San Diego Reader

Via Italia
Clairemont Square
4705-A Clairemont Drive, Clairemont
858-274-9732

There's New York pizza, and there's Chicago pizza, and there's icky chain pizza. What Via Italia offers is something else entirely: Italian pizza. There's only one size pie, 11 inches, and no individual slices. The crust is about the thickness of a saltine, but more supple in texture. And the toppings are as gracefully proportioned as a Botticelli Venus, with just the right amount of fine-quality cheese, the right amount of tomato sauce, and not too many additional ingredients at once -- there's no "kitchen sink" pizza here, just carefully conceived combinations.