Piccino

Piccino Restaurant Review:

It's all about the pizzas at Piccino, a neighborhood spot on a quiet street just steps from the Muni T-line, packed at peak mealtimes with a mainly professional crowd of locals enjoying each chewy-crisp bite of thin-crust pie. Toppings vary seasonally, but standards include the spicy-salty house-made salsiccia. The three-cheese Bianca version would be heavenly but for its unsettling spatters of chili oil. Not in a pizza state of mind? Tuscan-style meatballs are big and satisfying, and well-crafted panini bring together flavors --- such as squash, pistachio butter and caramelized onion --- with artistic flair. Bathed in natural light through tall windows, many tables in this high-ceilinged, blond-wood-furnished space (much larger than the original location that lent Piccino --- Italian for "teensy" --- its name) are of the family-style, sit-with-strangers type (though there are some counter seats with a kitchen view). The tight communal accommodations befit the restaurant's very self-conscious, look-at-me neo-rusticity, an attitude that could also be said to infuse the desserts: think zeppole with huckleberry marmellata, and goat cheese custard with black pepper tuile. An impressive wine list favors France and Italy. Fresh pastries shine at Piccino's next-door coffee bar.