Gialina Pizzeria

This Glen Park trattoria is both a neighborhood spot and a critic's favorite, serving thin-crust pizzas, antipasti and rotating meat and fish specials.

by Patrick Heig at Citysearch

The casual drop-in vibe and simple decor of this neighborhood pizzeria and trattoria belies it's reputation as a top-five-in-the-city pizza spot known for fresh and unexpected ingredients and toppings. Classic pies get a fresh twist (three cheese: ricotta, provolone, pecorino & herbs) while others (pork belly w/ tomato, red onion, oregano & taleggio) are unique house specialties. A short list of local/seasonal starters (Mariquita Farms arugula w/ red beets, Cypress Grove goat cheese & toasted pistachios; polenta w/ caramelized purple cauliflower, parmesan & spicy Calabrian chilies) and deserts round out the menu, and make this local favorite a foodie-ready destination.

12/19/07

Absolutely Fantastic

by doubles246 at Citysearch

Gialina impresses me every time. I live in the neighborhood, so I was glad to see that a great restaurant opened up nearby. I usually get the Atomica, but their seasonal butternut squash pizza is great too. They pay a lot of attention to the details, as you can see from my pros below:

11/15/07

Missed the mark

by janeday at Citysearch

I really want to like this place. We live in the neighborhood and are fans of thin crust pizza, but the other night Gialina missed the mark. The ambience and decor is still appealing. I was completely happy with the pleasant and accommodating service, but the puttanesca pizza that came out was painfully salty. And, yes, we were expecting saltiness from a puttanesca pizza ? we have order them in various places in the world ? but this one should never have left the kitchen. It was way way over the top.

My other gripe about this place is the wine. The all-Italian wine list leaves me cold. Sure, if I was in Italy I?d happily pay a quarter the price for this stuff to go with my pizza. But, shipping this mediocre wine halfway round the world and giving it a big markup just because it?s Italian, does not impress me, particularly because the short tumblers provided for the wine do it a further disservice. Couldn?t they offer one or two good-value-for-money Californian bottles for those of us who like to consume local, and maybe some wine glasses so as not to further handicap the $38 imports. Anyhow, both my complaints can be easily remedied. In the meantime, I?ll drink beer with the pizza and ask about saltiness before ordering.