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San Francisco’s Outta Sight Pizza presents actual New York-style pizza

San Francisco is not a pizza town.

Yes, there is very good pizza in town and throughout the Bay Area. We’ve got a plethora of different styles, from crunchy, cheesy Detroit-style square slices at Square Pie Guys to the soft, chewy Neapolitan-style pies at Del Popolo — and Arinell’s has previously been the best New York-style slice shop in of the city it closed last year. But we don’t compare to the Big Apple when it comes to grabbing a bite on the way home, for a quick lunch, or late at night.

Now there’s a new spot at the top of my personal rankings for the best slice house in San Francisco – a no-frills place that welcomes everyone and focuses on serving up naked slices of pizza with great texture and flavor at a great price. Whether you call it the NYC-esque pizza or a hell of a San Francisco pie, the best slice in this 7-square-mile metropolis is at Outta Sight Pizza.

I recently ventured to 422 Larkin Street to give this place a shot. Between a casual Chinese restaurant and a cute Vietnamese restaurant, the big bright orange gold-rimmed letters spelling out “PIZZA” above the large front window definitely gave me New York vibes.

Customers enter Outta Sight Pizza in San Francisco on March 7, 2023.

Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE

A case on the counter held about six or seven different pizzas, and it smelled delicious. An eclectic selection of music, from hip-hop to jazz to death metal, pumped through the vintage-looking but essentially digital boombox perched on a mantle over the seating area. Everyone nodded their heads while chewing, no matter what kind of music they preferred. Behind the counter, a small vintage letterboard displayed the menu with slices ranging from $4.15 for cheese to $6 for sausage.

Affordable rates for San Francisco.

My order on what was a fateful day for me was a slice of cheese, a slice of pepperoni – the classics – and a slice of white mussel cake, the dish of the day. Each came on a fluted paper plate, that’s the only way they do it in New York City.

My first bite was of course the cheese slice. The mix of low-moisture mozzarella melted into San Marzano tomato sauce was utterly classic. Visceral food memories immediately flooded my brain. It was a late-night tune at Joe’s in the West Village, after the last note played at the nearby Smalls Jazz Club. Or I might be sitting on the sidewalk on a warm summer evening eating a piece of Scarr’s on the Lower East Side. Even hazy, drunken memories of Proto’s, the Slice store around the corner from my New York City apartment, suddenly became clear again with a piece of Outta Sight in my hand.

The cheese slice at Outta Sight Pizza, as simple as it sounds, tasted like a great New York slice.

A Madonna slice of pizza at Outta Sight Pizza in San Francisco, California on March 7, 2023.

A Madonna slice of pizza at Outta Sight Pizza in San Francisco, California on March 7, 2023.
Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE

A customer at the counter of Outta Sight Pizza in San Francisco, California on March 7, 2023.

A customer at the counter of Outta Sight Pizza in San Francisco, California on March 7, 2023.
Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE

A customer waves goodbye after dining at Outta Sight Pizza on March 7, 2023 in San Francisco, California.

A customer waves goodbye after dining at Outta Sight Pizza on March 7, 2023 in San Francisco, California.
Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE

A slice of pepperoni pizza at Outta Sight Pizza in San Francisco, California on March 7, 2023.

A slice of pepperoni pizza at Outta Sight Pizza in San Francisco, California on March 7, 2023.
Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE


Outta Sight Pizza in San Francisco. (Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE)

Then came the wonderful pepperoni. When the little bowls of cured meat ripple around the edges, some with a crispy burnt hue, and the bright orange oil drips down your index finger as you fold the slice in half at the crust…that’s the stuff of dreams are made of. The saltiness of the pepperoni, which sometimes contained little mozzarella lumps, is the perfect complement to the cream and flavor of the cheese and tomato sauce.

Least reminiscent of New York, the clam pie was a delicious ode to the pie often associated with Frank Pepes in New Haven, Connecticut. The mussels were fresh and with a hint of brine, while the ricotta cheese matched the faint saltiness of the molluscs. The chopped parsley and generous squeeze of fresh lemon juice brought it all together.

The main difference between Outta Sight Pizza and the Big Apple stars is the crust. A tried-and-tested recipe from owner-chef Eric Ehler bridges the two worlds – the amazing bread culture of the West Coast coupled with the history of East Coast pizza.

(Left to right) Eric Ehler and Peter Dorrance, co-owners of Outta Sight Pizza in San Francisco, on March 7, 2023.

(Left to right) Eric Ehler and Peter Dorrance, co-owners of Outta Sight Pizza in San Francisco, on March 7, 2023.

Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE

“I wanted a thin pizza with a little crust — easy to chew and eat like bread,” Ehler said. “But it’s tough enough to hold pads.”

He said he wants his crust to have the texture of a baguette. As our interview wrapped, a customer who was eating in the store walked by and said, “I heard you, and it definitely tastes like baguette,” and then punched Ehler.

Ehler, who is originally from Iowa and moved to San Francisco around 2008, began developing his pizza recipe about 10 years ago. A skateboarder who humbly said his favorite trick was a standard kickflip, Ehler has been to New York City a number of times to explore its famous skate spots like Coleman Park under the Manhattan Bridge. Scarr’s, a few blocks away on Orchard Street on the Lower East Side, was one of his favorites. While he shies away from the fact that everything must have a label, he understands that his pizza is inherently judged against others and his recipe was actually influenced by his travels to New York City.

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Douglas Zimmerman SFGATE

Before running his own shop, Ehler held various restaurant jobs in San Francisco, but none with a formal education in bread. He learned to bake bread by watching YouTube videos after his shifts on the assembly line. Ehler met Outta Sight Pizza co-owner Peter Dorrance in 2017 while working at Mister Jiu’s, chef Brandon Jew’s magnum opus, in San Francisco’s Chinatown. The two hit it off quickly, they said. After running an Outta Sight pizza pop-up at Fig & Thistle in Hayes Valley, they finally opened their own space at Tenderloin last year.

“I think if you dig deep with someone, everyone has a story about pizza [from] grow up,” said Ehler. “Baseball games – get pizza afterwards; bowling lanes – pizza; Overnight stays – Pizza. It kept coming back to pizza.”

Dorrance, a former boat captain, doesn’t see himself as a big pizza fan. He loves pizza, but cooking it was never his thing. Growing up in Arroyo Grande, California, and even after moving to San Francisco 10 years ago, he always favored pizzas with a doughier crust, almost spongy, from places like Haystack Pizza on 24th Street in Noe Valley.

A slice of pepperoni pizza at Outta Sight Pizza in San Francisco on March 7, 2023.

A slice of pepperoni pizza at Outta Sight Pizza in San Francisco on March 7, 2023.

Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE

“I’ve grown to appreciate pizza a lot more,” Dorrance said of working with Ehler on a day-to-day basis. “But I wouldn’t say I’m an expert [like he is].”

“It sells below value,” Ehler quickly intervenes. “Now he’s like a pizza snob.”

Each week Outta Sight Pizza has two new specials announced on Instagram. The thing about a sturdy, baguette-like crust is that it can hold a lot of toppings, and Ehler is always experimenting. Many of the specials are influenced by the California Pizza Kitchen, an Ehler’s favorite, such as a BBQ chicken pie that was on the menu this week. Or they’re influenced by foods Ehler loves, like an Al Pastor cake that’s now on the menu.

As for his wildest special? It is in the research and development phase, but he assures that it should be available soon.

(Left to right) Eric Ehler and Peter Dorrance, co-owners of Outta Sight Pizza in San Francisco, on March 7, 2023.

(Left to right) Eric Ehler and Peter Dorrance, co-owners of Outta Sight Pizza in San Francisco, on March 7, 2023.

Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE

What is special about a Slice shop is that it welcomes everyone who enters. In New York City, you can often see a Wall Street guy in a full suit next to a skater lugging a board around, both with contented smiles on their faces. A slice of pizza is a humble gift. It’s taken to another level at Outta Sight Pizza, but it still welcomes everyone.

Because, as Ehler said: “Everything always comes back to pizza.”

Outta Sight Pizza, 422 Larkin St., San Francisco. Open Monday to Friday 11am to 9pm, closed Saturday and Sunday.

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