Rad Remembrances, Casa Barlotti at Claremont, Berkeley

One crispy spring morning, we drove across the bay from a foggy SF to a sparklingly bright Berkeley. We thought of Mario Savio giving his intense speech that started all rad speeches. It was the heyday of social unrest and upheaval all over the nation, and since then, UC Berkeley has become synonymous with radical student freedom movements, antifascist protests and just about any kind of critical race theory put in praxis on the streets.

We headed to Rockridge but eventually ended up in Claremont, a neighborhood that straddles Berkeley and Oakland. We marveled at how relaxed people our age were—no hurrying, just meandering with college students, with music playing cheerfully from a loudspeaker somewhere. The vibe totally induced us to sit in an outdoor front patio of a spizzicheria, a"nibbles" kind of place, very Eurostyle in its looks, as if we just got off the local bus in Firenze and and right in front of us was a"vinaini,"which Casa Barotti is, except it is called a spizzicheria.

The price of each slice also surprised us since it was just $5.00 to $7.00 per piece! I ordered a melanzane while Brie chose a foccacia panini with arugula filling. The dough was pillowy flaky which suited us really fine. From their website, they describe the dough in detail.

"Our pizza al trancio dough is our own recipe and is similar (but still varies) to what other pizza al trancio crusts are in Northern Italy. It’s actually a hybrid between pizza and focaccia. We make our dough with a blend of soft winter wheat from both California and Italy. The dough is different from pizza al taglio dough— it has a denser crumb, is slightly less hydrated and incorporates extra virgin olive oil. The result is a pillowy-soft top and a crispy bottom from our Italian steel pans and Moretti oven. It’s light and airy texture is easy to bite through, and its delicate flavor lets the toppings sing.

To clarify, pizza al trancio is NOT Roman-style (ultra-thin and crispy), nor Bonci-style pizza al taglio (not to be confused with true Roman pizza) and of course, totally different from Neopolitan-style pizza. Pizza al trancio is also pre-cut and not sold by weight like pizza al taglio."

The San Giovese, we ordered, the lowest priced red on the menu, was not only full-bodied, pleasing to the palate but also matched the tomato sauce infused sauce. We were definitely sold on Casa Barotti, where the food is authentic and flavorful and the server‘s “Buon Appetito,” seemed sincere and heartfelt.