Upclose: Pizza Antica

I would call Pizza Antica a modern pizzeria. Certainly, it doesn't come close to the true pizzerias of New York in terms of style, volume, and variety. As I said, it is modern. And their pizza is thin. Extra thin.

For my second trip back to their Santana Row location, the occasion was my wife's birthday. From our past experience, we know to shy away from the dishes you wouldn't typically associate with in a pizza place, like short ribs (that's what I got the last time). My mistake. We had a few favorites and we had them again this time. Then, we added a few more.

For starters, we had the salumi plate, which consisted of prosciutto, dry salami, and other special cuts of cured meat, with some pickled veggies and arugula. Very light and not salty at all. The platter came with a few slices of baguette. For a while, I thought there wasn't enough of the baguette. But because the meats were not salty, it was better eaten with the bread. We also had french fries (yes, you read it right) with truffle oil and garlic. It was my son's favorite.

My son loves white sauces and ordered the linguine with smoked salmon, while my wife and I had the spaghettini with meatballs. The tomato sauce was light and cooked with garlic and basil. And the 2 large meatballs were more than enough. Very filling and very flavorful despite being lighter than your typical spaghetti.

Of course, we didn't forget the pizza. In fact, we had two -- small ones, that is. We wanted to try as much without really going over board. We got the margherita, which was basically just tomato sauce, mozzarella, and fresh basil, and taverrite's hot calabresa sausage, with onions, peppers, and parsley. Pizzas were extra (super) thin and light (again). Had they not been round they could pass for flatbreads. A small pizza was just about right for one person. They also have larger-sized pizzas and are served on mini pizza paddles.

For dessert, we had cinnamon bread pudding, served with vanilla gelato and caramelized apples, and cannoli, with a sprinkling of chocolate chips. I never liked bread pudding because it tends to be dry, in general. But their bread pudding was not dry at all, but moist enough to make you go back for one more bite, and another, and another. And like most of their dishes (at least those that we tried), their bread pudding was also light and a bit airy. The cannoli, though, was a little disappointing. It was bland and the chocolate chips were more of a distraction, and it didn't help compliment the dessert one bit. I've had better cannolis. This one you can skip.

Their selection of pizzas and pastas are not large, but enough of a variety. They have a larger starter selection to choose from, and they serve salads, too. Then, they have a sampling of various meat entres' as well. For beverages, they have a fairly long list of local and foreign whites and reds from small and boutique wineries, and a good variety of traditional and craft beers by the bottle and on tap.

The overall experience that evening was great. Food was excellent. Service was prompt and more than adequate. Very charming servers and very knowledgeable of their dishes. It is now on our favorite places to dine, and wouldn't mind the 20 plus-mile drive. They don't take reservations, so make sure you're not starving when you get there because you will have to wait to be seated. Otherwise, you'll love it.