You’re gazing at Good Taste, a menu for eating well in the Bay Area. Thanks to a dinner invitation from Tartine Manufactory, we can share the lengths the restaurant goes to in order to make distinctive pizza.
When Tartine Manufactory (595 Alabama St., SF) opened in 2016, the restaurant experimented with dinner, trying both prix fixe and à la carte menus with some adventurous items. The pandemic put dinner service on pause in early 2020, and it just returned in March in a much more approachable form.
Now the focus at night is smartly on pizza, which instantly makes this place a more relaxed and comfortable restaurant than it used to be in those early days. It’s a laidback vibe, but it’s probably not a big surprise that Tartine’s goal to make distinctive pizza is super serious—it’s nerdery you can taste.
They even let you know how they do it on the menu: “Our pizza was created using the Biga starter method, where 80% of the flour is fermented before being mixed with Tartine sourdough starter and Durum-grain flour. The dough then goes through a 2 day cold fermentation to deepen flavor and achieve a nutritious light & crispy crust.”
There are currently nine different pies on the menu, plus some additional toppings such as egg, anchovy, pepperoni, prosciutto, sausage, and some really stellar ranch dressing. You could also order some meatballs and put them on a pizza; we’ll be the last to judge such a good decision. Going classic is an easy option, but we gravitated towards two options that don’t have tomato sauce: one with two kinds of mushrooms and salsa verde, the other a pizzafication of the popular pasta dish, cacio e pepe.
While you’re there to double down on dough, you should follow the correct instinct to go even further and get an order of country garlic bread with caciocavallo and fontal cheeses, black garlic, and a side of marinara. The justification is that this is the bread that built the Tartine empire, which now includes three SF locations, one at SFO, four in Southern California, and six (!) in Seoul. Just pace yourself!
Even if you’re full after eating all this, this sweet tooth still suggests sharing a bite of a light mini tres leches or fromage blanc Bavarian cake for dessert and taking the rest home if necessary (it probably won’t be, though). Tartine still excels in sweets like these as much as it does dough.
Tartine pizza is available from 5:30pm to 9:30pm, Wednesday through Sunday. Is it wrong to dream of a future slice shop and/or French bread pizza parlor, too?
Tamara is the publisher of California Eating and the founder of the new online Music Book Club (check out our video archives on 48 Hills).
