Slicer Pizzeria Piedmont Oakland Colin Etezadi | Tasting Table San Francisco

Colin Etezadi just wants to make a gal a slice.

In an era when bistros like Pizzaiolo and Tony's Pizza Napoletana treat a pie with the seriousness due a dry-aged steak, Etezadi (a former chef de cuisine at Boot & Shoe Service) takes a less studious approach at his new Slicer Pizzeria on Oakland's Piedmont Ave.

"Pizza means a slice for everyone. Everyone eats together," he says, pointing at a table of wiggly four-year-olds. "It sounds goofy, but that's what eating should be all about."

Of course, the vegetables at Slicer come from Riverdog Farm and the sauce, salad dressings and sausage are all made in house.

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The thin crusts on the big pies ($20 and up) quickly rec-risp in the oven, and their puffy outer ring never tastes like a wasted piece of dough.

We're still dreaming about with the slices topped with curls of prosciutto and fennel hidden underneath the cheese ($3.50 for all specialty slices), and the ones with clouds of ricotta, olive rings and freshly torn basil leaves.

But the sausage and onion slice? Just as good. Even more important, Etezadi passes the plain cheese ($3) test.

No small feat.