Ciaccia's

Ciaccia's is an Italian deli on Lee Road, a little north of Lyell. I saw a reference somewhere to them serving pizza, so I went to investigate.
Though there's a sign in the window that says they serve mini pizzas, what I found inside was that there were cut slices available at lunchtime. They had two varieties, pepperoni and veggie, so I got one of each.
These were rectangular, Sicilian-type slices. They had been sitting out at room temperature, so I rewarmed them in a toaster oven before trying them.
As you might expect, the crust was fairly thick, with a light brown underside that was slightly oily to the touch. It was nice and crisp (thanks in large part to the reheating), and it had a light texture, not dense at all. It seemed to have had a pretty good rise in the pan.
The veggie slice was topped with sweet and hot peppers, black olives, mushrooms and onions. Except for the onions, the veggies all seemed to be of the canned variety. Despite my aversion to mushrooms - most of which I picked off - it was a tasty combination. This slice seemed relatively light on the sauce, and I hard a hard time detecting the flavor of the sauce. The cheese was melted and soft, and covered with all those toppings, it had not browned at all. The slice was also dusted with Parmesan.
The pepperoni slice was noticeably more browned than the veggie, and the cheese was more congealed. It had a heavier application of sauce, which had a thick consistency and a tomatoey flavor. I don't know if the pepperoni pizza was intentionally given a more generous layer of sauce, but if so, it was a wise decision, as this helped the sauce better stand up to and balance out the pepperoni, which had a spicy, assertive flavor.
Ciaccia is, again, a deli, not a pizzeria as such, so the emphasis here is mostly on deli meats and subs. They do offer a variety of hot and cold items, and you'll also find various imported foods in the back. They seem to do a pretty steady lunchtime business.
I've seen Sicilian pizza described as, essentially, focaccia with toppings, and that's about how I'd describe this too. It made for a pleasant eating experience, with its light-textured crust and enjoyable toppings. I think I would've liked the veggie slice a little more had fresh olives been used, and though the crust was good, for my taste it could've been browned a bit more to bring out a little additional flavor from the dough. But all in all, not a bad couple of slices, and I'll give them a B-.
Ciaccia Importers of Fine Foods, 183 Lee Rd., 458-3497
(hours unknown)