In my former life as a UC Berkeley student, the industrial blocks around Gilman Street in West Berkeley never seemed to offer much outside of Pyramid Brewing — which was one of the first microbreweries in the region but, sadly, no longer exists. Admittedly, I don’t remember visiting Gilman very often in those days, unless I needed to reach the freeway.
In recent years, however, a sparkling concentration of wineries and breweries have emerged to revitalize this particular stretch of the neighborhood, turning sparse lots into an inviting space to imbibe natural wines and explore a constant rotation of the Bay Area’s latest food pop-ups. And I’m here for it.
The area — anchored around the intersection of Gilman and Fifth — offers a combination of outdoor seating, chill warehouse vibes and a mingling of young families and hipster adults in an easily overlooked sliver of the East Bay. It’s an ideal location for something like Urelio’s, a pop-up pizzeria on wheels run from the back of a 1989 Ford F-250. Owners Samuel Ciccarelli and Rosie Dooley toss their pizzas all over the East Bay, but they most frequently appear at Broc Cellars, one of West Berkeley’s most popular upstart wineries.
If you’re a pizza traditionalist infatuated with the classically thin Neapolitan crust, then Urelio’s is definitely your kind of slice. Envision an oven-fresh, fire-kissed chewiness with simple, quality toppings. Without question, Ciccarelli, the main pizza chef, has perfected the balance of old-world favorites like the classic margherita and marinara. He also obsesses over seasonal showcases, including a corn, mushroom and lemon pie this summer, and an experimental rendition of vitello tonnato (an elegant Italian dish of veal with tuna sauce).
While slammed with orders on a hot July afternoon, Ciccarelli and his team turned naturally leavened sourdough into wood-flamed perfection with nothing more than a bundle of fresh ingredients, patience and a love for excellent pie-making. Here’s what Ciccarelli had to say about his journey from working as a cook in high-end kitchens around the country to shoveling pizzas from the back of his truck.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.