Is Zero Zero a destination, or just a pizzeria?

A A A Comments (0) By Jonathan Kauffman Wednesday, Sep 22 2010

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Lara Hata

Zero Zero opened to capacity crowds.

Location Info

Map

Zero Zero

826 Folsom
San Francisco, CA 94107

Category: Restaurant > California

Region: South of Market

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Details

Zero Zero
826 Folsom (at Fourth St.), 348-8800, www.zerozerosf.com. Lunch 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Mon.-Fri.; bar menu: 2:30-5:30 p.m. Mon.-Fri.; dinner 5:30-10 p.m. Sun.-Thu., 5:30-11 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Muni: 8X, 12, 30, 45. First floor is wheelchair accessible. Noise level: moderate.

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The charm of Picco's soft-serve ice cream didn't survive the upscaling, either. Instead of dessert menus, we were given a build-your-own-sundae form to fill out. What with one $4.95 swirl of soft-serve Straus ice cream, a $4 base (chocolate fudge squares, a cinnamon waffle), and any of a dozen toppings, this results in a $10 order. Ten dollars bought me — twice — a bowl of ice cream extruded with all the care of a stoned college kid on a 2 a.m. run to the 7-Eleven. The ice cream was indubitably satiny, and it was, indeed, enhanced with doses of well-crafted butterscotch, candied peanuts, or olive-oil cakes, as long as we ignored the fact that these additions had been tossed onto the slop as the food runners bustled to the table.

Hill has done much right: With the location alone, a few blocks from Moscone Center and a cab ride away from both FiDi and the nearest competitor, he has provided himself a guaranteed income. Whaley and his hot-line cooks are beyond competent, his basic pies beyond respectable. But the competition among high-end pizzerias is intensifying, and the notations in diners' spreadsheets are becoming more subtle and sharp-tongued. If Zero Zero wants citywide acclaim in addition to a steady customer base, there's refining to do.