Toscana, La Paz

We're very impressed by the Toscana, a small Italiano pizzeria and restaurant at the corner of B. Dominguez and Constitucion in La Paz. At Toscana recently, my wife and I enjoyed the best pizza we've had since the last time we ate at North Beach Pizza on Grant Avenue in San Francisco.

Last night, we ordered out for a party of six -- two mediano pizzas and four orders of Fettucine Cardinale -- and scored again. The fettucine was cooked just slightly al dente and then generously sauced with bits of ham, mushrooms and shrimp.

Only complaint: Someone behind the counter is occasionally overworking the pizza dough, at times it comes out too crisp, lifeless, cardboardy. Other times it's just right, slighty raised and chewy-textured but not tough. There needs to be some consistency brought to bear in the handling of the dough prior to its going in the oven. Nevertheless, it was a wonderful meal and with the addition of a salad, more than enough food for our party of six.

Toscana is just around the corner from Las Tres Virgenes and not far from Buffalo Grill and Bar Madero. We're happy to say that -- after twenty years here -- La Paz is finally on its way to becoming a good restaurant town.