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N DININGNOTES
Warm marinated olives are flecked with herbs and peppers.
beans (ceci), but the squid’s flat body and squiggly tentacles are tender, served on arugula with amazingly good half-inch cubes of just softened zucchini. “Today’s market vegetables” could be tempura-fried fava or green beans ($7) to demolish immediately with well-balanced aioli. A handful of non-pizza entrees include the beloved chicken alla diavola ($16.75) and meatballs in sugo ($14.75). One day they featured a foot-long curl of narrow fennel sausage, mild but flavorful with sweet-and-sour onions and olive oil, baked in a gratin dish. One oily crostino didn’t add value. Attention to detail is evident in other areas. An order of iced tea ($3) gets you a carafe with a disc of lemon, a glass with a lemon slice and fresh Ceylon black tea. Food-friendly wines by the glass start at $8. On a busy evening, pacing was problematic. Green beans came before wine, and were followed too closely by salad and pizza. The hot dishes are better hot. The gelato-based dessert menu features six flavors “made right here,” which means they do run out. We wanted brown butter and mint stracciatella, but cleansed our palates with chocolate and vanilla (two scoops, $5). The front room is long and narrow, lined by blond wood
Pizzeria Delfina 651 Emerson St., Palo Alto 650-353-2208 pizzeriadelfina.com/paloalto Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. daily Reservations: Credit cards: Children: Outdoor dining: Private parties: Parking:
street and city lots
Alcohol:
full bar
Noise level:
high
Restroom cleanliness:
excellent
tables and a full-length, skyblue banquette on the window side with cooks and a dining counter on the other side. Exposed beams give the room a more open feel, bright where the previous restaurant in this location, the Empire Tap Room, was dark. Toward the end of the Tap Room’s 21-year-run, the patio was its main draw. Culinary archaeologists will remember that the “secret garden” also was the best thing about Le Meursault, a crepe-focused restaurant. Lesson to Palo Alto: Treasure your restaurant patios. V
Above: The napoletana pizza comes with anchovies, capers, olives and hot peppers. Top: The tuna conserva salad is made with watercress, butter beans and house-cured tuna.
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■ Mountain View Voice ■ MountainViewOnline.com ■ July 4, 2014