Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Zachary's - The best Chicago Deep Dish Pizza in Nor Cal (Berkeley)

Zachary's

Zachary's Chicago Pizza


Zachary's, one of the most famous pizza restaurants in all of Northern California, is known for their Chicago style deep dish pizza. I've been here many times since I was young, as my grandparents resides in Berkeley. On a recently trip back to Northern California, I met with my friend Gigi and her friend Clarissa for a lovely lunch on the streets of Solano Avenue.

Zachary's
Zachary'sZachary's

Menu

We decided on getting a medium Zachary's special, which consisted of sausage, green pepper, onion, and mushroom. Even though they offered beer at Zachary's, we decided on some diet coke to wash down the deep dish.

Zachary's SpecialZachary's SpecialZachary's SpecialZachary's Special

Zachary's Special

When the Zachary's Special arrived at our table, I was ready to eat! Even though the crust was thick, it was still crispy and had a bite. The tomato sauce was tart, and spicy, just perfect in my opinion. The mix of the chunky tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers, and onions harmonized with the italian sausages that were on the pizza. The pizza was simply delicious. At $24.55 for a medium, it might not be the cheapest piece of pie in town, but it more than fed the three of us hungry eaters, especially me, after my long drive from Los Angeles.

Zachary'sZachary's

Dining Room

All in all, Zachary's pizza was one of the best pizza institutions I've been in my life. Personally, I prefer the thick crust of the Chicago style over the thin crust of the New York variety, though I hope I'll try a few good pizza slices in my upcoming New York trip. A Co-op, you can definitely see the employees are active and intended to run a successful establishment. Even though it had been about three years from my last visit, Zachary's continues to deliver delicious pizza to its Bay Area clientele. Although I was recommended to Cheeseboard pizza down on Shattuck, the nostalgia of Zachary's was too much for me to overlook. I hope for my next visit, there wouldn't be a three year gap. For any visitors to the "Yay" Area, make a stop at Zachary's, you wouldn't leave disappointed!

*Note* Besides the Berkeley location, there are locations in Oakland and San Ramon.

Zachary's Chicago Pizza
1853 Solano Ave.
Berkeley CA 94707
(510) 525-5950

Website

Zachary's Chicago Pizza in San Francisco

10 comments:

catty said...

Wow. YUM. i have to say I'm usually a fan of the thin crust but that deep pan crust looks amazing. And it holds more topping! WIN!

Brian said...

brings back all kind of college memories - but diet coke and no beer? that part I do not recognize.

Shwet said...

sweet! I love this blog!

Daily Gluttony said...

I hella like Zachary's & all the other old school pizza places in the Yay Area like Blondie's & Fat Slice. I hella wish LA had hella better pizza places like NorCal. :)

mattatouille said...

I had some good places in Chicago, but out of those places, I honestly thing Zachary's is better. I haven't been here in years, but I'm sure I will go sooner than later. great review and nice photos.

joanh said...

I'M SO JEALOUS!!! my fave place to visit when i go back to Berkeley/SF is Zachary's. your pictures are making me hungry.

btw- any decent zachary's-ish place in LA/OC? i found a couple potentials but never tried them out.

Kung Food Panda said...

Catty: I guess I'm spoiled by Zachary's, so I've been a fan of Chicago deep dish over the New York thin crust. Regardless, I love pizza!

Brian: Ya...after a long drive from LA, I didn't feel like drinking alcohol. That should be minus points on ME!

Gigi: Thanks! =)

Pam: I HELLA agree with ya! The pizza up in Nor Cal are just better. No, hella better!

Matt: You should have gone to Zachary's on your last trip to Berkeley. Maybe next time I'll join ya? =)

Joan: Zachary's is just an institution. It'll always be good, I hope. In terms of deep dish in LA, there's a place called Masa in the Silver Lake area, though it's nowhere as good as Zachary's.

joanh said...

masa? noted for my trip back in january! i heard there's another place called little tony's or something like that in placentia... i will do some research. :)

Gastronomer said...

Zachary's is damn tasty! However, the wait is a massive BIATCH!

Kung Food Panda said...

Joan: Masa was OK, though I wouldn't eat it there unless you're REALLY craving deep dish =P. I'm not sure about Little Tony's though....

Cathy: No wait for me! Plenty of table, though we did go on an off peak hour during summer vacation =)