Red or white wine? Beach or Mountains? iPhone or Android? Deep dish or thin Crust?…. Say what?
We get it, deep dish pizza isn’t for everyone. It may be one of the most divisive foods in the world. You either love it or hate it. And even if you love it, you need at least a day to mentally prepare for the deeply satisfying food coma and subsequent inability to move for the rest of the day. But hey, if you love it, San Diego, get ready. Because the ultimate game changer just moved into town.
Patxi’s Pizza, the full-menu pizza joint, known for its mastery of all things cheesy-goodness, just opened its first San Diego location in Hillcrest, and we’ve got the low-down for you. From hand-tossed Neopolitan-style to Chicago-style deep dish pizzas, Patxi’s promises something for everyone. And in this cheesy pledge, it delivers (pun intended).
What we noticed first and foremost about our new neighborhood pizza spot is the friendly, approachable atmosphere. You feel like home, and it shows in the ambitiously (and deliciously) house-made sausages and meatballs.
We’re talking made daily, in-house, grandma’s recipe meatballs. This has got to be one of the best appetizers to ever have graced a pizza joint – the Patxi’s meatballs. This recipe goes back to the founder and owner, Francisco “Patxi” Azpiroz, who perfected this recipe over years of crafting just the right mixture of fresh butcher’s meat and spices. Served with their home-made tomato sauce (and as a tomato sauce connoisseur, this was some goooood sauce), these delicious, juicy globes of steamy goodness are served baked in a bread bowl. Why has no one else in So Cal thought of this? And why are fresh-made meatballs so darn tender? These are the questions of the universe worth pondering. At length. While stuffing your face with steaming, marinara-covered meatballs.
Then came the burrata. This gooey, rich delight is served with a lovely basil pesto, arugula, and lightly toasted crostinis. Smothering this fluffy burrata on toast was life-giving. See our insta for a boomerang on this that will put your salivary glands on overdrive. Yes, cheese.
Our favorite was the Salciccia pizza, which was topped with hunks of garlic-fennel sausage (also made in-house!), herbed ricotta, basil, mozzarella, and parmesan. It was one of those Scarlett O’Hara moments where, as God is our witness, we will never go hungry again. Because we won’t have to. Because we’ve found our forever pizza plantation. And let’s be real. It’s a large pie of high-quality, melty cheese; it can do no wrong.
The game changer, for most, is the deep dish pizza. Check out the spinach (our favorite), replete with a layer of cheese between the flaky crust baked in a cast-iron pan. It’s all about that crust though, comes out with an irresistible crispy and crunchy edge. And for the record, we come out on the side of: red wine, mountains, iPhone, and YES deep dish. Heck yes.
Save space for dessert, because you are going to want to try the S’mores pizza. Initially, we were a little uncertain as to whether something like this would taste good. When we think pizza, we usually think savory. And we generally like it that way. But this melty, gooey dessert was a delight, speckled with layers of chocolate chips, marshmallow and an admirably thin, crispy crust. It was the perfect dessert to end a fabulous weekday meal.
So, yes, San Diego. You’ve found your new neighborhood pizza spot. Good for deep dish, good for thin crust, and especially food for all the yummy things that live in between.
You can dine at Patxi’s 7 days a week 11a-10pm at 3888 Fourth Ave, San Diego, CA 92103. 619) 501-8000Dine in or take out. Either way, let’s dish.
