An overwhelming array of toppings south of the border

My mom loves this pizzeria situated almost at the end of the boardwalk on Playas de Tijuana (half a mile south from the border wall). We went there as a family for Mother’s day and for my mom’s birthday. I still do laundry at Mom’s, and when I do, I treat her out for dinner. Again she chose to get pizza on the beach, so off we went to Horno 320°.

The top of the menu offers your choice of salada, small ($3.25) or large ($5.25). Two entrées are offered, but I haven’t had the opportunity to try either — asparagus with chile serrano ($7) or stuffed mushrooms ($4).

All pizzas are medium size. The pepperoni special goes for $3.75 — that’s for the whole pizza. A one-ingredient pizza costs $4, a vegetarian goes for $5.25, and three-cheese pizza is $7. Of course you can build your own for variety of prices. Options are plentiful, and all ingredients are fresh.

You can choose from five different sauces: Your common tomato sauce, green sauce (à la poblana), white sauce (with roasted garlic), pesto (with olive oil and basil), and cilantro-based pesto.

The meats: pepperoni, chistorra (a type of fast-cure sausage), chorizo, ham, salami, Polish sausage, Italian sausage, serrano ham, and duck.

From the garden: zucchini, star zucchini, squash blossom, asparagus, onions, sun-dried tomato, nopal (cactus), pineapple, squash, broccoli, spinach, mushrooms, jalapeños, basil, cherry tomatoes, black olives, garlic, artichokes, capers, bell peppers, and cilantro.

From the ocean: clam, shrimp, scallops, octopus, and anchovies.

The overwhelming choices can make for a difficult decision. The first time we went there as a family we had a variety of half pizzas with all sorts of combinations. If you can’t make up your mind, there are four basic recommendations for $8.75 or a chef’s recommendation for $10.

We ordered the house sangria and the chef’s second recommendation from the menu, a white-sauce pizza with shrimp, bacon, star zucchini, peppers, and nopal.

The pitcher of cabernet sangria has mango juice on the bottom and is served in a glass with chopped green apples. The sangria is light on alcohol but fresh. They also offer wine, beer (Tecate/Indio), and fresh-made water (cucumber/lemon/chia or pineapple/mint).

The pizza is thin, which allows you to concentrate more on the toppings than the dough. The bacon pieces were chunky and mixed perfectly with the other ingredients. They do not skip on the shrimp — each slice had at least one decent-sized piece. I am not a fan of burnt edges of the crust, though, and the salsas they offer do not obscure that charcoal flavor.

The check for a date with mom, $20.