Zero Zero, San Francisco

I’ve gone to Zero Zero twice in the past week. The first was for happy hour after work with some colleagues on a Friday. The following Monday, I had lunch there with my friend, Jocelyn. She lives quite nearby and I work only about three blocks away.

welcome to Zero Zero

I was aware of the chic pizza-and-cocktail restaurant “movement” in the Mission District, e.g. Beretta. I’m glad that the trend has finally arrived at my stomping ground in South of Market.

Their website says the name comes from a particular kind of Neapolitan flour that is commonly made into pizza in Italy and is used exclusively at the restaurant. The name’s cool. I like the way the sign looks out front, swaying in the ocean breezes. “Zero Zero:” do you think that fans call it “double Zero,” and detractors, “snake eyes?” I forget what was there before but since I never went and it is gone already, I suppose that it doesn’t matter now. I do hope that “double Zero” sticks around, as I’m a (new) fan.

enjoying my Ninth Ward by lamplight overlooking Folsom Street

The evening that we went for drinks, the bar area was crowded and had a good hum going on. I tried their Ninth Ward, made from Bulleit Bourbon, Velvet Falernum, St. Germain, Lime, and Peychauds Bitters. When I’m not having wine, I’m a bourbon man. This drink was sweeter than I had hoped but quite delicious nevertheless.

The expansive bar overlooks a high-ceilinged area in front of large windows that open onto Folsom. I loved the lighting: lots of lamps shaped like Art Deco torches, sort of like the one that the Statue of Liberty is constantly holding aloft. They’ve a pizza oven in the back of the ground level dining area and there’s a lot of seating on the second floor.

When we met for lunch, it was slow. I didn’t mind. Jocelyn and I sat on the first level near the bar. She’d been a few times and was already subconsciously calling it “double Zero.” You know what that means.

We shared everything. First to come was the arugula, radish, persimmon, pomegranate salad with lemon vinaigrette. It was very fresh. The spiciness of the arugula went really well with the sweet tang of the fruit and vinaigrette. I liked it.

arugula, persimmon, pomegranate salad

delish squid la Plancha

chickpea bruschetta with rosemary and burrata

That was followed by the local squid cooked on the Plancha with butter beans, peperonata and salsa verde. This reminded me a lot of something similar from Delfina that Hegui has tried to replicate at home. I hope that he makes it again soon, perhaps for my birthday? Needless to write, I devoured this dish.

Next we tried one of Jocelyn’s recent favorites, the chickpea bruschetta with rosemary and burrata. I think that this was in a tomato sauce. It had a peculiar look, sort of like bread with a tiny, futuristic, space-faring city covered in fog on top, but the taste was excellent. This would be worth having again.

Finally we had pizza. In homage to… no that’s not right at all. I was going to say that I picked the Mission because of Beretta et al, but that’s nonsense. It just sounded good to me. This thin crust pizza comes with broccoli rabe, olive, Calabrian chile, roasted garlic, crescenza and mozzarella. It was cheesy in a good way. The garlic was really tasty though I feel bad for all those folks I had to spend my afternoon talking to following this divine lunch. The broccoli rabe gave the dish a pleasing astringency. We weren’t quite sure about the green olives. They had an unusual flavor that I had mixed feelings about.

The Mission pizza with broccoli rabe, olive, Calabrian chile, roasted garlic, crescenza and mozzarella

By then we were both full but not stuffed. I try to avoid dessert for my health but couldn’t resist it here. The waitress praised the ricotta doughnuts to the skies. I love ricotta but I’m deprived of it at home, so how could I say no? They really were amazing: warm and a little soft in the middle with a sugar-dusted doughnut crust. Yum!

decadent rocotta doughnuts and soft serve ice cream with hot fudge

Zero Zero also offers soft-serve ice cream with mix-and-match toppings that you check off this paper menu. We went for the staid chocolate and vanilla swirl with hot fudge. Next time I want to try the Da Vero olive oil and sea salt topping. That sounds original.

As usual, the company was excellent. Service was, too. The restaurant has a nice atmosphere. The food is familiar but with little twists here and there that keep you both reassured and delighted.

Zero Zero bar before the party has started