So all you fellow foodies out there probably know about the standard great pizzerias in San Diego. They all are in or around dowtown:
Bronx Pizzeria (Hillcrest/Mission Hills)
Pros: great, huge NY pies for as little as $13.50
Cons: gets very crowded, parking is tricky and you get a bit of authentic Bronx attitude to go with your pizza, limited options (they can be cheap because they do volume and keep it simple)
Pizzeria Luigi (Golden Hill)
I'm told this is a spin-off of one of the Bronx staff.
Pros: much easier parking, larger area, more seating, great pizza, still pretty affordable
Cons: a bit loud if you want to dine-in and still a bit crowded
Lefty's (North Park)
Chicago style pizza
Pros: pretty good pie (but I prefer Regents for chicago style, although it's all the way up in UTC area), more sports-centric
Cons: very very small shop, parking can be a little tricky, pizza is a bit overrated
There's also a couple decnt chains like BJs and Oggis (but they're a bit pricey and we foodies prefer non-chains if we can help it).
Enter Sicilian Thing. I'm told that this is yet another Bronx spin-off (they don't mention it on the website, so maybe I got that wrong...but it's not the sort of thing you'd publish). Nothing special right? Well if they only offered NY style, I'd say that there was no more room in North Park for yet another NY pizzeria. Even if the food was great, they'd be hard pressed to compete with all the other shops. Lucky for them, they have a great differentiator: Sicilian style deep dish pizza. If you've had deep dish before and been turned off by its cakey, doughy crust, I have to tell you to give it another try. Sicilian Thing does a fantastic job of offering up real deep dish pizza that's not cakey or doughy, but crunchy, light, buttery and delicious. They offer a great selection of toppings, but I have to advocate keeping it simple. The crust is the star of this play, so just get a plain cheese pizza or maybe some black olives or tomato slices. Further, the owner, Paul, is the nicest guy you've ever met. Bronx Pizza has earned a reputation for being loud and abrupt with its customers and some people love that, but there's some of us that still appreciate friendly customer service, even if it doesn't provide the Bronx cliche of NY "attitude."
Prices for a whole pizza start at $14 for either the thick-crusted, square Sicilian style or the NY round, thin style. These pizzas are massive. The thick crust can fill a hungry person up with two pieces. There's 9 squares in the Sicilian style, so you do the math. My wife and I ate it for a week and it reheats REALLY well in the toaster oven. They also offer up cannolies and some other items you wouldn't normally expect at a pizza joint. I'd be very interested to know what portion of their pizza sold is Sicilian vs. NY style. I'd like to think that there's a market for a place that only sells Sicilian.
I seriously fear that once the word gets out about this place, it will suffer from the crowds that many other great pizzeria's suffer from. Their place is small, so there's a definite risk of overcrowding. The moral here is that you should get in there and order pizza soon...and don't tell your friends about it ;^)
Sicilian Thing Pizza
4046 30th St.
San Diego, CA
619-282-3000
Bronx Pizzeria (Hillcrest/Mission Hills)
Pros: great, huge NY pies for as little as $13.50
Cons: gets very crowded, parking is tricky and you get a bit of authentic Bronx attitude to go with your pizza, limited options (they can be cheap because they do volume and keep it simple)
Pizzeria Luigi (Golden Hill)
I'm told this is a spin-off of one of the Bronx staff.
Pros: much easier parking, larger area, more seating, great pizza, still pretty affordable
Cons: a bit loud if you want to dine-in and still a bit crowded
Lefty's (North Park)
Chicago style pizza
Pros: pretty good pie (but I prefer Regents for chicago style, although it's all the way up in UTC area), more sports-centric
Cons: very very small shop, parking can be a little tricky, pizza is a bit overrated
There's also a couple decnt chains like BJs and Oggis (but they're a bit pricey and we foodies prefer non-chains if we can help it).
Enter Sicilian Thing. I'm told that this is yet another Bronx spin-off (they don't mention it on the website, so maybe I got that wrong...but it's not the sort of thing you'd publish). Nothing special right? Well if they only offered NY style, I'd say that there was no more room in North Park for yet another NY pizzeria. Even if the food was great, they'd be hard pressed to compete with all the other shops. Lucky for them, they have a great differentiator: Sicilian style deep dish pizza. If you've had deep dish before and been turned off by its cakey, doughy crust, I have to tell you to give it another try. Sicilian Thing does a fantastic job of offering up real deep dish pizza that's not cakey or doughy, but crunchy, light, buttery and delicious. They offer a great selection of toppings, but I have to advocate keeping it simple. The crust is the star of this play, so just get a plain cheese pizza or maybe some black olives or tomato slices. Further, the owner, Paul, is the nicest guy you've ever met. Bronx Pizza has earned a reputation for being loud and abrupt with its customers and some people love that, but there's some of us that still appreciate friendly customer service, even if it doesn't provide the Bronx cliche of NY "attitude."
Prices for a whole pizza start at $14 for either the thick-crusted, square Sicilian style or the NY round, thin style. These pizzas are massive. The thick crust can fill a hungry person up with two pieces. There's 9 squares in the Sicilian style, so you do the math. My wife and I ate it for a week and it reheats REALLY well in the toaster oven. They also offer up cannolies and some other items you wouldn't normally expect at a pizza joint. I'd be very interested to know what portion of their pizza sold is Sicilian vs. NY style. I'd like to think that there's a market for a place that only sells Sicilian.
I seriously fear that once the word gets out about this place, it will suffer from the crowds that many other great pizzeria's suffer from. Their place is small, so there's a definite risk of overcrowding. The moral here is that you should get in there and order pizza soon...and don't tell your friends about it ;^)
Sicilian Thing Pizza
4046 30th St.
San Diego, CA
619-282-3000
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2 comments:
Hi, Ian,
Nice writeup on Sicilian Thing. I definitely recognized one of the guys behind the counter at Bronx.
If you like Sicilian-style, you might want to give Hoboken Pizza in PB a try too. I think I like it a little better than Sicilian Thing (the crust is a bit lighter).
Hey Ian,
Thanks for the heads up, I am always on the lookout for great pizza.
Cheers
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