The Buzz recently caught up with Craig Stoll, half of the dynamic duo behind Delfina and Pizzeria Delfina, about his upcoming ventures.

Looks like Locanda, his forthcoming Roman-style osteria in the Mission, won’t be opening up until January 2011. He’s hired chef Anthony Strong (who’s worked at both Pizzeria Delfinas and is about to embark on a six-week reconnaissance trip to Italy) to run the daily lunch and dinner kitchen operations. The casual 80-seat venue  will have a simple, rustic design, and though it’s too soon to nail down details on the menu, expect classic Roman pastas like spaghetti alla carbonara, as well as saltimbocca, carciofi alla Romana and cimbalino wine cookies. One thing that definitely won’t be appearing on the menu? Pizza. “I don’t think we need another pizzeria in this part of town. I think there’s enough pizza at the moment, don’t you think?” jokes Stoll. He will, however, be making pizza bianca, a typical Roman-style bread.

Brian MacGregor is leaving Jardinière to run the bar program. Stoll notes that Rome doesn’t really have a strong bar culture, so MacGregor will look to the old country for drink inspiration, possibly creating classic cocktails utilizing the citrus for which the region is known. As for the wines, Stoll concedes Lazio isn’t the best viticultural area of the Boot, so the list will probably be pan-Italian (577 Valencia St.).

Ironically, pizza will play a roll in Stoll’s other new venture. He’ll be an anchor tenant at Proxy, one of the city’s most interesting new developments – a temporary multi-use complex built out of reclaimed shipping containers on two currently vacant city-owned lots in Hayes Valley. Fellow neighbor Suppenküche has already been green-lighted for the first phase of the project and plans to open an outdoor beer garden, possibly as early as October 7–15.

Stoll’s project, part of phase two (which could happen anytime between November and February), will be his first to deploy a wood-fired pizza oven. He plans to only offer a few styles of pies along with some antipasti, desserts and drinks. He’s still playing around with the name (it may be a riff on Proxy or simply another Pizzeria Delfina), but the plan is to house the kitchen indoors in the shipping container and offer a partially covered seating area.

Other food vendors for the project include cult-fave Ritual Coffee Roasters and Smitten, a new gourmet ice cream shop with a unique liquid-nitrogen system. To see more info and renderings, click here (Octavia Blvd. between Linden Alley and Hayes St.).