![]() ![]() We delivered it to our mouths in scoops with crackly sunchoke chips and focaccia ($20). It’s made of chunks of sashimi tossed in a caponata-style mélange of tiny potato slices, crisp green beans, soft-boiled eggs and swipes of saffron aioli. The most unusual recipe, meanwhile, is the excellent tuna tartare ($20). Dip the sandwich in dabs of Preston Vineyard olive oil for extra oomph. Yet equally appealing is the deli-style panino, with housemade focaccia stuffed with pistachio-studded mortadella, prosciutto, mozzarella, pickled onion, arugula and chimichurri, with a side of fries or salad ($15). ![]() The fanciest dish is linguine, the handmade pasta infused with squid ink for a dramatic contrast against pale pink shrimp, scallops and clams sauteed with white wine, tomato, scallions and a spicy punch of chile flakes ($25). ![]() The prices, too, are friendly, for an increasingly posh town that a friend recently quipped to me has become “Beverly Healdsburg.” The most expensive dish is grilled salmon, a generous fillet given a spicy kick with Calabrian chile chimichurri and rounded out with clams, butter beans and escarole ($33). That’s how we learned about the baked eggplant ($19) - it’s a favorite, for kitchen skills that keep the fruit firm, not mushy as it so often becomes under a mantle of mozzarella, Parmigiano and tomato sauce. But this is the kind of casual neighborhood place where you can lean in to ask nearby diners what that nice-looking dish they ordered is and no one will think you’re rude. The salad was upscale Spoonbar quality, built with Healdsburg’s Front Porch Farm Little Gem lettuce, shaved watermelon radish, feather-light garlicky croutons, a snowfall of grated fresh Parmesan and the crowning touch, briny anchovies ($14). On a busy night, Alvarez bustled in the open kitchen, grinning at fellow staff as they hustled to bring out piping-hot pizzas and sides like an enormous and superb Caesar salad. The idea, I’m told, is to keep the chef stress level low and encourage sharing ideas. In a novel approach, Francisco “Pancho” Alvarez and Thomas Mulligan share executive chef duties, also working together at Hotel Healdsburg sister restaurants Spoonbar in h2hotel and The Rooftop at Harmon Guest House just down the block. The earlier Pizzando was nice, but with just 18 seats and a takeout-meal feel, didn’t really fit its prime location in the high-end hotel. It feels good as soon as you walk up and see so many people at the tables, lounging in the white-marble-trimmed bar and relaxing in a permanent parklet so well designed it could be another dining room. A red Napolitana brims with so much fennel salami, Greek olives, feta, green onions and garlic confit that you get all the robust flavors in every bite ($19). No dainty portions here - one white Romana pizza arrived buried in lots of thin and salty prosciutto, gobs of mozzarella and a mound of peppery arugula dashed with fragrant truffle oil ($18). So choose your crust, decide if you want red or white sauce, then pile on the toppings. The rectangular crust is puffier and extra crispy with a slick of olive oil. Now though, we also can get Romana-style pies, baked for five minutes in a 600-degree gas oven. Christened for just 90 seconds in an 800-degree wood-fired oven, the tender-chewy crust emerges with golden bubble edges and a bit of char. These 12-inch round beauties still take center stage. Originally opened in 2012, Pizzando has been best known for its Napolitana-style pies. The best part is an expanded menu that goes beyond the previous mainly-pizza offerings plus a handful of pastas. The trattoria, tucked in Hotel Healdsburg, recently reopened after a nearly four-month renovation, debuting a much larger space and a full sit-down bar. And then, of course, she ate the cheese and tackled the slice again, because the pies at Pizzando are delicious enough to do battle for. Neighboring diners applauded as she untangled the cheese and wiped her glasses clean with a napkin. The glasses fell off her face, the cheese stretched even longer, and finally, she dropped the slice back on the board, nearly falling out of her chair laughing. Somehow, as she lifted a slice high off the serving board, a long, gooey ribbon of mozzarella wrapped itself around her glasses. It would be nearly impossible to recreate the scene. The lady took on the pizza, and the pizza won. ![]()
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