San Francisco - SFoodie - Nate Appleman Weighs In on A16's Pizza Being Named One of the Nation's 25 Best

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Nate Appleman Weighs In on A16's Pizza Being Named One of the Nation's 25 Best

By Meredith Brody in Brody, Buzz Machine

Thursday, May. 21 2009 @ 7:08AM

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The chef had a hunch something was up

Nate Appleman's certification by the Verace Pizza Napoletana Association as a pizzaiolo (one of a very few practicing the art in the US) paid off big time when A16's romana pie was named one of the 25 best in the US by GQ's Alan Richman.

"It made me very happy," Appleman told SFoodie, "especially because he told us he didn't like anchovies -- whole anchovies -- on pizzas, or whole olives. When he was here he had three or four pizzas -- that's when I thought he might be doing something about pizza! He had the romana, with chopped anchovies in the sauce, and whole olives; a margherita; the salsiccia, with fennel sausage; and I think he had a fresh ricotta with olio nuevo, new olive oil. And then he chose the pizza with the ingredients he thought he didn't like!"

Richman also said that "in Naples, such a pie is known as a pizza romana, whereas in Rome it's a pizza napoletana. Before I tried A16's spicy, bold, exuberant version, I would have guessed that each city wanted to blame this pie on somebody else."

We'll be in line for our own spicy, bold, exuberant romana when A16 reopens after renovations on Tuesday, May 26, at 5 p.m.