A restaurant with a Greek name serving a fusion of Indian and Italian food in San Francisco. Globalisation is real folks, and you know what else, it is as tasty as it is confusing — to spell it out for you, Zante’s pizza is bloody scrumptious. Welcome to Zante Pizza a Mission Street special since 1986. This operation serves up Spinach Curry and Chicken Tikka Masala Pizza to San Francisco’s hipsters and Tech tycoons and is the pride and joy of Mr. Multani, or should I say Tony.

Mr. Tony’s take on his name is a lot like his pizza, a halfway mark between two cultures. Actually, it’s less of a halfway mark and more of an intercultural sweet spot. Tony made his bones in the much reputed Gloria’s Pizza in Queens (now in Forest Hill) before moving down to San Francisco. It was there he started experimenting with his own pizza recipes, unable to resist the temptation of adding more than an Indian touch to his pies.

The City by the Bay couldn’t resist Tony’s Magnum Opus of Indian pizza, a steady staple to many in the Mission for decades past and decades to come. We know many foodies have a huge issue with the bastardization of pizza, many of us still shudder at the sight of pineapple on pizza, however Mr. Tony’s style of pizza is more than just good. Unfortunately, his ‘Indian pizza’ has been copied badly across the USA and India, resulting in a quite the stigma for Chicken Tikka Masala Pizza. This can be chalked up to mediocre creations that lack the skill, passion and damn good dough one finds at Zante Pizza. Nevertheless, if you’re ever in San Francisco stop by Zante Pizza and taste what all the fuss is about.

Feature Image Courtesy of Static Flickr.