The Best Pizza Spot In California Started Out In A Shipping Container On Wheels

For a city best known for tangy sourdough and loaded Mission-style burritos, San Francisco is surprisingly home to quite a few pizza joints. From crispy Detroit-style to classic New York-style slices, you can find just about every type of pie in the Bay Area, and there are some pretty fun stories behind them. A perfect example is Del Popolo, a family-owned operation that grew from a makeshift food truck to earn a spot on Tasting Table's list of the best pizza places in every state.

A celebrated San Fran institution since 2012, Del Popolo started out on a very interesting set of wheels. Having learned the trade at some of the city's top pizzerias, founder Jon Darsky decided to try to open his own place. A trip to Austin inspired him to go the mobile route. But Darksy didn't just build any food truck — he created a fully-equipped exhibition kitchen inside of a glass-enclosed shipping container and placed it on a Freightliner truck. 

The container held not only Darsky's mixer but also a 5,000-pound wood-burning oven from Naples. The blistered, naturally leavened crusts and flavorful local ingredients were a hit — so much so that Del Popolo had a brick-and-mortar location by 2015. A frozen pizza business followed, and Darksy's creations are still considered the best not only amongst San Francisco, but the whole country. 

Like many Bay Area chefs, Jon Darksy procures Del Popolo's ingredients locally and organically wherever possible. That goes as far as the sourdough, Neopolitan-style pizza dough — which is made from California-grown and milled wheat flour — to the California-grown tomato sauce. But you'll also find ingredients sourced from small, Italian producers, too. 

There are classics on the menu, like marinara and margherita, as well as a pizza bianca with mozzarella, ricotta, basil, and garlic, and a potato pie with red onion, fontina, and rosemary. The seasonal appetizers are also a big draw, showcasing even more local delicacies like Dungeness crab. People love the focaccia and burrata, but the pizza is always the standout. 

One Yelp user called it "one of the best pizzas I've ever tried," while another said the dough was "phenomenal ... Really yummy and chewy." Another Yelp reviewer said, "The dough was airy and light, with a perfectly charred crust that added just the right amount of smokiness. A subtle touch of sea salt inside the pie elevated every bite–it was seriously next level." 

Del Popolo is definitely worth seeking out if you're ever around the Union Square area. Even if you're not, you can buy a pack of frozen Del Popolo pizzas online to bake at home. It won't come on wheels, but the story is still there.