If you like V Lounge pizza, prefer eating at a restaurant instead of a club, and like hanging out Kailua, you'll love Prima. Neapolitan-style, very fresh ingredients, properly charred crust, and a menu beyond pizza. I enjoyed the opening last night and I'll be back.

Prima
108 Hekili Street #107
Kailua, HI 96734

As of December 2010, I have been working in Hawai‘i and haven't been able to hunt pizza as much as I'm used to. However, I was asked by Slice and Serious Eats in New York to compile a roundup of pizza in Minnesota. I'm honored, and after the piece posted I realize there's a number of places that should be listed. Check the piece out here: The United States of Pizza: Minnesota. Add a comment there if you agree with any of my picks or have any that aren't included. Note: if you're looking for more of my content, check out aaronlandry.com for links.

Here's some pizza notes to myself on a recent trip to the San Francisco area. In no more than one paragraph per pizzeria...

Pizzeria Picco Three of my four favorites in the Bay Area I've already posted about in individual posts: Pizziolo, Pizzeria Delfina and Arizmendi Bakery. My most favorite is Pizzeria Picco in Larkspur. It is absolutely worth the trip to visit this tiny pizzeria. Their crust continued to intrigue me: chewy yet perfectly crisp edges, very tasty without leaning too far in any one direction. The dough here is genius. Slice has a good overview. Zero Zero Pizzeria Picco spawned Zero Zero more recently in San Francisco. It's much larger, has two floors and a full-sized bar. While the pizza is still quite good, it is not the same as Picco and didn't live up to the standard Picco set with me. Interview with Zero Zero and Picco's Bruce Hill in SF Weekly. A16 On my last visit to A16, there was an event being hosted which caused over a three hour wait to get seated. They were eventually gracious to us and gave us some free bubbly while we waited. They also gave us a complimentary pizza Margherita that was ready right when we were seated. The wait aside, the pizzas were good. It's straight-up VPN, so it's a certain guarantee and level of quailty but not much beyond that. To make VPN pizza, you're following a bunch of rules and you don't have as much room for creativity. That, and A16 was a bit on the doughy side of things. If I wanted VPN pizza I could go to Punch Pizza in Minnesota and wait less than five minutes (and Punch is a lot better). Flour + Water There's a lot of hype about Flour + Water recently, and Slice's wrote it up around the same time I visited. Slice's David Kover had a better experience than I did; I'll sum up my experience with the Tweet I had at the time: "All of the ingredients to make something fantastic but none of the magic. Mastered the craft, not the art." This aside, the dessert I had, the chocolate budino with espresso-caramel cream & sea salt, was seriously fantastic. Ragazza Maybe I was making them nervous: I sat at Ragazza's bar alone overlooking the kitchen. The pizzaiolo tossed out the first two pizzas he made for me because they weren't up to his standards. When I finally got my Pizza Margherita, it was quite good though. Interestingly gooey in the center and thicker towards the outside. The edges of the crust were very crunch and almost baguette-like. I'll go back. Little Star Pizza I went to Little Star on Divisadero and was pleasantly surprised to have Chicago-style deep-dish better than most of the pizza I've had in Chicago. It's also certainly better than any Chicago-style available in Minnesota. Wow. Escape from New York Pizza This is the worst pizza I tried in San Francisco. Greasy, foamy and tasteless. Ugh. They should call it Extradited from New York Pizza. I've had a lot better at some of the shittiest slice shops in Manhattan. Pizzeria Gialina What a bunch of young, fun, energetic folks running a pizzeria. Gialina has a great vibe. Unfortunately, I wasn't terribly impressed with the pizza. It felt like they had it in way too long: all the sauce and cheese seemed to blend together and it wasn't terribly flavorful. The crust was hard and crunchy. It's a bigger-than-average pie and was certainly satisfying, however. On my San Francisco To-Do list: Beretta, the Pizza Hacker, and Una Pizza Napoletana which I loved when they were operating in New York City. I also have these in the queue in case I'm in the area: Pizzetta 211, Pauline's, Patxi's, Tony's Pizza Napoletana, Tommaso's, Cheese Board Collective, Zachary's Chicago Pizza, Emilia's Pizzeria, and Jupiter. If you have more to add, let me know.

I found out about Masullo Pizza from Pizza Nea's Mike Sherwood who used to work with Bob Masullo when he lived in Minneapolis. When I was in Sacramento on business recently, I insisted we go here even if it meant an expensive taxi fare from our hotel. The pizza is certainly Neapolitan-style, with a chewy yet crisp crust. Fresh ingredients. I was in the midst of a meeting, however, and wasn't able to focus on the pizza. A couple weeks after I visited, Slice's Becky Grunewald wrote about Masullo and gives a much more in-depth synopsis. I recommend reading it. I'll be back the next time I'm in Sacramento. Masullo Pizza 2711 Riverside Blvd Sacramento, CA 95818 (916) 443-8929‎

Pizzeria Delfina is one of the few high-end pizzerias in San Francisco open for lunch. I took advantage of this yesterday, where only few were dining and got a nice sidewalk table. Right away, we were served a few snack-able breadsticks from La Cocina Community Kitchen. In short order, our pizzas arrived and my Pizza Margherita was one of the best pizzas I've had in the Bay Area. I'm impressed when a pizza can be wet, yet the crust done just right where you can hold a slice of it steadily. A very artfully balanced pie. Bonus: photo of me taking the above photo. Pizzeria Delfina 3611 18th St San Francisco, CA 94110 415-437-6800

With only one style of pizza per day, Arizmendi Bakery sometimes draws a line out the door -- even in rain such as when I visited there this last weekend. The sign posted outside read "Early Girl tomatoes, balsamic vinaigrette with parsley and parmesan cheese." While about half of the line were there for other baked goods, half were there for slices or taking whole pizzas home. A banner, "make loaves, not war" hangs over the kitchen. I made a rookie mistake: they do not take credit cards and the three bucks in my pocket wasn't going to cut it. I was close, however: for two slices it's only five dollars -- tax included. There's only about eight places to sit down, so you make friends quickly if you're looking for a seat. On the slices I ordered, the sourdough crust had a crisp edge to it but very chewy. The whole thing was on the sweet side of things, and the almost-juicy flavor of the tomatoes certainly popped out. It felt like eating a treat, but wasn't as sweet as a dessert pizza. Two slices was certainly enough for me -- a steal for five bucks. Regardless with how honest I was with myself, I left feeling I had just ate something healthy. How often does pizza make you feel this way? Arizmendi Bakery 1331 9th Ave San Francisco, CA 94122 415-566-3117

It's a good sign when there's more than ten people waiting outside for a pizzeria to open. I was near the front of the line at Pizzaiolo and was thankful to get seated; normal reservations are taken only exactly one month previous to the day of dining although they do keep a few tables and spots at the bar for walk-ins. Without needing time with the menu, I ordered a glass of Grignolino d'Asti and a Pizza Margherita. I was also brought still water in a glass accompanied by a 750ml glass bottle shaped like a wine bottle full of water. "Nice, I am thirsty," I thought. My pizza arrived in very short time and appeared to have been placed on my table within 30 seconds of it leaving the oven, it was steaming and settling from the drastic temperature difference between the wood-fired oven and the room. It was gorgeous: slightly more oblong than oval, thin, crispy yet squishy crust which was gracefully charred on the edges and bottom, and the cheese had beautiful spots of browning as if it was in the oven for just the right -- down to the second. I loved this pizza before I even had my first bite. After I waited a minute for everything to cool down a bit, I grabbed one of the slices this pie was cut into, and it was just firm enough to stand on it's own without drooping. The crust was balanced perfectly for my tastes: sweet enough without tasting sweet, salty without being overpowering, and flavorful while still being a base. The sauce tasted like the tomatoes were pulled out of the garden a couple hours ago: fresh and a bit juicy. The cheese had a surprising amount of depth for being mozzarella. (update: it's mozzarella curd, as I'm informed in the comments) A number of times I chewed slower than normal to try to catch the flavors I was going though -- it had a bite, but it was smooth and wet. This is one example of what divides food reviewers and amateur pizza bloggers such as myself: there was stuff going on with this cheese at the front of my tongue and the back of my tongue but I can't describe it. Overall, this pizza was incredibly fresh. So much, it reminded me of A to Z Produce's Pizza on the Farm in Wisconsin, where they grow and raise most of the ingredients on premises. Pizzaiolo is close, however: they source their ingredients from locals, even down to the organic flour which is milled in Oakland. Speaking of close-to-home, the Pizzaiolo (or "pizza chef") of Pizzaiolo, Charlie Hallowell, lives with his kids upstairs. This was my first stop on this trip to the Bay Area and I wouldn't mind cutting out the rest of my pizza stops to sneak back here every night. Pizzaiolo 5008 Telegraph Ave Oakland, CA 94609 510-652-4888

Even though I've driven past Sweet Taste of Italy in Brooklyn Park a number of times, I never thought to stop -- it's in a strip mall connected to a gas station in a suburb. I made the trip only after I got a glowing recommendation from a friend. My father and I went in and followed Eric B.'s tip: "Order a delicious pizza and cinnamon bread. Each will make you want to go back again." We ordered a pepperoni pizza with cinnamon bread and while I'm not itching to go back, I probably will at some point. To explain, our bread came first. They're like warm cinnamon rolls served like garlic bread. My father quipped that it would make for a good breakfast snack. They're sweet as hell and dangerously filling. Good, but this should have been dessert (or breakfast). The pizza is very typical Midwestern-style: thin crust, lots of cheese and grease. The pieces droop down when you hold them, and it's clear the crust has gone through a machine to even it out. It's hard to tell if the cheese, sauce, and pepperoni have bite or if it's the seasonings the pizza is drenched in. It's good, however, for what it is. We had no problem finishing it. Sweet Taste of Italy 9576 Noble Parkway Brooklyn Park, MN 55443-1703 763-493-4733

This summer, Big River Pizza started serving its mobile pizza-making setup around the Twin Cities, notably at the weekly Uptown Market. It's essentially a small black trailer with a wood-fired oven where they set up a couple tables and a tent and can serve pizzas to order in generally less than five minutes. I recently ordered their "Proud Mary," which is an eight-inch Pizza Margherita derivative with fresh organic tomatoes and basil with mozzarella for six bucks. The three people working the oven and tent were all very friendly and were game to answer questions and talk about pizza -- a very personable group. My pizza was done quickly and looked beautiful. Tasting in, the sauce is on the sweeter side, and the crust is fluffy and chewy yet not heavy. All the ingredients came out solidly and was well balanced. Quite satisfying -- it's a perfect size for a lunch. I chatted with Steve Lott of Big River Pizza and he explained they're currently featuring Wisconsin cheeses, prosciutto from Iowa, and crushed tomatoes from California -- and in will gear their menu based on their surroundings (e.g. if they're at a farmers market, they have a "Market Pizza" using vegetables from the market). I dig it. Now that the Uptown Market is over for the season, find them by following them on Twitter and on keeping tabs on their website.

While waiting for a flight at a hotel near the Asheville Regional Airport, Dave and I decided to look up a local option for pizza. We quickly found Acropolis and ordered for delivery. Even though it was an hour or so before they said they started delivery service, they accommodated our request and it actually arrived much earlier than we expected. This pizza might be the most cheese-forward Margherita variant I've ever had. Good thing it was a flavorful selection of cheeses. Nothing spectacular, but notably good: stringy with a very mild bite. It was also thicker than most Margherita-style pizzas I've had with a crust that tasted almost synthetic but in a good, hard but chewy breadstick-like way. The tomatoes were juicy and seemed fresh. They add pesto to their Margherita and it augmented things well without overpowering. We plowed through the pizza quickly -- very satisfying -- and highly recommended if you're in the Asheville Regional Airport area. Acropolis Pizza 140 Airport Rd Arden, NC 28704 828-684-5737