pasta dishes, although we’re told that new items are currently in development such as a chicken cutlet sandwich and other pasta medleys. From the beverage list, a selection of draft beer changes frequently while the wines embody labels from California and Italy.
Whether Luigi’s pies carry the stamp of profundity that back-East transplants like me incessantly demand, they score enough passionate points to standout among San Diego’s growing roster of skilled pizza makers.
Pizzeria Luigi
1137 25th St. (Golden Hill)
619-233-3309
2121 El Cajon Blvd. (North Park)
619-294-9417
Prices: Salads, sandwiches and pasta, $4 to $7.50; pizzas, $14.50 to $20
