Pizzaiolo in Oakland, CA

People has been raving about this place. Some compared this to Zuni (casual-upscale rest in the city). Yesterday, I was lucky enough to get us a table at this joint - "lusty flavors and casual surroundings" - Bauer. This is my kind of place, casual and homey but sophisticated (y'kna).

Out of the bunch - Chez Panisse (well known restaurant in the Bay Area) and Zuni - Pizzaiolo would be on the top. Now, I have not tasted Alice Water's pizza but I have at Zuni. At Pizzaiolo, pizza's are wood-fired.

We had...

Blue Heron Farm little gems caesar (8)

--- I've got to eat more salads. This was amazing. The croutons was perfect (i love this small rebaked and seasoned cubed breads).

Farro with North Carolina shrimp, sweet cherry tomatoes, shallots and mint leaves with flatbread topped with smashed fava beans on the side (15).

--- This was refreshing. The shrimp was perfectly cooked. A lot of flavors was going on, but the ingredients went well together.

Meatballs al pizzaiolo (14)

--- OMG, Miss Elena! This would've changed your being a vegetarian to meat-eating person =))). This was life changing! The best MEATBALLS I've had! It was amazingly tasty - bedded on crushed tomatoes, capers and pine nuts - the capers did not unbalanced the whole thing, went well with the whole dish.

Braised Niman prok shoulder with sweet corn polenta, roasted escarole, fried sage & roasted spring onion salsa (24)

--- Not too keen with pork but the sweet corn polenta caught my eye. It was surrounded with butter but it didn't ruin the taste of the 'pork'. If you like pork, this was perfect - it was tender and cooked slowly.

Margherita (13)

--- The best pizza I've tasted yet. (can't wait to see what Delfina is all about - Delfina's chef recently won the James Beard award) Anyway, the ingredients was fresh (everything in this restaurant was organic, fresh, sustainable, and etc...), tasty tomatoes, and just the right amount of mozzarella and herbs.

Almond meringue, topped with fresh cream and strawberries (?)

--- This reminded me of Pavlova. Deliciously sweet.