I love that pizza comes in all shapes and sizes: deep dish, thin crust, traditional, gourmet – it’s all good to me. Yet, there is something to be said for the walk-up pizza-by-the-slice counter. One of my favorite local pizzerias is Village Bakery, which serves gourmet pizza slices at a small counter in downtown Davis. They keep it simple with three options: cheese, pepperoni and veggie. Slices are fairly large and cost between $2.25 and $2.75. There are two small tables in the corner of the bakery, but most people take their slices to-go to enjoy at home or on the park benches located outside of the bakery. It’s fun to sit outside on the park benches and watch how many people are in-and-out of this buzzing little pizza counter.
As its name indicates, Village Bakery makes more than just pizza – their bread is to die for! You can pick up a loaf at the 2nd Street (pizza counter) location, the Davis Food Co-Op or Taylor’s Market in Sacramento. I can’t go to the Farmers Market (where they have a stand on Saturdays) without picking up a loaf of the jalapeño cheddar cheese bread – so good!
And it gets better: the owners of Village Bakery just opened a sit-down restaurant on the corner of 4th and G Streets in downtown Davis, called Village Pizza and Grill. The restaurant is newly remodeled, has a large patio and opened in late August serving the famous Village pizzas, as well as an extended menu of salads, burgers and beers on tap. I haven’t gone yet, but if you have, leave a comment let us know what you think!
Village Bakery
814 2nd Street
Davis, Ca
(530) 750-2255
Mon – Sat 11:00 a.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Sun 11:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Village Pizza and Grill
403 G Street
Davis, Ca
(530) 750-0100
Monday-Saturday 11 a.m. -10 p.m.
Closed Sunday
One Speed, Many Smiles
I’ve been an East Sacramentan for eight years now so we’ve seen quite a few restaurants come and go in the neighborhood. It was bittersweet when Café Milazzo went out of business a couple years ago – it was a casual and comfortable space with friendly service but the food was lacking. We did enjoy $2 Tuesdays when you could get $2 slices of pizza and $2 beers. Little did I know I was in for much, much better pizza within those walls years later…
Ever since I heard Rick Mahan, chef/owner of the Waterboy, was opening a new restaurant, I’ve been dying to try it. The store front was wrapped in brown paper for what felt like years. Finally, One Speed Restaurant opened last month and apparently I wasn’t the only one who had been anticipating that great day. We tried three different times to dine at the fully remodeled restaurant space (Café Milazzo diners will be shocked at the transition) but each time we were told it would be a 45-minute wait – just something we can’t do right now with a toddler and an infant even though the atmosphere is absolutely kid appropriate.
Therefore, we’ve done takeout twice until our most recent attempt last Sunday, which happened to be our sixth wedding anniversary. We were told again it would be a 45-minute wait and we decided to place our order to go yet again. While we were waiting, my husband had the great idea to entertain our two-year old with a walk down to Burr’s (East Sac’s neighborhood ice cream parlor featuring Vic’s ice cream) to pick up ice cream to go for dessert.
Upon the boys return, the one table in the bar opened up and the amazingly friendly staff sat us and served the gnocchi with browned butter and sage (a well-portioned appetizer perfectly cooked for melt-in-your-mouth potato pillows in my favorite decadent sauce), plus the two pizzas (classic Margherita and Rick’s – potato, caramelized onions, pancetta, goat cheese, olives and arugula, OMG) we had ordered piping hot. The ambience, the service, and the food were well worth the wait (the years and the minutes) and we look forward to having One Speed in the neighborhood for many years to come.
One Speed Pizza
4818 Folsom Blvd.
Sacramento, CA
(916) 706-1748
Roma’s Pizzeria II
I’m pretty sure that pizza is the most perfect food ever. It can have all the four food groups and can be thin-crust, deep-dish and everything in between. I’m even a fan of its cousin, the calzone. My husband is a Yelp addict and he’s always looking for great hidden finds in Sacramento. One day he asked if I was in the mood for pizza (duh…of course!) because he’d been eager to check out this pizzeria he found on Yelp. We piled in the car and headed down Folsom Blvd. to Roma’s Pizzeria II, not to be confused with Roma’s I on Franklin or Roma’s III in Folsom—although I have no doubt each of them serves up delicious pizza as well.
What I love about Roma’s is its old-school family feel. You won’t find any swanky bar stools or uber-gourmet pizza toppings here. Instead, you get a homemade pizza that oozes with high-quality ingredients such as hand-made pizza dough, whole milk mozzarella that seems never-ending as you pull each slice apart and big chunks of sausage and slices of pepperoni that are pure heaven. Roma’s also serves many pasta dishes in addition to its pizza, and they have great drink prices too! I read a funny comment on Yelp once that said, “This is one of the restaurants that I gauge a person’s taste by, if they don’t like Roma’s, I don’t trust them.” So true! When I found out we were doing Pizza Week, I knew that I had to let everyone in on my Roma’s secret.
On a recent visit, we tried out two pizzas: the Guiseppe Special that packs on the cheese, mushrooms, salami, pepperoni, sausage, olives, linguica, beef and bell peppers; and the Margherita Special with olive oil, cheese, Roma tomatoes, basil, garlic, artichokes and chicken. Both were tasty, but my heart is with the Guiseppe Special. It’s just that kind of pizza that you burn the roof of your mouth because you are so eager to bite in to it.
I think on my next visit to Roma’s, I may go just straight pepperoni and cheese. It’s a classic combo and I couldn’t take my eyes off the one that was delivered to the table next to ours on our last visit. I’m sure I’ll get around to trying the pasta, but with that magic that is coming out of their pizza oven, it’s going to be hard to say no to Roma’s pizza.
Roma’s Pizzeria II
8491 Folsom Blvd.
Sacramento, CA 95826
(916) 383-9264
Zelda’s Gourmet Pizza: Deep Dish Takeout
There’s something about deep dish pizza that just makes me happy. It’s a treat, it seems uncommon and it’s often associated with fond memories. Or is that just me? In college, I was a loyal supporter of Zachary’s Gourmet Pizza. But it seems that the Berkeley, CA establishment hasn’t yet expanded its delivery area to include Sacramento. So what’s a pizza-loving girl to do? Well, last night I stumbled across Zelda’s, thanks to a recommendation from my roommate, so we gave it a try!
First and foremost, I must warn you that if you’re walking around midtown Sacramento in an attempt to find Zelda’s, you probably never will. The front of the building consists of nothing more than an inconspicuous door amid a large grey wall with just one sign indicating that you’ve arrived.
After picking up our medium veggie pizza, I rushed home excited to dive in and was pleasantly surprised! The pizza was delicious – a perfect combination of hidden veggies in a crust that more closely resembled the kind you would expect on a chicken pot pie than a traditional pizza crust. Of course my hunger got the best of me, so I remembered to take a photo only after I’d had a slice!
Zelda’s Gourmet Pizza
1415 21st Street (between N and O Streets)
Sacramento, CA 95811
(916) 447-1400
Pizza Week: Masullo in Land Park
That’s right, it’s officially Pizza Week on Sac Foodies! This week, we’ll tell you about our favorite places to grab a slice in Sacramento and beyond. We’d love to hear your thoughts and recommendations as well, so feel free to leave a comment here on the blog or on our Facebook page anytime!
When I moved to Land Park about a year ago, I noticed right away the strip of empty storefronts lining Riverside Boulevard. It wasn’t but a few weeks after we’d moved in to the neighborhood that one of the vacancies became Masullo Pizza – a tiny, nondescript, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it neighborhood pizzeria. It was as though it was made just for me. If you know me you know that I love pizza. Especially thin crust, Italian-style. I’m quite convinced I could live on it actually. So when Masullo opened, a tiny pizza place serving up thin-crust pies made with locally sourced, seasonal ingredients just two blocks from my house, I almost thought it was too good to be true.
In the year since Masullo opened, we’ve visited at least once a month and I actually think I’ve tried almost all the pizzas on the menu. The appetizers and salads are continually changing depending on what’s in season but for the most part, the pizzas have remained the same. A few of my favorite combinations are the Maggie, made with mozzarella, arugula, cherry tomatoes, onion and grana padano, (a cheese similar to parmesan), and the Mustapha, made with mozzarella, grana padano, prosciutto and arugula. Depending on who I’m visiting with, we’ll also usually order a few of the appetizers or salad dishes, which are always simple, fresh and delicious, like the arugula salad with fennel, parmesan, kumquats and lemon vinaigrette or the heirloom tomato and cucumber salad.
On this particular visit, we tried a special salad which included multiple varieties of cucumber, red onion, tomato and olives served with fresh ricotta and herbed bread, similar to their pizza crust.
We also ordered two pizzas: the 3 Meats with mozzarella, ricotta, salame, sausage and mortadella and the Lotte with mozzarella, goat cheese, oyster mushrooms, onion and oregano.
Having basically worked my way through the menu over the past year, I highly recommend Masullo, especially if you like local and seasonal ingredients. I should also mention that they have just an $8 corkage fee as well as a small, but local wine and beer list and a yummy dessert selection too. My secret’s out….Masullo in Land Park is definitely a hidden gem of the Sacramento restaurant scene.
Masullo
2711 Riverside Blvd.
Sacramento, CA
916-433-8929
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