Pizza Antica

334 Santana Row
San Jose, CA 95128-2031
website

Vitals:
Hours: Sunday-Thursday, 11:30 a.m. until 10:00 p.m.
Friday and Saturday, 11:30 a.m. until 11:00 p.m.
kid friendly
credit cards accepted

I know, it's been a while, but I've been busy! This is by far my favorite place to eat on Santana Row. If you like thin crust pizza (it's really thin) then this is the place to go. I haven't been disappointed in anything that I've ordered here.

The appetizers and salads are very good. They use seasonal ingredients and the menu changes constantly. I like to start off with the bruschetta ($10.50) or a chopped salad ($9.25).

Now on to the pizza. You can always choose what you want on your pizza, but they have some pretty inventive combinations. We always get a large pizza (from $15.25-$17). My favorite is an oldy but goody, which is margharita pizza (tomato sauce, housemade mozzarella and fresh basil) but when I'm in the mood for some meat, the fennel sausage pizza with portobello mushrooms and roasted onion is also really good. I've also tried the three cheese, shaved broccoli and pancette, which is pretty good.

The portions are on the small side (or maybe I'm just a big eater), but with a little effort my husband and I can polish off a large pizza. Now that we have a small child, we have to contend with sharing. Maybe it's because the pizza has such a thin crust and the toppings are somewhat on the skimpy side, but it doesn't matter because the pizza is just delicious. Everything just has an amazing flavor, even the crust.

The children's menu is pretty limited, with a couple of pasta dishes with a choice of sauce, or a small pizza (generally around $5). Pretty basic but pretty good.

Pasta is also pretty good here. I've tried the basic Spaghettini with Tomato Conserva, Garlic and Basil ($8.95) and it was rich and flavorful. My toddler couldn't inhale enough of it. I think babies are the ultimate critics, if they like it, it's really good and if they don't, they just spit it out.

The wait can get long so go shopping while you're waiting or go early/late.

Tomatina

Tomatina
3127 Mission College Blvd
Santa Clara, CA 95054
Phone: (408) 654-9000
Fax: 408 654-9009
www.tomatina.com

Vitals:
Mon-Thurs: 11 am - 10 pm
Sat: 11:30 am - 11:00 pm
Sun: 11:30 am - 10 pm
Good for groups
kid-friendly

Tomatina is named after the festival in the village of Bunol, Spain, where for one day each year, there is a town food fight using ripe tomatoes. Tomatina is a casual pizza joint that serves some good thin crust pizza (although the pizza crust reminds me of naan bread, which is fine by me), which is baked in a brick oven that makes the crust bubble up and crispy. I really like this place as the food is good, cheap and it's a convenient place to go to before you check out a movie.

Starters are pretty standard, garlic rolls, bruschetta and soups (which generally range from $3.50-$8.50). They also serve pan-roasted mussels, which are particular good. The mussels are fresh and the sauce is made of garlic, white wine, some spices and tomato sauce. I don’t know what they put in that sauce but it’s delicious (I even like to dip my bread in the sauce).

Interestingly, they also serve piadines (pronounced like “pee-ah-dee-nees”), which is essentially a flatbread topped with your choice of salad that you fold in two and eat like a huge taco (generally run around $9-$10). When I first ordered one, I couldn’t imagine how anyone could finish the whole thing (they are pretty large), but once you start eating one, you can’t stop and lo and behold, you are left with an empty plate and a full stomach. My favorite piadines are the caprese (the bread has a slight drizzle of pesto and it's made with romaine lettuce, roasted tomatoes, fresh mozarella, parmesan and topped with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing, but instead of romaine lettuce I ask for baby spinach) and the chicken (the bread is spread with some garlic paste and it's made with baby spinach, roasted red peppers, mozzarella and parmesan cheese and topped with a citrus vinaigrette) .

I’m not a pizza aficionado, but the pizzas here are pretty good as well but the pizzas are a bit on the small side. My husband and I can easily finish a medium sized pizza (although I’m sure we could do some damage on large pizzas as well). Pizzas range from $11-$24, but personal pizza starts at $8. My favorite pizza here is the “Spicy” Three Cheese pizza. It’s a simple pizza that packs a lot of flavor in each bite - it’s made of a blend of feta, fontina, parmesan and mozzarella, with pieces of proscuitto, roasted garlic paste, peppercinis, onions and fresh parsley. The blend of cheeses is decadent and provides a good salty base that nicely complements (and doesn’t overpower) the pieces of proscuitto and is highlighted by the spicy kick provided by the peppercinis. I’m not a big fan of the parsley, so I just pick those out. I have to stop talking about this pizza…. The Pesto Chicken is also good, which is made of tomato sauce, mozzarella and parmesan cheese , with pieces of roasted chicken, roasted red peppers and drizzled with a sun dried tomato and basil pesto sauce.

Pastas are adequate, but not memorable (prices range from $9-$11). Can’t say when I’ve ever been impressed by a pasta dish. I’ll keep searching for that perfect plate.

This is one of my favorite cheap South Bay Eats!!!!