Sammy’s Serves Up Creative Pizzas Along With Old Standards

The novel pizzas served at the new Sammy’s California Woodfired Pizza in La Jolla might invite public censure in Naples. But, in a country that has managed to stuff striped toothpaste into tubes, the pizzas simply seem to be clever variations on a theme.

The Thai shrimp pizza, for example, is neither Thai nor Italian, but in its freedom from culinary myopia it most assuredly is as American as the corn dog. This pizza has the additional advantage of being delicious to the final crumb.

Sammy’s list does include such comfortable old shoes as the New York style (pepperoni, salami and sausage) and the classic Neapolitan Margherita (tomatoes, garlic and basil). But from these stalwarts it runs to such improbable extravagances as Peking duck pizza (garnished with bean sprouts and hoisin sauce) and the Mexicana, which includes lime-marinated chicken, salsa, guacamole and sour cream.

Next to these, such things as the barbecued chicken pizza (with smoked Gouda cheese, red onion and cilantro) and the cold, smoked salmon pizza (with sour cream, dill and golden caviar) sound tame, although the BLT, finished with Italian belly bacon, tomatoes, lettuce and mayonnaise, sounds fit only for daredevils. The single element that makes many of these identifiable as pizza is the mozzarella-topped crust with which all of them begin.

The restaurant is owned by Sami Ladeki, who has managed several top eateries elsewhere and who thoughtfully glamorized his La Jolla operation by hiring Ed LaDou as consulting pizza chef. If the title of “ consulting pizza chef” sounds astonishing in a town that boasts perhaps five chefs truly worthy of the name, consider that LaDou was in charge of the ovens at the devastatingly trendy Spago in Los Angeles, where chef-turned-celebrity Wolfgang Puck made “designer” pizza the dish of choice for producers, stars and their entourages. Sammy’s ovens are under the full-time supervision of Francisco Ruiz, who was LaDou’s assistant at Spago. The constant lines at Sammy’s door indicate that Ruiz’s manner with yeast dough, cheese and toppings will keep him every bit as busy as he was at the Sunset Strip landmark.

Shrimp Pizza a Triumph

As awkward and contrived as it may sound, the Thai shrimp pizza is in fact a little triumph in the esoteric world of pizza. An effect both succulent and vibrant is produced by the juxtaposition of crust, tomato sauce and cheese with the marvelous topping of shrimpy-tasting shrimp (many current types, some farm-raised, taste like sawdust), fresh mint, peanuts and lime. The chili heat that smolders in many a Thai dish gives the pizza a dandy and almost dangerous bite--it’s hot, but it’s good.

The sun-dried tomato pizza is much more sedate and dignified. It will seem comfortably familiar because the pungent morsels of tomato team with fresh basil, creamy goat cheese and pine nuts. All these items are at their fashionable zenith now, so that describing the pizza becomes the culinary equivalent of writing that Princess Di wore a Zandra Rhodes gown to the opening of a new Andrew Lloyd Webber musical.

Pizza stars at Sammy’s, but not to the point that it eclipses the lists of pastas and salads. These tend to be just as imaginative, and, at least in the case of the salads, just as good. Only one pasta, the fettuccine with duck sausage, fennel, basil, tomatoes and goat cheese, was sampled, and elegantly trendy as it was, it had a cloying and sweet flavor that made it less than lovable. Another novel offering is fettuccine dressed with bell peppers, cilantro, tequila-marinated chicken and lime cream sauce; calmer and more traditional choices include linguine with pesto , and angel hair with shrimp, artichokes, mushrooms and cream sauce.

Salads Are Excellent

The salads are excellent and copious, and work very well as a shared course to be followed by a shared pizza. Caesar seems to be conquering everywhere these days and tops the list. But there are more clever choices, such as the Thai chicken salad that includes slices of hot, freshly grilled chicken breast over a tangy tumble of bean sprouts, tomatoes and julienned vegetables dressed with chopped peanuts and a cilantro-sesame oil dressing. The dish presents not only ebullient flavors but a wonderful contrast between hot chicken and cool vegetables. The chopped salad is every bit as likable, and is a kind of Italian variation on California’s own Cobb salad, in this case composed of finely chopped pepperoni, mozzarella, olives, tomatoes and lettuce, with basil in the oil-and-vinegar dressing.

Desserts also can and should be shared, with a single order capable of serving two or three diners. These are big, messy, happy and very American desserts that pay no attention to weight-watchers. The epitome of these is the “messy chocolate sundae,” or several scoops of chocolate-drenched ice cream jammed into a goblet that actually has been rolled in chocolate syrup and chopped nuts. A fat brownie, spongy and rich, is soaked in chocolate sauce for emphasis and topped with a scoop of good vanilla ice cream in case anyone misses the point. The carrot cake, equally massive and gooey, strikes a somewhat more soigne note with its fine, elegant apricot sauce, but is as devoutly indulgent as the other sweets.

SAMMY’S CALIFORNIA WOODFIRED PIZZA

702 Pearl St., La Jolla, 456-5222

Lunch and dinner daily. Credit cards accepted. Dinner for two, including a glass of wine each, tax and tip, about $25 to $45