Carmel Pizza Food Truck In San Francisco Makes Splash
A new pizza truck that deserves to share in the buzz
Jon Darsky's glamorous Del Popolo truck has justly made national news. But it's not the only pizza truck in town.
Two months ago, Carmel Pizza Company quietly opened on the Wharf–the Wharf!–and is cooking pies and sandwiches that put most of the neighborhood's food to shame.
Up until April, Amanda Orloff and her fiancé, A.J. Sanchez, hauled a Valoriani wood-fired pizza oven to special events in and around Carmel. After installing a second oven in a cherry-red trailer, they claimed a semipermanent spot in San Francisco, with outdoor seating, on Jones and Beach.
Their thin-crust pies ($10 for an 11-inch pie, plus $1 or $2 per topping) come out speckled with fire marks, the lip riddled with air pockets. We recommend the Caprese pizza ($12), topped with juicy heirloom tomatoes and basil leaves.
Orloff and Sanchez's porchetta sandwiches ($9), spit-roasted Berkshire pork belly and loin stuffed into a fresh Acme roll, may be even better. The chopped chunks of tender, deceptively lean meat are scented with rosemary and riddled with bits of crisped skin.
And the truck offers tourist-phobes reason to brave the Wharf: Tell the staff you're a local and you'll get a $1 discount.
Carmel Pizza Company, 2826 Jones St. (at Beach St.); 415-676-1185 or carmelpizzaco.com