When hospitality entrepreneur and MoHi Farm owner Frank Leal declared that all wood-fired pizzas on his farm-to-table restaurant’s menu would be just $10 through Feb. 8, he put Morgan Hill at the forefront of the first Silicon Valley Pizza Week. At a price like that for a top-tier artisanal pie, pizza lovers may be driving from near and far during the biggest multi-venue pizza party to unfold in this region.
The celebration of the world’s most popular food runs through Feb. 8. More than 85 restaurants from the Peninsula to Aptos and Gilroy are participating in the coordinated promotion, which features special pies, slices and prices. It is organized by the Weeklys Media Group, the locally-based company that owns the Morgan Hill Times.
If things get too busy at Mohi Farm, there are other South Valley options. Across the way at The Granary, Chef Salvatore Calisi is going all-out with a shellfish pie that combines shrimp and Dungeness crab with roasted garlic crema, fontina cheese and house-made mozzarella. It’s finished with toasted chiles, lemon zest and crispy kale which should make for quite a taste sensation.
One of the signature attributes of the valley’s pizza culture is Indian pizza, a culinary fusion that began in San Francisco’s Mission District and spread throughout the Bay Area, then to other cities.
Neil Meharu, owner of Morgan Hill’s Parktown Pizza, says, “It’s a growing market. There’s so much demand for it. Butter chicken pizza is the big seller. The chicken’s cooked in butter sauce.”
“Lemon pepper paneer is the top seller on the vegetarian side,” Meharu adds. “The crust acts almost like a naan. It’s Indian food on top of a pizza.”
Parktown, which also features a large craft beer selection, is reducing its prices on medium and large pizzas by $10 for the duration of Silicon Valley Pizza Week.
Bibo’s New York Style Pizza on Depot Street is serving up a hot pastrami pizza with sauerkraut and a thousand island drizzle, aptly demonstrating that there are no limits to the creativity of local pizzaiolos.
In Gilroy, the High & Mighty Pizza Joint is firing up barbecue pizza specialties like jalapeño tri-tip and a two-meat brisket combo.
And the Gilroy outpost of the valley’s favorite local pizza chain, Pizza My Heart, is serving its special Mushroom Magic pizza by the slice and by the pie. Also on the Pizza Week menus is its Watsonville Apple specialty pizza with green apple slices, pepperoni, sausage, bacon, green onions, gorgonzola, olive oil and garlic.
All of the specials are listed on a downloadable app that allows pizza lovers to check in, post photos, rate meals, collect points and win pizzas. The app is downloadable at wklys.co/pw
Dan Pulcrano, CEO and executive editor of Weeklys Media Group, is a principal organizer of Silicon Valley Pizza Week.
