SCOOP: Tony’s Pizza Plans, Passot & Mina Talk Biz, Tanglewood morphs

The biggest secret, that hasn’t been much of a secret, is that renowned prize-winning pizza maker and tosser Tony Gemignani is going to open a pizzeria — Tony’s Pizza Napolitano — in the old La Felce space at 1570 Stockton Street at Union. Well, that’s just part of the story.

For several years, Gemignani has been co-owner, with his brother Frank, of a very successful restaurant in Castro Valley, Pyzano’s. As reported by Leah Garchik in the Chron, he has placed an order for ceramics from an East Bay Italian ceramic and glassware supplier, signaling his intentions as far as North Beach.

But as the late radio dude Paul Harvey would say, SCOOP has the rest of the story.

In 2007, Gemignani was the first American-born pizza maker to win the City of Naples Trophy, International Championship of Pizza Makers. This week he is in Las Vegas overseeing the International Pizza Challenge. Gemignani cannot compete in the United States, but his partner in the North Beach restaurant, Bruno DiFabio did, and had just become one of the finalists in a skills competition when we spoke. There were 120 bakers entered.

DiFabio is CFO of the International School of Pizza, which will open its first branch in the US sharing space in Tony’s North Beach restaurant. During the day, lunch will be served in the bar area and the school will teach pros, and at other times plain folks, how to make pizza. Professional cooks can earn certification.

So whereas the ordering of ceramics is cool, much cooler is the fact that a wood-burning oven is on its way to San Francisco from italy. Look for Tony’s in late June.

One personal note: About five years ago I talked to Guy Ferri, then chef-owner of the Washington Square Bar & Grill, and chef Mike Yakura, then at Jianna restaurant about doing cooking demos with me at the Alameda County Fair. That’s where I met Tony Gemignani. My first words to him were, “You oughta be in North Beach.”

They’re interviewing for staff and one of the possible candidates for bartender is another award-winner, mixologist Victoria D’amato-Moran, who just took first prize ($5,000) at the Las Vegas Bar & Nightclub show in Vegas.  

D’amato-Moran is a North Beach original, although she now lives in South San Francisco. She worked a long time at Tony Nik’s, half a block down the street from the old La Felce and across the street at Joe DiMaggio’s Italian Chophouse. She’s already had a chat with Gemignani and DiFabio.

In Vegas, D'amato-Moran became one of five finalists with her “Kentucky Woman” cocktail. For the final round, the secret ingredient was passion fruit. “My heart leapt, because I use that ingredient all the time,” the ebullient D'amato-Moran explained. She put together passion fruit vodka, Aperol, X-Rated Fusion (orange/mango/passion fruit-flavored) liqueur, fresh ruby grapefruit and lemon juice, plus a dash of nutmeg.

I asked D'amato-Moran what she was going to do with her prize money. “For a couple of years, I have been making my own mixes and syrup for cocktails. I’m going to hold onto the money and put it towards my syrup business, which I call Cent’Anni Cocktails.”

In wide-ranging conversations with two renowned Bay Area chefs, Michael Mina and Roland Passot, SCOOP learned of their immediate plans, their take on the economy, and their plans for the future.

Mina talked about his upcoming RN74, located at 301 Mission Street in the ultra-luxe, high-rise Millennium Towers.

This idea, I know from previous interviews, has been percolating between Mina and his director of wine for the Mina Group, Rajat Parr, for about five years. In collaboration with chef Jason Berthold, late of the French Laundry (executive sous chef) and a winemaker in his own right, RN74, an urban wine bar and 80-seat restaurant, is on track to open in late April.

The name comes from Route National 74, the main thoroughfare through Burgundy. Fifty wines by the glass will be offered as well as small plates like duck rillettes, French cheeses and hamachi sashimi.

In talking about the economy and the restaurant biz in particular, Mina said, “There is no doubt that it is tough — at the first of the year, we decided to close Sunday and Monday. In the lounge area, we started offering three courses for $60 instead of only offering the prix fixe menu served in the main dining room.”

I also asked about Las Vegas. “The group business has died off, but it hasn’t hit my restaurants badly [Michael Mina and Nob Hill]. The casino is closing a couple of restaurants two days a week. I close Michael Mina in the Bellagio on Wednesdays.”

“I’ll tell you this,” Mina went on to explain, “I would not open a showcase restaurant now — just fun things. George [Morrone] and I have always talked about doing a high-quality soup kitchen with George’s recipes,” he said with a chuckle.

I caught up with Roland Passot chef-owner of La Folie restaurant to talk about the lounge he is opening adjacent to La Folie. Passot is also a partner in the Left Bank restaurant group.

Oh-la-la!  It sounds fabulous. It is going into the space that formerly housed La Boulange, which moved to the corner where Petit Robert once was.

When the lounge opens at the end of this month, access will be either through La Folie’s private dining room, called the Green Room, or from a Polk Street entrance.

Designer Shawn E. Hall of Napa did the design. Passot says there will be 8 sofas and 10 bar chairs, adding up to a capacity of 25–36. He’ll have taped music.

I asked him if his good friend chef Hubert Keller of Fleur de Lys, who enjoys deejaying, will be jealous of Passot’s lounge. Passot laughed heartily and said, no, that Keller gets enough deejaying between his St. Louis restaurant, Sleek, and his Las Vegas Fleur de Lys.

Because of the economy, the opening of a Left Bank in Walnut Creek is on hold; however, Passot’s two-year-old Tanglewood restaurant on Santana Row in San Jose will close down for two weeks and morph into a value-oriented steakhouse. Name to be decided soon.

When I wrote the “Inside Scoop” for the Chronicle for 16 years, people always asked me, “Where do you get the SCOOPS?” My answer was always lots of sources and with the help of an army of spies.

Now that I’m back scooping after a three-year hiatus, I’ve had to source new “helpers.” But on Monday, and on deadline, I had to enlist my friend and business partner, Susan Dyer-Reynolds to take a look at Pizza Nostra (300 De Haro, near 16th, San Francisco).

With camera in hand, she tried to assess when the new SoMa eatery would open and to take a photo. Apparently, she spooked one of the owners who told her that if she were hungry, Chez Maman was not far away. 

But then we heard from P.R. guru Tom Walton of Fortune Public Relations that Pizza Nostra is currently scheduled to open sometime during the week of March 16 through March 20. The location was previously home to Couleur Cafe.

Restaurateur Jocelyn Bulow (Chef Papa Resto, Chef Papa Bistrot, Chez Maman) has teamed up with executive chef David Bazirgan, chef de cuisine Chad Huck and pizzaiolo (pizza chef) Giovanni Aginolfi. Pizza Nostra will serve authentic Neapolitan thin-crust pizza and regional Italian dishes.

Pizzaiolo Giovanni Aginolfi is one of Europe’s foremost pizza chefs with 18 years of experience. In the World Pizza Championship held annually in Italy, Aginolfi finished in sixth place in 2007 and in fifth place in 2008. Pizza Nostra is his first appointment in the United States.

Pizza Nostra will seat 36 guests in the dining room and, weather permitting, 45 outside. (The Web site is current under development.)

Bargain of the month: Everybody seems to be doing fried chicken nights. For one thing, it’s a hassle to make at home, and the ingredients are not expensive for the restaurants. But you know when chef David Lawrence tackles his black-skillet fried chicken on Monday nights, you’re gonna get something fabulous.

Last Monday, for $28, Lawrence offered half a fried chicken, preceded by a sweet potato-leek soup with a peanut-crème fraiche swirl or a lovely tossed salad, and for dessert, a warm apple cobbler with vanilla ice cream. As we said — every Monday.

Eat, Dance, Meet:  Not too long ago, I wrote about the dearth of gay and lesbian bars in Marin. I mentioned that gay women were carpooling in from the North Bay to Wednesday’s Ladies Night at the Pisco Lounge in San Francisco.

The goddesses must have heard me because Mary Hughes, the longtime owner of Mary’s Futon’s in San Rafael, is throwing a women-only dance this Saturday night. The dance is being held at Jason’s Restaurant in Greenbrae. It starts at 7 p.m. when a light buffet will be served, followed by dancing from 8:30 until 11 p.m. No-host bar; cost $15.

Gone or Just Away? Paul Franson in his Napa Life e-letter reports that the Foothill Grill, née Foothill Cafe, at 2766 Old Sonoma Road in Napa, appears to have closed. Like Franson, I also rang their number, but when I called, the message dated March 1 says that the restaurant  is closed for remodeling and vacation. Chef-owner Jerry Shaffer created a hit when he opened the cafe in 1991, later left for a year, and then reopened it as the Grill in August 2007. Stay tuned.

Email: graceann@yummyletter.com