B. D. wrote: |> I know of several good Italian restaurants in my area already, but |> every |> once in a while, I crave simple, friendly pasta in an unassuming |> atmosphere that doesn't require me to wrap my tongue around more |> Italian |> than I've needed since my singing lesson days. In short, can |> anyone |> recommend a decent spaghetti joint on the SF Peninsula? Old |> Spaghetti |> Factory and Florentine's don't count. I'm looking for non-chain |> restaurants. I think my fellow transplanted Northeasterners know |> what I'm |> talking about. |> |> Brenda Daverin -O [email removed] |> "AS" (O+G)h G+Y 28 X+ L+++ W++ C+ I+ T++/- A E |> H++ S+ V++ F- Q+++ P+ B+ PA+ PL+++ |> "IBM : Mac :: Iraqi T-72 : M1A1" -- Tom Clancy For simple pasta dishes, I recommend the Steps of Rome Cafe on Columbus in North Beach. Authentic Italian pasta dishes served up simply and inexpensively in the cafe. It gets loud and crowded in the evening, so if you mind that, go early. They've opened up a trattoria a couple of doors away, but the prices are higher and the food less simple there. Although I am from the North East, I don't understand your reference. -j
San Francisco, CA
Good, cheap pasta?
>>I know of several good Italian restaurants in my area already, but every >>once in a while, I crave simple, friendly pasta in an unassuming >>atmosphere In San Francisco, there are dozens of rather old-fashioned Italian places--including the family style places in North Beach, as well many places known for pizza that also do traditional pastas. We adore Tomasso's on Kearny just below Broadway, which serves good pasta as well as pizza baked in one of the oldest wood-buring pizza ovens in the US. (Have a friend from Boston who goes there when she's particularly homesick.) Pasta Pomodora got off to a great start, but perhaps it's expanded too quickly. There's now one on College in Oakland, and just noticed a sign announcing yet another on California Street in SF--just west of Laurel Village. Could become a locally owned version of Olive Garden?
B. D. wrote: |> In article , [email removed] |> (John |> Eisenman) wrote: |> |> > In article , B. D. wrote: |> > |> I'm looking for non-chain |> > |> restaurants. I think my fellow transplanted Northeasterners |> know |> > |> what I'm |> > |> talking about. |> |> > For simple pasta dishes, I recommend the Steps of Rome Cafe on |> Columbus |> > in North Beach. Authentic Italian pasta dishes served up simply |> and |> > inexpensively in the cafe. |> |> That sounds a lot like what I mean. When I'm in SF, I'll look it |> up. Just found their menu on the web. Here is the pasta section: PASTA Rigatoni con Salsiccia-large tube of pasta with Italian sausage, garlic, and tomato sauce $6.50 Risotto del Giorno - Italian rice dish with a different sauce every day $6.95 Lasagna - meat sauce $6.95 Ravioli - filled with ricotta cheese and spinach in a sauce of tomato, basil, and garlic $6.95 Spaghetti Pomi - imported Italian tomatoes and basil $5.95 Spaghetti Steps - garlic, extra virgin olive oil, and crushed red pepper $5.95 Gnocchi - potato dumplings in tomato and basil sauce $6.95 Fettuccine or Rigatoni - with choice of the following sauces $5.95 Alfredo Primavera - mushrooms, zucchini, spinach, garlic,tomato sauce Cara - mushrooms, zucchini, spinach, in tomato cream sauce Arrabiata - spicy tomato sauce Vodka - Italian pancetta, vodka, tomato, and cream Broccoli - in a spicy garlic and olive oil sauce Spinach - in a light cream sauce Zucchini - in a light cream sauce Ragu - ground beef and tomato sauce Amatriciana - Italian pancetta, onion, and tomato Carbonara - Italian pancetta, egg yolk, and Parmesan cheese They also have daily specials which the waiters are happy to suggest. It's from this page: http://www.citysearch7.com/E/V/SFOCA/0001/86/28/1.html Note that it is a little confusing as it describes both the cafe (menu above) and the trattoria (which is a little more expensive). Also, the page that lists the cafe menu has a photo of the dining room of the trattoria on it, adding to the confusion. The main page shows a photo of the cafe. |> |> > Although I am from the North East, I don't understand your reference. |> |> I should've been more precise, yes. I mean the kind of hole-in-the-wall |> family place where family means it's run by one, not necessarily aimed at |> them. |> |> -Brenda
NNTP-Posting-User: spp John E. wrote: > Brenda D. wrote: >> I know of several good Italian restaurants in my area already, >> but every once in a while, I crave simple, friendly pasta in an >> unassuming atmosphere [..] I think my fellow transplanted >> Northeasterners know what I'm talking about. > Although I am from the North East, I don't understand your reference. I'm not from the Northeast, but I do understand the reference. In the Northeast it's easier to find real Italian-American restaurants, as opposed to fake "real" Italian restaurants such as are prevalent in California. For example, I recently enjoyed two such establishments: Guiseppe's, in East Rochester; and Spaghetto, in the village. Both have simple, yet wonderful pasta, in the sense that one can't quite find aroud here. (At Spaghetto I had a spaghetti with green onions and artichokes that no yuppie place could hold a candle to... so what if the spaghetti came out of a box and the artichokes from a jar?) However, for those around here I'd recommend the following, both can do decent traditional pasta: Enrico's, in Alameda Contadina, in North Beach And I second the recommendation of Tomasso's. Steve
Tony L. wrote: |> Organization: Nope, none |> |> On Wed, 12 Nov 1997 06:37:00 -0800, walter bremer Someone wrote: |> |> >Also, in San Mateo we like Bella Mangiata for atmosphere, run by real |> >Italians and the pasta prices, I think are a value (if not the cheapest). |> >Gnocchis @ $9.95, best we've had out. BYOB for $7.00 or buy some of |> >theirs (a few do). |> |> I'll second this recommendation. However, a few years ago I |> sent a friend there. They reported that Bella serves no |> alcohol -- including beer and wine. It's a great place, but |> BYOB (unless things have changed recently). - Tony OK, things HAVE changed! Went last Friday. For a long time they did not have any alcohol, and no corkage, then they got a license, and began charging corkage ($7). But they felt bad surprising old customers and about corkage in general, so recently they dropped the corkage again. So they have a large wine selection on one wall, but you can bring your own if you like. Best of both worlds. This is the first LIGHT italian restaurant I've found with taste. The food is honest italian. Had veggie antipasto, nice and not drowned in oil. The bread comes with a light sauce of basil, lemon, vinegar, garlic, and a little olive oil. Also had polenta, with grilled mushrooms, quite good. I specified dark (non-cream) pesto on my ravioli, and it was done correctly. My only complaint was that the ravioli (great filling) were a bit underdone, the pasta felt tough. But we'll probably go back, my wine cellar is aging faster than I'm using it up, so free corkage will call again. And it's nice to eat italian and not feel like you have to run two miles the next day.