In a surprising wrinkle to the longstanding, often heated feud between East Coast and West Coast pizza snobs, two New York City pizza chefs recently visited Temescal stalwart Pizzaiolo (5008 Telegraph Ave., Oakland) to shoot the first episode of Pizza Cuz, a new program on the Cooking Channel, and came away from the experience with … nothing but love for their Bay Area pizza brethren.
Quipped Francis Garcia, one of the show’s pizza-slinging co-stars, “I really did leave my heart in San Francisco.” Cue rimshot. But when What the Fork caught up with Garcia and Sal Basille (Garcia’s cousin and co-star) for a recent phone interview, it was clear that the pair’s Bay Area pizza love was sincere.
Pizzaiolo’s Charlie Hallowell (right) shows off some farmers’ market persimmons during the premiere episode of Pizza Cuz. Credits: Cooking Channel Basille (left) and Garcia, in their element. Credits: Cooking Channel
