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Roman pizza is super-OK if you play the field.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re a slice house, and we want people to have fun, just have a little levity. We want them to come eat good food, hang out, chill and maybe have a drink and just be happy,\u201d Ludlow said. \u201cWe\u2019re not fine dining, and we\u2019re not looking to make anyone intimidated.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wearing a headband and a cheap pizza-print apron and excitedly explaining the relatively new idea of Roman pizza to customers is Ludlow\u2019s jam.<\/p>\n
The width of three fingers \u2014 think pointer, index and ring finger pushed together \u2014 is the smallest slice you can get, just to give you an idea. If you\u2019re sampling, that\u2019s an excellent place to start, but Ludlow and Leiser-Miller will cut to your request, weighing each slice before popping it into the oven for a quick final bake. Our small portions were about $5.50 to $6 each.<\/p>\n
Homemade ranch rich with herbs is encouraged as a dip, along with chile oil, chimichurri and hot honey, if you\u2019re so inclined ($1-$2 each). None of those snobby \u201cno-ranch\u201d rules here, because ranch rules.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know people have opinions, but we say indulge in as much ranch as you want,\u201d Ludlow said.<\/p>\n
My friend Taylor, a self-described \u201cranch expert,\u201d dubbed it the best ranch ever.<\/p>\n
Ludlow and Leiser-Miller launched Psychic Pie as a side hustle while working full-time jobs at San Francisco\u2019s Del Popolo pizzeria. The couple mixed batches of pizza dough in a shared commercial kitchen on Friday nights, making only 30 pizzas each week based on demand springing from word-of-mouth and Instagram posts. They sold out every week. With nothing quite like their chewy, crunchy, locally sourced, naturally fermented pizzas in the North Bay, eaters went wild for the couple\u2019s par-cooked 9-inch-by-9-inch Roman pizzas that could be baked a final time at home for a better-than-delivery experience.<\/p>\n
Ludlow and Leiser-Miller committed to working with local farmers and producers for their ingredients and making \u201cseasonal pizza,\u201d which means plenty of tubers and root vegetables in the winter and no big juicy tomatoes. When they opened in February, one of the biggest questions was how to make squash pizza a hot seller.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you\u2019re in Italy and eating pizza there, it\u2019s all about Italy,\u201d Ludlow said. \u201cOur vibe is California and Sonoma. It\u2019s what is available here, right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
So why the name Psychic Pie? The couple aren\u2019t psychics or mystics. In fact, in college Ludlow had planned to be a podiatrist, and Leiser-Miller has a doctorate degree in biology. Both walked away for a life in food, using all their brainpower to obsess about things like dough and where to get seasonal tomatoes or sustainable meats.<\/p>\n
Leiser-Miller wrote in a message that the name somehow felt right.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wanted a name that was fun and a little offbeat, because that\u2019s what Psychic Pie is. As we get into our groove of who we choose to work with (our farmers and wine producers), many of our ideals are in line with theirs (i.e., biodynamic, organic, low-intervention). Some of those ideals are a little more … well, spiritual, I guess you\u2019d say, in tune with nature, sustainable, etc., and we feel it\u2019s even more fitting now. It just kinda made sense to us,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n
Now that they\u2019re firmly installed in their storefront at 980 Gravenstein Highway S. in Sebastopol, getting an of-the-moment slice, bubbling hot from their pizza oven, is better than ever. And while we love all the incredible local pizzaiolos, Psychic Pie currently has a lock on the tastiest pizza in Sonoma County.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to be mom-and-pop and focus on this community,\u201d Ludlow said. \u201cThat\u2019s why we\u2019re happy in Sebastopol and Sonoma County. Everyone is warm and fun, and we want to continue to support the people here.\u201d<\/p>\n