Review: Tribute Pizza - San Diego, CA

Visitors may not think of San Diego as a pizza destination, but two recent trips here have permitted me to find good, great, and amazing pizza.

In 2016, I found a small place that serves authentic Chicago style deep dish, by the slice, at Berkeley Pizza. I suppose there is no such thing as "San Diego style" pizza, so why not Chicago? The theme continued when I stopped in at Basic Pizza, and had a wonderful New Haven style apizza. Those two places alone put San Diego on the pizza map, but my latest visit here turned it up to 11.

Pizza geeks had been buzzing for a while about Tribute Pizza, where owner Matt Lyons fashions several kinds of pies in tribute to the world’s best pizzas, such as Apizza Scholls in Portland, Best Pizza in Brooklyn, Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix, and a rotating variety of other regional favorites. 

Wood-fired oven at Tribute Pizza

Lyons says "We’re not looking to create exact replicas or take something and make it our own. We want to make something incredible as well as we can." I had been following Tribute on Facebook, drooling over pics of the pizzas and appetizers, and a visit here gave me the opportunity to visit the North Park pizzeria.

The Margherita

The large, open space is modern and comfortable, housed in a former U.S. Post Office. Wooden tables wrap around a large counter, behind which you can see the pizza prep and the large oven.

We visited on a Sunday night, and the place was nearly full. Happily, were were quickly seated and we had superb service the entire evening.

Underside of the Margherita

I regret that we did not order appetizers, but our group of five was able to try three different pizzas. As a baseline, we ordered a Neapolitan Margherita. We also opted for a pie modeled on Best Pizza in Brooklyn (which I have visited) that was constructed with fresh mozz, ricotta, wood roasted onions, parsley, and sesame seeds on the crust. 

The Brooklyn pie

Our final selection was Bronx inspired, the "Mushroom Whitestone" featuring fresh and aged mozz, garlicky wood roasted mushrooms, garlic confit, Calabrian chile, ricotta, and Pecorino. We also ordered some drafts from the excellent selection of beers on the menu. 

A Brooklyn slice

The Margherita came out first. I was immediately struck by the vitality of the red sauce. So simple yet so vibrant, the closest comparison I can make is the simple crust, sauce, and olive oil al taglio slice I had at Forno Marco Rosciolo, by the Campo di Fiore in Rome. The crust, too, was revelatory. Thin, crisp, and delicate. So light and so tasty, yet no soggy spots anywhere. No one in our party left any uneaten pizza bones.

Underside of the Brooklyn slice

Thrillist says, and we agree, that "the Margherita pie is the perfect benchmark to judge the quality of any given pizzeria. Here, it’s made with organic Bianco DiNapoli tomatoes, creamy fresh mozz, basil, and primo olive oil -- and serves as a fitting homage to its inspiration, Pizzeria Brandi in Naples." Lyons uses flour from Central Milling and his crust is more breadlike than other pizzas, in all the best ways.

The Bronx Mushroom Whitestone

The Brooklyn's Best pizza was also wonderful, and somehow the crust was even better with the addition of sesame seeds. All the ingredients were in harmony and balanced in both texture and flavor, even as I was missing that impeccable red sauce. The thin and crisp crust became puffy and bubbly at the edges, and these may be the most delectable corniciones of any pizza anywhere.

Underside of the Mushroom Whitestone

There was no drop in quality with the Mushroom Whitestone, which we enhanced with a prosciutto topping. While the Margherita pie was as completely authentic as you'll find anywhere in America, the other two pizzas seemed to start with that Margherita base and then morph into something more American; it's hard to think of a better Tribute than that. These pies are not replicas, but ground-breaking stuff that blends ancient methods with cutting edge pizza craft.

Gwen with a Bronx slice

It's important to note that, even after stuffing in the last few slices, we were persuaded to order dessert. I had the vanilla soft serve topped with olive oil and sea salt, and it was the perfect combo of creamy, cold, sweet, savory, and salty. How to make a fabulous meal even better, this was it.

I've eaten a lot of pizza and it's often tempting to say "this was the best X pizza ever."  I must say that you would be hard pressed to find better pizza anywhere. This stuff stands with the best pies I've had in NYC, Rome, New Haven, Trenton, Philly, and Chicago. As good as the sauce and other toppings are, it's the dough that makes a great pizza, and I could eat this stuff every day.

Soft serve with EVOO and sea salt

In writing about pizza and eating great pizza, the best experiences are talking with owners who have true passion for their craft. If you're watching Mozart in the Jungle on Amazon (if not, you should be), you know that the Maestro cherishes artists who play music "with the blood." By that he means that they play with feeling and passion. No amount of technical finesse can cover for a shortage of passion.

Jeff helps finish the last few slices

Some of the most inspirational pizza makers are Norma Knepp, who made such wonderful boardwalk and Detroit style pies in her tiny shop in a farmer's market, and the wonderful folks at Elio G's, where making Old Forge style pizza is a long family tradition. We had the chance to chat with Matt Lyons at the end of our meal, and he told us about his time making pies in Nairobi and what inspired his approach and how his team plays "with the blood."

"With the blood"

This was one of the top pizza experiences not just in San Diego, but anywhere. Don't miss it if you're in town, just a 12 minute drive from the Gaslamp district. Magical stuff.