Monday, August 14, 2006

Wine Country Shenanigans Pt. 5 - Highway 1, Pizzeria Picco
Well, as I was saying, we were feeling particularly scene-ic that day, so we decided to embark on Highway 1 to head back to Marin. That is, after we drove through hipster-hangout Santa Rosa, which was quite the journey indeed. The drive on the Shoreline Highway sure was beautiful as we went the length of Tomales Bay and passed by many an oyster farm. The novelty wore off after the first two hours, and we both started getting sick. The roads became treacherous and difficult to navigate, and 102.1's Viking tunes just made it more of a losing battle against the neverending roads.

At long last, we did arrive in the beloved Marin. We had initially intended to go to Fish in Sausalito, but we were too sick for more gifts from the sea. I then remembered that I had wanted to try Picco Pizzeria in Larkspur for some time.

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Even when we arrived at 9:15, there was a line. Fortunately, two bar seats near the wood burning oven welcomed us to rest our tired hides. It was smoldering hot sitting so near all the action, but at least we got to witness some substantial crust-puffing.

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Della santa - broccoli de ciccio, cherry tomatoes, torpedo onion, roasted garlic, mozzarella 11.95

It was a tough choice between the della santa and the seven, which consisted of seasonal mushrooms. So we struck a compromise and added mushrooms to the della santa, which was a "good call," as reaffirmed by our helpful server. The toppings were excellent, with sweet and juicy cherry tomatoes and great hand-pulled mozarella. The crust was slightly sweet and smoky, with a chewy, yeasty character. And even after we had suppressed our inner gluttons, we still had half of the foot-long-diameter pie to spare.

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Straus dairy soft serve with Da Vero extra virgin olive oil & sea salt

Well, we had decided to pass up dessert and go on our merry way, when I pulled out my camera and started shooting up the place. Owner Bruce Hill of Bix fame stopped me in my tracks as he exclaimed, "I've busted a blogger!" He found out that we had passed up dessert--and insisted that we try the softserve with olive oil and salt. After hearing about the olive oil ice cream at Babbo (which is next on my NY list), I knew this was a must when I saw it on the menu.

So Bruce offered us a taste (which was really a bowl as you can see), and it was some of the richest, creamiest soft-serve I've ever had. My palate protested, "But this isn't softserve! It's usually watered down and never contains this much milkfat!" What an eye opener. The olive oil and sea salt brought out textures and flavors one never thought possible in a vanilla softserve. This is definitely one to crave (which I am!).

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It was nearly empty by the time we left, but I imagine it would be pretty hard to get a seat during normal dining hours. So head over for some good pizza, or at least to taste some exceptional softserve.

Pizzeria Picco
320 Magnolia Ave
Larkspur, CA 94939

And so this concludes the wine country series of posts. Except it really didn't end here because we went back a few days later to crash a picnic held by a certain man of urgency.

If you care to relive the geriatric wine country series:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

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3 Comments:

Blogger shuna fish lydon said...

(That soft serve was the best part of my meal there!)

I'm glad it took the owner to convince you to have some. I love that it just barely tastes of custard, but the sweetness of the milk comes through, and the olive oil is a buttery one so it doesn't compete with the ic.

8/15/2006 11:33 AM  
Blogger Hungry Hedonist said...

Hi Shuna - I was glad that Bruce let us taste what we would've ordered if it weren't for carsickness and being stuffed from the pizza. So we called on our second stomachs and were glad we did; now if only it could open near my school!

8/15/2006 7:34 PM  
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7/26/2022 2:17 AM  

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