By now, you’ve likely seen or heard the saying, “You can’t please everyone: you are not pizza.”
Fortunately, decent pizza is not hard to find in our town.
Whether you want a basic slice of mushroom or cheese pizza from Pizza My Heart, or you want a wood-fired artisan pizza, Los Gatos is rolling in dough in so many more ways than one.
Pizza My Heart is a place where you can share a slice with the rest of Los Gatos. They do a big business by the slice and generally have at least five different pies on display. Owned by Los Gatos resident Chuck Hammers, it’s one of the region’s most successful local pizza operations, which has 28 locations around the Bay Area and in Santa Cruz County.
Centonove’s wood-fired oven uses almond wood to turn out 400 nicely blistered pies weekly, which Manager Meredith Smith referred to as “leoparding.” She says the Perla, with sliced pear and braised radicchio with caramelized onion, arugula and smoked mozzarella, is their signature pizza. “The chef sometimes makes it with mangos!” she said. By far, the Margherita and the Calabrian pies are their top sellers, with at least 400 total, as well as the Genovese, with pesto and tomato.
Chef Ross Hansen of Oak & Rye really didn’t envision himself becoming one of the chief pie architects of Los Gatos when he and his mother, Brenda Hammond, opened Restaurant James Randall. But the recession of 2008 caused a shift in dining habits, and after a stint at comfort fare, including ramen, he collected pennies to line the outside of the Mugnaini pizza purchased in 2013.
“We did the penny tiling ourselves,” says Hansen. “It took about a week and a few cases of beer.” Of the 1,000 or so pies they make weekly, the top seller is Scotty 2 Hottie, with soppressata, honey, basil, chili flakes and pepperoncini oil. Runners up include Coach Goni, the buttermilk ranch, double garlic and sausage bonanza with green onion and the Margherita.
Outside the LG town limits, a spot well worth checking out: Doppio Zero in Campbell. Doppio Zero refers to the heritage grain 00 flour from Italy, considered the gold standard for dough, creating a soft texture and crispy crust.
Manager of Doppio Zero, Santiago, says they serve between 8-9,000 guests weekly, for whom they make about 1,500 pies. The vast majority are the Margherita, but the Doppio Zero with burrata cheese, arugula, prosciutto di Parma and shaved Parmigiano Reggiano are also big sellers.
Oak & Rye will be making a “Fisheye Lens” pizza for Silicon Valley Pizza Week. It has mozz, boquerones, preserved Meyer lemon, green garlic and mustard greens. Gotta hand it to them for clever names.
From Jan. 29 through Feb. 8, visit SiliconValleyPizzaWeek.com or check the Pizza Week app to find specials, updates and additions all around Silicon Valley.
The following West Valley and Scotts Valley restaurants are among those participating:
Campbell Pizza Company
Campbell
Chicken Tikka: a dish that combines Indian flavors with pizza.
The Steamer: Prawns, prosciutto, marinated artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, pepper jack cheese.
Centonove Los Gatos
Los Gatos
Calabrese: Spicy Calabrese salami and nduja, roasted sweet yellow peppers, mozzarella di bufala, garlic.
Capricciosa: Artichoke hearts, wild mushrooms, Castelvetrano olives, mozzarella, house-made San Marzano marinara.
Doppio Zero
Campbell, Mountain View
Vesuvio: Yellow tomato puree, fior di latte mozzarella, capocollo (cured pork), burrata, shaved Parmigiano reggiano.
Oak & Rye
Los Gatos
Pizza Week special: Fisheye Lens.
Pizza My Heart
Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Gatos, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Santa Clara, San Jose, Saratoga, Sunnyvale
Pizza Week special: Mushroom Magic
The Pizza Series
Scotts Valley
The Maple “Crunch” Special: Signature maple sauce with a kick of heat and crunch.
Tony & Alba’s
San Jose
Mamba Pizza Special: Three cheeses, plus garlic oil on the crust. $5 from every purchase goes to LA Fire Relief Fund.
