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Getting deep at The Shop: Pizza + Cocktails
“West coast deep-dish” means chunky tomatoes and cornmeal crunch in Rancho Bernardo
A personal "west coast deep-dish" pizza, made with cheese on the bottom and thick, chunky sauce on top
“West coast deep-dish.” The very idea provided reason enough to hop in the car and drive to North County. The Shop: Pizza + Cocktails has been at it a couple years now, slinging pies out of a stylishly assembled corner of the Rancho Bernardo Town Center, graced by a large, comfy dining patio.
The Town Center is a fairly standard, if somewhat upscale, suburban shopping center, where The Shop sits roughly between a Von’s and a CVS. However, equipped with a full bar, replete with aged spirits, and a similarly robust wine menu, this is a more adult pizza joint than we ever saw in the ‘burbs growing up.
But that’s not to say it isn’t family friendly. I brought a couple young summer vacationers along, and even our dog. The kids did not share my interest in finding out what west coast deep dish was all about, but that’s fine, because The Shop is good enough to offer two styles of pie. Kids can enjoy their usual pepperoni on traditional (read: thin) crust, while grown-ups dig into something heftier.
The Shop operates within an upscale suburban shopping center.
Traditional or deep dish, there’s always the option to build your pizza from the ground up, starting at $16. But The Shop offers a handful of signature pies in each style: deep dish specialty pies run $24 (small) and $33 (large), while traditional go for $22 and $30. A couple of the traditional pies employ an olive oil rather than tomato-based sauce, including one topped with roasted chicken and BBQ sauce.
The traditional crust pizza provides an easier way to conquer alternative to deep dish.
But the deep-dish pies are built more like casseroles, each laden with a thick sauce of crushed tomatoes and garlic. Specialty pies employ toppings such as house-made meatballs, crispy bacon, mushrooms, and black olives. A vegetarian option features zucchini, green olives, finished with a drizzle of basil pesto.
It was just me and the kids, and anyone who’s tried to devour a deep-dish pizza knows how heavy one can be. Even that $24 small would be more than I could tackle on my own. Fortunately, during lunch hours — that is, from open until 4pm — you can order a personal pie, whether signature pies ($17 deep dish and $15 traditional) or design your own (starting at $12/10).
A full bar serves cocktails, beer, and wine, in what's also a family-friendly establishment.
With regard to the deep dish, that means a roughly 6-inch pizza, which sounds small, but given it’s nearly an inch and a half deep, it proves at least as filling as a burger and fries.
I went for the so-called “Old Town,” topped with pepperoni, green bell peppers, mushrooms, black olives, onions, and garlic. The pizza could have used more toppings (when isn’t that the case?), so what came across the most were the cheese, tomatoes, and garlic.
So what makes it west coast deep-dish? That’s a good question. Like Chicago deep-dish, the crust is made with a layer of cheese first, then toppings, then a thick helping of sauce across the top. The Shop’s pie reminds me a little of fondly remembered Berkeley Pizza, which used to sling Chicago-style pies out of farmers markets, then over counters in East Village and North Park, prior to shutting down altogether during the pandemic. The chunky tomato sauce is similarly bright, though not quite as flavorful as the Berkeley pies, near-perfect in my memory.
The Shop does include some cornmeal in its crust, which adds additional flavor and a welcome crunch. But that’s something a number of mainstay Chicago pies do.
What the term “west coast deep-dish” might ultimately do is temper expectations.
Calling it Chicago-style pizza always invites the scrutiny of rowdy Windy City natives, and even visited-one-summer converts, who’d likely search for unfavorable comparisons in each bite. But a west coast pie that tastes a lot like Chicago pizza, enjoyed with cocktails or craft beer, al fresco? There’s an idea that’s easy to get behind.
Here's something you might be interested in.
Getting deep at The Shop: Pizza + Cocktails
“West coast deep-dish” means chunky tomatoes and cornmeal crunch in Rancho Bernardo
Getting deep at The Shop: Pizza + Cocktails
“West coast deep-dish” means chunky tomatoes and cornmeal crunch in Rancho Bernardo
A personal "west coast deep-dish" pizza, made with cheese on the bottom and thick, chunky sauce on top
“West coast deep-dish.” The very idea provided reason enough to hop in the car and drive to North County. The Shop: Pizza + Cocktails has been at it a couple years now, slinging pies out of a stylishly assembled corner of the Rancho Bernardo Town Center, graced by a large, comfy dining patio.
The Town Center is a fairly standard, if somewhat upscale, suburban shopping center, where The Shop sits roughly between a Von’s and a CVS. However, equipped with a full bar, replete with aged spirits, and a similarly robust wine menu, this is a more adult pizza joint than we ever saw in the ‘burbs growing up.
But that’s not to say it isn’t family friendly. I brought a couple young summer vacationers along, and even our dog. The kids did not share my interest in finding out what west coast deep dish was all about, but that’s fine, because The Shop is good enough to offer two styles of pie. Kids can enjoy their usual pepperoni on traditional (read: thin) crust, while grown-ups dig into something heftier.
The Shop operates within an upscale suburban shopping center.
Traditional or deep dish, there’s always the option to build your pizza from the ground up, starting at $16. But The Shop offers a handful of signature pies in each style: deep dish specialty pies run $24 (small) and $33 (large), while traditional go for $22 and $30. A couple of the traditional pies employ an olive oil rather than tomato-based sauce, including one topped with roasted chicken and BBQ sauce.
The traditional crust pizza provides an easier way to conquer alternative to deep dish.
But the deep-dish pies are built more like casseroles, each laden with a thick sauce of crushed tomatoes and garlic. Specialty pies employ toppings such as house-made meatballs, crispy bacon, mushrooms, and black olives. A vegetarian option features zucchini, green olives, finished with a drizzle of basil pesto.
It was just me and the kids, and anyone who’s tried to devour a deep-dish pizza knows how heavy one can be. Even that $24 small would be more than I could tackle on my own. Fortunately, during lunch hours — that is, from open until 4pm — you can order a personal pie, whether signature pies ($17 deep dish and $15 traditional) or design your own (starting at $12/10).
A full bar serves cocktails, beer, and wine, in what's also a family-friendly establishment.
With regard to the deep dish, that means a roughly 6-inch pizza, which sounds small, but given it’s nearly an inch and a half deep, it proves at least as filling as a burger and fries.
I went for the so-called “Old Town,” topped with pepperoni, green bell peppers, mushrooms, black olives, onions, and garlic. The pizza could have used more toppings (when isn’t that the case?), so what came across the most were the cheese, tomatoes, and garlic.
So what makes it west coast deep-dish? That’s a good question. Like Chicago deep-dish, the crust is made with a layer of cheese first, then toppings, then a thick helping of sauce across the top. The Shop’s pie reminds me a little of fondly remembered Berkeley Pizza, which used to sling Chicago-style pies out of farmers markets, then over counters in East Village and North Park, prior to shutting down altogether during the pandemic. The chunky tomato sauce is similarly bright, though not quite as flavorful as the Berkeley pies, near-perfect in my memory.
The Shop does include some cornmeal in its crust, which adds additional flavor and a welcome crunch. But that’s something a number of mainstay Chicago pies do.
What the term “west coast deep-dish” might ultimately do is temper expectations.
Calling it Chicago-style pizza always invites the scrutiny of rowdy Windy City natives, and even visited-one-summer converts, who’d likely search for unfavorable comparisons in each bite. But a west coast pie that tastes a lot like Chicago pizza, enjoyed with cocktails or craft beer, al fresco? There’s an idea that’s easy to get behind.
Commentsjohnrock
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
July 9, 2022