Food Fight: Gemelli’s Garden Pizza vs. Parisi’s Pizza Salad

When we ordered Berkeley-newcomer Gemelli’s garden pizza (basically a salad atop pizza crust) a couple weeks ago, we never imagined it would one-up Parisi’s version of the dish. Gemelli’s, a five-month-old spot along Tennyson Street, dishes up a salad pizza that’s tasty with baby greens, tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, green onions, and avocados, all lightly dressed with balsamic vinaigrette. Parisi’s classic version (the restaurant has three options) comes with baby greens, red onion, capers, oregano, feta, cucumber, kalamata olives, and Caesar dressing. Ingredients aside, the biggest difference is how the dish is served. At Gemelli’s, the salad arrives sandwiched between two pieces of warm cheddar-Parmesan crust (plus extra vinaigrette for dipping), while at Parisi the salad simply arrives on top of the fresh crust. A small difference perhaps, but one that has us headed back to Gemelli’s for lunch today, and maybe even tomorrow. 4363 Tennyson St., 720-855-9800