Pizza Sophia

The making of Pizza Luigino

Born in Palermo, Antonio Fecarotta's passion for the traditional simple fair of Sicily makes him the perfect choice to implement Mr. Coppola's vision of a restaurant he can eat in with his friends and experience the tastes of  his childhood. The sauces are made from his mothers recipes and the pasta served is rustic, exactly the way his mother made it. "This pasta was made in machines that have been used for 80 years", said Coppola, "with original molds, that don't have teflon on them. The new molds that make pasta have teflon, so the pasta kind of comes out perfectly smooth. But with our non teflon molds, it comes out with a texture. So consequently, I think it kind of soaks up the sauce better. And the shapes, you can just look at it and know you've never quite seen pasta like that because this is a very, very old fashioned method."

And he is right about the texture. If you watch the pasta boil carefully and take it out at just the right moment, - what the Italians call al dente . the pasta has just the right amount of resistance when you bite into it, giving you a smooth textured feel to the tongue, offering enough thickness to give you the full flavor and almost meaty texture.
"This is not a sparse kind of pasta," says Coppola. " You've got to cook it for the full 18 minutes. Don't take it out until it passes the taste where you bite into it and it's not too hard, but it's not too soft either. And you take it out jut a second before it's ready because you know it's going to keep cooking."

The pizza is a Neapolitan pizza, not made with a rolling pin, but pressed by hand and gently flipped back and forth the old fashioned way so that you don't squeeze the edges. Although simplicity is the key here, authenticity has to be the headline. Chef Alfredo has been brought into the operation to make sure that the Neapolitan Pizza will be certified by the Neapolitan Pizza Society, a process which requires many rigorous steps. Although the pizzas are made to exact specifications, a few more details are needed, such as a particular Italian marble for the dough to be rolled on, and an Italian wood burning oven for the pizza to be baked in. While the classically French café design enhances the Italian rustic country fare experience, the certification will have to wait until the new Palo Alto location is open. The 50 seat bistro, including the al fresco dining, does not have room to house the needed wood burning stove.

In the meantime, Master Neapolitan Chef Alfredo will make only the most authentic Neapolitan Pizza for diners. Keeping the size at the traditional nine inches, the crust is adorned with the barest of exceptionally high quality Italian ingredients . simple Italian cheeses, proscuittos, a couple of teaspoons of tomato sauce (Sicilian style) and some fresh basil. The crust is made to exact specifications, requiring the right water, yeast and flour.

The Sophia Pizza (named after daughter Sophia Coppola), consists of heaps of baby arugala, tossed in a light olive oil and seasoned only with salt and pepper. Placed loosely on top of thinly sliced proscuitto with Italian cheeses, the resulting dish is very simple, but dead on terrific.

This isn't fast food. The pasta, served with a robust, Sicilian tasting red sauce, is not pre cooked, so it takes about 20 minutes to be served. Relax and enjoy a bottle of Coppola wine with your meal, sold at the same price as if you were in the tasting room at the Niebaum-Coppola Winery. The tables on the sidewalk sit on heated terrazzo, and, diners are protected by an imported retractable heated Parisian awning, insuring year round, outdoor eating. Come back often, for the cafe has events going on all the time, from plays and poetry readings to cookbook openings.

As with every good restaurant, the star is the food.. Buon Appetit!

Café Niebaum Coppola
916 Kearny Street (corner of Columbus and Kearney )
San Francisco, Ca
415 291-1700