Bold, New Pizza Joint In SF Has A No-Food-Waste Mission

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Shuggie’s Trash Pie & Purely natural Wine just opened in San Francisco with a funky spin on typical eating with its “grandma-design” pizza, monochromatic coloration plan and its ardent devotion to no wasting of food — which might mean “unattractive” veggies on the plate.

The Mission District cafe, at the former Velvet Cantina locale, was launched by co-proprietors and food-squander activists, David Murphy, a chef of 20 a long time, and Kayla Abe, who serves on the Upcycled Food Association board.

Collectively, they estimate they have saved extra than 40,000 pounds of generate with their award-profitable, San Francisco-centered pickle business enterprise, Hideous Pickle Co. — which touts its usage of cosmetically challenged generate.

Slipping into that category are the “3-legged carrot, the overgrown squash, the curved cucumber,” the corporation said. “A little bit misshapen, cosmetically blemished — correctly edible, but imperfect sufficient to pass about. … If farmers are not able to market it, it can be food stuff waste all the identical.”

That observe of rescuing generate that would otherwise be trash is the spine of Shuggie’s mission and menu.

“Now as we increase and open up our initial cafe,” Abe stated, “we are fired up to proceed applying our foods-squander preventing methods on a larger scale, though giving persons extra possibilities to eat their way towards a extra sustainable future.”

Shuggie’s menu capabilities pizzas aka “Trash Pies” — all “grandma-model,” super slim, crispy and square-slash. The dough is from used oat flour (the by-merchandise from oat milk) and whey (the by-merchandise from the housemade ricotta and partnerships with community dairies).

A number of pies, these types of as BoBo’s The Pep, The Roni (blemished tomato sauce, pepperoni, chili, honey), will be lasting menu fixtures, even though there will be 5, rotating pies highlighting a blend of irregular or surplus make and cheeses, the homeowners claimed.

The menu’s shared plates selections will offer you this sort of foods-waste-combating dishes as the Soon-to-be-Popular Garlic Knots (upcycled pizza dough, topped with housemade ricotta fluff, carrot top rated chimichurri), Buffalo Everything (chicken wings with addition of offcuts like livers, gizzards and necks, topped with a solution, buffalo Calabrian chili sauce), and Fried Pickle Kakiage (Japanese tempura fritter with Hideous Pickle Co. pickles, green onion roots, served with housemade surplus buttermilk shiso ranch).

Wine choices are low-intervention, normal varietals from tiny-batch producers. Other beverages involve Frosé, a seasonal blemished fruit slushie, and a “Velvet Cantina” margarita on the rocks, an homage to the cafe that closed in 2020 after occupying the house for 14 many years.

For Shuggie’s, Abe and Murphy built the 1,300 square ft as funky, maximalist and monochromatic with a vibe they explain as “trashy glam.” Diners can find the all-green home, all-yellow room or outside sidewalk seating. (Scroll through the image slideshow at major of this submit to get an thought.)

In trying to keep with their anti-squander ethics, the pair thrifted, repurposed or hand-built most of the decor, together with the fringe lamps, hand-formed eating chairs and artwork.

At 3349 23rd St. in San Francisco, Shuggie’s is open for evening meal Tuesdays by way of Thursdays from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays 5 p.m. to 12 a.m. Check out Shuggie’s web site listed here.

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