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First Impressions: Humboldt Steel Corp.

By Southern Grit · On April 30, 2015

Article by Chris Fellini with photos by Joshua Fitzwater

I’ll admit it, I’m kinda a pizza snob. My first two jobs were pizza places, where I quickly learned how to make the proper pie. I’ve eaten pizza up and down the coast of Italy, and I will spend hours finding the best hidden pizza spot in NYC (my current favorite is Roberta’s, a not so hidden gem with a great cookbook out). Hell, my license plate reads PZZAPNK (Pizza Punk). I’m dedicated to the cause, man. That said, I enter Humboldt Steel Corp. with some trepidation, because I’ve come to expect disappoint with pizza offerings in the area.

We arrived on karaoke night, much to our chagrin. The place is small, but the bar was full and most of the tables were taken. Luckily, there’s a back room with several empty tables. We set up camp there, and our server, Robert, is more than happy to accommodate. Humboldt Steel Corp. offers up “San Francisco Style.” I’ll be frank with you, I lived in San Francisco and the pizza there sucked. I don’t really think there’s a specific style associated with the city, but it seemed like more of an excuse to go with the lumberjack theme. All the servers wear overalls and flannels, and the bathrooms have floor to ceiling forest scenes printed on vinyl. The menu is littered with references to Paul Bunyan and the Redwood Forests. In the end, though, this is a place to grab a beer and a slice.

(Above, Humboldt Steel Corp. decor)

The menu is short: some salads, a couple appetizers, and the pizza. The salads are all standard fare: a caesar, a Greek, etc. Calzones and strombolis are listed in the appetizers, along with an artichoke dip and something called spinach wheels. The pizza is broken down into whole pies and slices. For their part, Humboldt Steel Corp offers most of their whole pies as slices, so you don’t wind up spending $7 on a slice of pie just because you want three different toppings.

(Above left, pizza station through front window and right, server Robert)

Robert comes back to take our order. I order the spinach wheels out of curiosity, and we order four slices of pizza including The Chinatown, The Fort Bragg, The San Francisco Margherita and the Southern California Surfer. Our slices come first, because the spinach wheels got burnt. The Chinatown comes with chicken breast and broccoli, and the sauce has a slight spice to it. The chicken is still incredibly tender, something that seems to get lost at most places after going through the oven, but the broccoli seemed like an afterthought. It was a different temperature than the slice, so I get the impression that they just threw it on after the slice came out. The Hawaiian is good, but with their emphasis on non-GMO and quality ingredients, one would expect fresh pineapple instead of the canned stuff. The sauce on the Hawaiian is really interesting. It’s got a good kick to it, tempered with something sweet. The Fort Bragg is really just a simple sausage slice, but the sausage is decidedly better than most places. It’s missing the awful greasiness that’s common, and I can detect some fennel in the seasoning. The San Francisco Margherita slice unfortunately falls flat. The sauce taste like something out of a can, and it seems like the basil got left off. There’s plenty of spinach, though, as it comes off the slice in big mouthfuls. The spinach wheels arrive, and seem to be mini calzones stuffed with spinach and cheese. They’re tasty, although the bottoms are a bit soggy, perhaps from not getting enough time to heat in the oven or from being thrown right into the basket. This is not pizza in Italy, but then that was never the goal.

(above, The Southern California Surfer and The Fort Bragg)

If I summed up Humboldt Steel Corp. in a few words, I would say that it’s California style toppings on New York Style pizza with great service. Robert, our server, was constantly checking on us, and even joked with us about how obnoxious the karaoke was. The slices are massive, almost overtaking the paper plates they come on. In the end, though, this place is a bar. They’ve got 40 taps, and specialize in California breweries. The pizza is not the main attraction here. Instead, it’s something to enjoy while you imbibe. The pizza is passable, and a decent quality for the price ($3-5 per slice, or about $20 for a pie). This isn’t the kind of place I’m going to cross the water to get to, but if I’m already on this side I’d stop in. If you’re drunk or working towards it in Olde Towne and need some carbs to soak up the booze, this is the spot.