Q&A: Benjamin Sims of Bantam

Ben Sims' Bantam, which will open on the Westside, will have a pizza-driven menu.

SCW: What was the source of your desire to get involved with a start-up dining room?

BS:After spending so many years in restaurants, both my wife Sarah and I wanted a space that was a reflection of our style and vision, not the reorganization of another space. We desired a clean slate.1010 Fair is that space.

What culinary skills do you anticipate bringing to an all-pizza menu?

While a big focus at Bantam will be wood-fired pizza, the menu will be about half pizza, with other choices ranging from salads to first courses and larger plates. Ever since I worked the pizza oven at Chez Panisse I have loved cooking pizzas and have wanted my own place to have a pizza-driven menu. There is a magic in the fire and dough.

What is interesting, intellectually engaging, about making food?

More than anything cooking is a craft; each time you make something there is an opportunity to improve on your skill. Making something dozens or hundreds of times can be a challenge, yet there is the opportunity to transcend the tedium and strive towards perfection. As with any hand-forged craft, there is a simple formula to improve, and that is dedication and practice.

What does your fantasy pizza look like?

My fantasy pizza is cooked in Bantam’s wood-fired oven. Crispy and chewy crust with little blisters, topped with tomato, fresh mozzarella, basil and olive oil. The best pizza is the simple Margherita executed to perfection.

What is the most tedious part of starting your own restaurant?

Traffic impact fee.

If you weren't cooking, what would you be doing?

Radio broadcaster covering the San Francisco Giants.

What do you do for fun?    

I love cooking with my wife, eating with friends and family. I love Crossfit. I love being outside in my hometown, from the ocean to the mountains. 

Bantam opens at 1010 Fair Avenue in Santa Cruz this fall.

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