a slightly different post, from me, but wanted to shout out my favorite restaurant in the world, the anchovy bar!
as a life long tinned fish lover, I was so excited to hear the buzz about this spot when it opened right before the panini. I finally got around to visiting in May of 2021 and was instantly hooked (pun intended).
the anchovy bar, as the name suggests, is a sustainable seafood focused restaurant that always has at least three anchovy preparations on the menu.
the first pic shows their classic “mixed six” with 3 callol serrats and 3 don bacartes fillets served with crème fraiche, tomato vinaigrette, and veggies! on the left of that pic you can see some shiny silvery babes that are the real star of the show.
the anchovy bar actually has a dedicated fishing boat that catches california anchovies for processing and consumption at the restaurant. they are literally unreal. lightly brined with chilis, citrus, and herbs and unbelievably delicate. they have been off the menu for the winter but should be back this week!!!
other pics include their Caesar deviled egg and a special italian board for a cook book dinner I attended there last year!
Strongly disagree. Never had it on pizza, but I’d definitely try it. My wife, OTOH, agrees with you. She also doesn’t like anchovies. I love her anyway.
We have a local fancy wood-fired place that makes two pizzas we love, but are fairly unusual.
One is topped with brocollini and figs, and finished with balsamic.
The other they call eggplant parmigiana. That one has very thinly sliced, lightly batter fried eggplant on it, finished with a fig agridolce. It is by far my favorite “gourmet” pizza.
Once, in San Francisco, I had a Portuguese pizza that was a white pizza with thinly sliced potatoes and salt cod. It was terrific. I remember having potato pizza in Italy more than 30 years ago, so it’s not that weird.
Also in Italy, I had a fabulous tuna and onion pizza. The tuna was Italian canned tuna in olive oil. Not quite as good as anchovy and onion, but still pretty damn good. Not a thing you’d find at your corner pizza place in the States, though.
I’ve had the egg on a pizza in Croatia, and it wasn’t bad. Also the fairly common Fruti de Mar, with clams or mussels (and the shells), shrimp, and tiny squids. Also pretty good. But the oddest I have had was a pizza with shrimp and maraschino cherries. Somehow, that one also worked.
Pizza Tonno is one of the basic varieties you can get at almost every place that serves pizza in Germany. I’d say the others are:
Pizza Margherita (only tomato sauce and cheese (mozarella), no other toppings)
Pizza Funghi
Pizza Prosciutto (ham)
Pizza Salami
Pizza Frutti Di Mare
Pizza Spinaci (spinach and garlic, sometimes topped with an egg)
Pizza Hawaii (ham and pineapple)
Pizza Quattro Formaggi (four different cheeses)
Pizza Vegetale (mixed vegetables, it varies, can contain spinach, peppers, artichokes, olives, eggplant, broccoli, even asparagus or corn)
I can’t tell if some of these variants seem weird to non-Germans.
In the U.S., some would be very typical, and some would range from uncommon to very rare.
Here, the toppings that are most typically offered by pizza places are:
Pork: pepperoni, Italian sausage, ham, Canadian bacon, “American” bacon (pork belly). Other pork items (salami, prosciutto, bratwurst, etc.) aren’t as common.
Beef: most typically ground beef/hamburger
Poultry: chicken, most commonly diced chicken breast
Seafood: anchovies (as seen above, very polarizing, but also pretty common)
Vegetables: onions, bell peppers, olives (black or green), spinach, maybe tomatoes
Fruit: pineapple (usually in the context of a Hawaiian pizza, along with ham)
Cheese: shredded mozzarella is the norm; lots of others might be offered, as well
Andiamo Pizza (“Nostorno pizza” on the menu.)
Trattoria DOC in Evanston used to have it, but I don’t see it on their current menu. But might be worth rechecking when you’re in town
Pazza Pizza (they add olives to theirs.)
Rasmus Pizza Restaurant (they’re only so-so)
I’m sure I’ve seen it at other places, too, but I don’t see it on current menus. But those have it now, and there’s probably a few I’m missing.
The funny thing is that though we’re the homeland of bratwurst and you can buy one at every corner, I’ve never seen a bratwurst pizza anywhere in Germany and would consider it very weird. Maybe it has to do with the fact that most pizza places here are run by Italians and they wouldn’t allow for such a monstrosity.
ETA: I’m also surprised by the many references to potatoes on pizza, even in Italy. Same as with bratwurst, I’ve never encountered a pizza with our national tuber.
A pizza shop near us has a “Grandma Pie” with red sauce, steak, onion, green pepper, Buffalo fries, cheddar, and provolone. It sounds kind of busy, but is very good.
Put me down as an anchovy lover planning a pilgrimage to San Francisco. (Travel aside: the tiny French town of Colluire on the Mediterranean at the Spanish border has not one but TWO anchovy museums! That’s not why I honeymooned there, but it certainly didn’t hurt). My personal go-to is anchovy, garlic, and olive. Canned tuna, OTOH, leaves me cold.
My local place does a great pizza with garlic, spinach, feta, and egg. Nothing wrong with the egg.
I remember once having a delicious pizza. It had a bunch of exotic savory toppings that I forget, but around the edge was a ring of slices of canned peaches. It was actually quite delicious; it was the last thing you got to so it was like a little dessert for each slice and didn’t really get mixed in with the other toppings.
Personally I think corn and the other canned veggies are the weirdest and least appealing options out there.
I highly recommend Pizza Art Cafe near the Rockwell brown line station (not to be confused with Art of Pizza!). They have a tuna pizza which is nothing too special IMO. It’s traditional Italian style from a wood stove. They smoke all their own meats; I’m vegetarian so I can only testify that the smoked salmon pizza is awesome.
But might be worth rechecking when you’re in town