After four straight days of eating hot & sour soup because I had a cold, all I wanted to do was wrap my mouth around something with texture, crunch, and a nice, toothsome chew. Something that will hit that [sweet] spot and make me groan with incredible satisfaction. You know, pizza. A piping hot slice of cheeselicious pizza at 3 am always hits the spot right?
Soft opening 3 weeks ago, Pizza Hacker's brick and mortar (formerly Incas) finally came into fruition after years at Dolores Park and popping up at Vinyl Coffee & Wine Bar baking pizza from a makeshift pizza oven using a Weber Grill. How cool is that?
I never got to try their pizza but since Pizza Hacker's new spot is just several minutes away from me, now was my chance.
The chalkboard menu is small with just one salad and five pizza options: http://bit.ly/1fi0rvL. I don't mind small menus since it allows the chef(s) to select the best seasonal ingredients and perfect the few dishes they offer well.
All pizzas are a very reasonable $15 which includes tax. They also have one red and one white wine ($8/glass, $30/bottle), 4 beers ($5/glass, $27 pitcher), and sodas ($3). CC's accepted.
Pizza Hacker is family friendly since there's picnic tables (communal seating); right to be exact and a chalk board for kids to scribble on while they await their pie: http://bit.ly/1dB8oJl. If you find yourself having to wait for a table, hit up Rock Bar (owned by Front Porch) down the block for some drinks: http://bit.ly/1avgubW.
The staff is incredibly friendly. It was our waiter's first day and he did a great job and promptly taking and delivering our order.
I'm four reviews behind on my pizza reviews but Pizza Hacker is a step below Delfina's for me. My top five picks are still Una Pizza Napolatana, Pizzetta 211, Baonecci, Tony's and A16 (pending review).
Maybe I choose the wrong pizza but I felt the Intermezzo Salad ($8) outshined my pizza: http://bit.ly/1mCiTBD. The salad was ginormous and was enough to feed 4-5 people. All the ingredients were uber fresh and dressed in a deliciously savory and nicely tangy poppy seed dressing. I loved the garbanzo and kidney beans for a meaty bite. Definitely one of the best salads I've had!
For my pizza, I decided to go with the Crowd Pleaser w/ Radicchio, mission figs, bleu cheese, balsamic, fresh mozzarella & rosemary ($15) since it got rave reviews from their previous Yelp reviews: http://bit.ly/19SdlCF. Plus, I'm a sucker for savory and sweet pairings. Sometimes less is more and which this was the case with the crowd pleaser as it was overwhelmed with radicchio and balsamic vinegar making the pizza too bitter and sour for my liking. The middle was immediately soggy as a result too.
Being the carniwhore that he is, Mr. NSS for the Yo Vinny: Marinated onions, goat horn peppers, 4505 hot Italian sausage, tomato sauce & fresh mozzarella ($15): http://bit.ly/1e1fJGw which I favored over the Crowd Pleaser. Everything was well balanced with a good amount of oooeeey goooey cheese and a spicy porkiness from the sausage.
Now the reason why I can't rank Pizza Hacker in my top 5s is because of the crust which truly is a matter of preference. What makes Pizza Hacker's crust unique is it's sprinkled with smoked sea salt for that extra bite of flavor. However, I felt the crust was too carb heavy for me as I prefer a more light and crackly, thin crust. Also I couldn't get over the immediate sogginess with the Crowd Pleaser.
Next time, I'm going with the Rocket Man which is topped with a farm egg. Maybe that will change my mind. Nothing quite gets me going like the sight of oozing yolk porn.... read more