Tricolore Caffe & Pizzeria

Tricolore Caffe is a small cafe on the outskirts of North Beach, slightly off the beaten path, and seemingly never crowded with tourists.  Open weekdays only, for lunch, offering up soups, salads, pizza, and paninis mostly, although they do have some pasta entrees as well.  Not really the sort of place I'd seek out,  as my office provided lunch for me for years, and I'm not much of a pizza person (I have my moments of course, don't get me wrong!).  But 15 months of working from home got me looking around for more options, and thus, one day, I discovered this gem.

Side note: Stuck doing a lot of takeout and delivery these days? Want to try some free food and new pickup or delivery services?  Here are some codes for free money!

• Nextdish: ($10 off your first order) [ Delivery only ]
• Door Dash ($15 off, $5 each of your first 3 orders) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Caviar ($20 off, $10 off your first 2 orders) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Ritual ($6 off) [ Pickup only ]
• Delivery.com ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Grub Hub ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Seamless ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Allset ($5 off) [ Pickup only ]

My orders were via Allset or Ritual, all done with ease, and ready on time.  Staff were always friendly.  I never stayed to eat there, but they have a couple cute tables on the sidewalk, and a few inside.

I enjoyed every experience, and highly recommend.

Pizza

I never, ever would have sought out pizza at Tricolore Caffe & Pizzeria.  No offense, but, a random cafe on the outskirts of North Beach, mostly slinging paninis and salads, with some pre-made pizzas up front ... not really a "destination" pizza place.  Even after discovering, and *loving*, the tiramisu (more on that soon), I didn't think of trying the pizza.  Pizza is offered by the pie or slice.

But one day, I ordered swiss muesli in advance through Allset.  And  ... they didn't have it.  I was offered a cookie, a slice of pizza, or a side salad instead, since they weren't sure how to cancel the transaction.  And thus, randomly I settled for pizza. 

Sitting up at the counter was a handful of pizzas, sold by the slice.  There was a chicken and pepperoni one, another with pepperoni, or a vegetarian option that I opted for.  Tricolore makes about a dozen specialty pizzas, ranging from the classic margherita to an upscale Hawaiiana Fresca with prosciutto instead of the more common ham.  Of course you can customize your own as well.

I was rather shocked by how much I enjoyed the pizza (heated up later at home), and later returned for another slice.

All pizza is "made fresh with healthy blended wheat crust", and I'll be honest - it doesn't look particularly great.  It is definitely a rather unique style, not a thin crust, not a NY style, no char to it, no cornmeal dusting.  Just, something a bit different, more like bread, not a pizza dough style I normally go for, but it works.  It doesn't scream "healthy whole wheat", but it has a slight heartiness to it, and a great chew.  It is a slice that eats well, in that it bends over just right, and has just enough integrity to not fall apart, and hold the toppings well.

Speaking of toppings, they are generously applied, all slices just loaded up with fresh toppings, well distributed.  More on those soon.

Vegetarania Slice.  $4.95.

"Artichoke hearts, sautéed spinach and mushrooms."

The first slice I had was the "Vegetarania", with spinach, mushrooms, and artichokes, a bit more exciting than your standard veggie pizza of peppers and onions, and not a combo I would normally have picked.

It actually was fairly satisfying, as I was craving pizza.   I liked the mushrooms and spinach, but meh to artichokes (just not a big fan), although they go great with spinach and mushrooms in particular.  I loved how loaded up with toppings it was, and how fresh and ... nearly healthy it tasted with all the veggies.

The sauce was great, flavorful, and reminded me of Papa Ginos ... which I haven't had since I was about 10 years old, but do remember fondly.  Slightly sweet.

There was plenty of cheese, well melted.

So, overall, a quite decent slice of pizza, even if not the style I normally go for, nor toppings I'd pick.

***+.

Quattro Stagioni Slice. $4.95.

"Four seasons; capers, prosciutto, artichokes, sautéed mushrooms."

The next time I visited, I ordered ahead using Ritual, and was able to select a slice from their full line up of specialty pizzas.  I went for the Quattro Stagioni, which I learned means "Four Seasons", with 4 types of vegetables on top, each representing a different season - e.g. artichokes for spring, mushrooms for fall, etc.  I selected it because I was interested in the prosciutto, and had liked the mushrooms so much before.

It too was a great pizza, again, loaded with toppings.  I again really enjoyed the sauce, and the eating experience.   I liked the briny flavor from the capers (why don't I put them on pizza more often?!) but combined with the prosciutto it was a bit too salty.

The prosciutto was little chunks, I guess fancier than ham or bacon, but it tasted a little too porky and was a bit too chewy for my taste.  And, I still don't care for artichokes.  I did really like the mushrooms.

A slight negative is that the foil was applied when it was hot, I think, and thus the cheese and some toppings stuck to it, leaving bare spots when I opened my slice up.

But still a nice slice, ***.  

If I were building my own, I think I'd go with spinach, mushrooms, capers, and caramelized onions.

Dessert

I'm obviously a big dessert girl, so it should come as no surprise that I originally discovered Tricolore Caffe for ... yup, the dessert.  I saw the tiramisu on Allset when browsing around for goodies, tried it, and was astounded by how good it was.

Besides the (housemade) tiramisu, Tricolore also has cookies and biscotti, but those are purchased from a whole sale bakery (City Bakery) instead, and I haven't tried any.

Tiramisu. $4.50. (February 2021).

"Coffee-flavored dessert with mascarpone cheese topped with cocoa."

My eyes went wide when I got my first slice.  Now *THAT* is a slice of cake!!!

It was actually very, very good.

They use lady fingers instead of cake, so slightly crispy, and which gives a nice crunch to it.  Nicely soaked too, with espresso flavor coming through.

The cream was thick, creamy, pudding-like.  Delicious.  On top was a generous amount of cocoa, and sugar, which formed an almost chocolatey crust ... which sorta seemed like it was dried out, but I liked the texture it added.

I really truly enjoyed this, and I'm not usually one who is crazy about tiramisu (I like it, don't get me wrong, but its never something I rave about).

****, the best I've had in memory.

Tiramisu. $4.50. (March 2021).

A month later, and suddenly, the craving for tiramisu hit.  I knew immediately where I was going.

I was thrilled to see yet another ridiculously generous slice handed over.  I mean, really.  This is easily 2 large servings, and splitting it 3 ways wouldn't leave anyone feeling deprived.  

It was still fabulous.  I loved the very rich cream.  This one seemed perhaps fresher, the cocoa-sugar mix on top not as crusty, the ladyfingers a bit softer, and it had more of a soak to it.

****.