If you ask Eric Ehler where the APB pizza got its name, he’ll tell you it’s a nod to the ‘A’ala Park Bastards skate shop in Honolulu. Knowing the reference isn’t a prerequisite to enjoying the sweet-savory slice, which features shoyu-glazed Spam, jalapeño, and pineapple. But you do appreciate it even more once you get that it’s a trifecta of homages: to Hawaiian-style pizza, Ehler’s love of skateboarding, and the Outta Sight chef’s ties to the islands. 

Unsurprisingly, Ehler loves a good callback — and Outta Sight Pizza II, his popular slice shop’s new outpost in Chinatown, is proof. The Madonna pizza earned its name for being a little “naughtier, gussied up version of something that’s pretty normal.” Slices topped with Peking-inspired duck are a nod to the neighborhood. And the kitschy decor — ’90s-era Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle figurines, Pizza Hut lamps, and a TV with “Mulan” on loop — makes the location a paradise of if-you-know-you-know references for adults of a certain age. “I wanted to have a menu that young Asian folks from Chinatown or who have a connection to here would recognize things and say, ‘That’s super cool,’” Ehler says.

While the original Outta Sight Pizza became the city’s favorite destination for thin, New York-style slices, the Chinatown location debuted rectangular granny slices with chewy, crispy crust. During the first two months of operation, these pizzas have featured that Peking-inspired duck and hoisin sauce, or tandoori-marinated chicken and butter masala sauce, or Korean-style corn cheese. Other new offerings include the popular vegetarian Loco Moco Mushroom, a riff on a white mushroom pie featuring roasted cremini and shiitake and a drizzle of umami-rich loco moco gravy. The granny slices, however, have been the stars.

“I think the granny slices are for the hardcore Outta Sight supporters,” Ehler says. “The younger Asian community has been super supportive, and when they see what’s on our granny slices, they’ll come out, because they’re really stoked.”  

But adding a second location was no vanity project. The first Outta Sight, which he opened in 2022 in the Tenderloin with business partner Peter Dorrance, had been “bursting at the seams,” Ehler says, serving an average of 200 pizzas a day. Now, with a bigger kitchen in their new location, they can field more orders while flexing creatively with exclusive-to-Chinatown offerings.  

As they look ahead to adding more to the Chinatown menu — slice options, happy hour specials, maybe even sandwiches — balancing affordability and quality is the big challenge. “These days, you have to spend at least $20 for a cheap lunch in San Francisco,” Ehler says. “It’s really important to us that you can walk out of either shop for less than $15 or $20 for two slices of pizza and a soda — and it’s gonna be a good $20 spent.”

For Ehler, an alum of Michelin-starred Mister Jiu’s, the choice to return to Chinatown serves as the ultimate callback.

As he has with his Tenderloin spot, Ehler gives credit where credit is due. “Some people think restaurants in Chinatown are just geared toward tourists — that you have to go to the Avenues or the Peninsula to get good Chinese food,” he says. But every slice at Outta Sight II is an argument to the contrary.