Pizzaiolo

PIC and I have been to Pizzaiolo on multiple occasions, and eating here for the project was really just an excuse to eat here again.

Since the last time we've been they opened a back patio, and we sat out there and listened to jazz while eating. This was a nice bonus for us; also nice is that they sorta snuck us in and we didn't have to wait, probably because the wait staff could tell that we're from the neighborhood. Score.

This is one of my favorite restaurants in Oakland, and if it weren't for the inevitable wait time I'd probably eat there too often. You can of course make reservations, but I'm an impromptu diner.

What we've ordered: plain pizza, wild fern pizza, meatballs, olive oil cake, salad, various appetizers
Service: hipster friendly - the servers probably live nearby
Atmo: inviting, warm, upscale, but not stuffy - I've worn shorts. Then again, I'll wear shorts just about anywhere.
Crowd: the Hills are alive + the neighborhood
Spent: we generally spend about $50/person here
Overall rating: 5 silver sporks

PIC and I have gone back and forth as to whether or not Dopo has better pizza. It's a tough call, but I think I'm going with Pizzaiolo here due to the freshness and variety of toppings. The last pizza we had was a wild fern pizza that was devoured by a third friend who usually fears all things green. PIC actually didn't like that pizza so much due to its lack of cheesiness (it just had some pecorino sprinkled, and no mozzarella), but that was really more our bad - we didn't read the menu properly. I loved this pizza, and the fact that it got a vege-phobe to eat 2 slices was impressive.

Keep in mind that the pizza here is really more of a super-thin flatbread that's not really a meal. If you want pizza for dinner, you might want to go to Lanesplitter.

The meatballs here are one of my favorite menu items on any menu in a 5-mile radius. They are delicious, sinful and remarkably filling. An order of meatballs and a shared pizza is enough for me to eat, and if we weren't always getting wine we'd spend a lot less money here.

The appetizers are always seasonal and delicious, so if something leaps out at you, order it. Same goes for dessert, though the olive oil cake was so surprisingly delicious that I'll mention it here.

Extra bonus points for Blue Bottle Coffee, which without question is my favorite coffee in the Bay Area (sorry Peet's).

There are 2 main downsides to Pizzaiolo:

1) It's always crowded, making impromptu dining difficult, and making it unpleasant to sit at the front tables
2) It's expensive

Other than that, there are no downsides. Except parking, which is getting harder and harder with each new awesome restaurant that opens on that stretch of Telegraph. But I can't really complain, because having a new Gourmet Ghetto emerge in Oakland is well worth the parking woes to enjoy it.

Eat here.