I would like to hereby welcome one of North Beach’s most recent additions to the restaurant scene: The Square Bar & Kitchen. Just across the street from Washington Square Park (see what they did there?), and taking the place of the former Bottle Cap (and even more former Washington Square Bar & Grill), The Square opened in March of this year serving upscale, creative takes on classic American dishes.
Delicious homemade bread starter at The Square
Artistic butter.
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When I first saw Il Casaro as I was walking by a week ago, the menu was posted as a “soft opening menu”. It looked intriguing, so (with difficulty remembering where exactly it was) I returned yesterday. They are now fully open, and I think they’re off to a good start.
Marinara Pizza – $12
The owners of Il Casaro are not new to the area; they’ve owned nearby Vicoletto for some time. Which, oddly, I’ve never been to. Perusing their menu, I would now really like to try their pappardelle with fresh crab meat, among other things. More new restaurants, yeay!
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Sotto Mare (full name Gigi’s Sotto Mare Oysteria & Seafood Restaurant & Fish Market) is a small, old school seafood place right in the heart of North Beach on Green Street just off Columbus. I’ve lived in North Beach for two years and still hadn’t been — it was time. There’s a line out the door so often (the place is small and cramped) that I’ve just never expended the effort. A few weeks ago, the line was short and I went for it.
I didn’t really know what to expect, and was hence very surprised by the atmosphere and the menu. I’ve sort of gotten used to the hoity-toity SF restaurant ambiance, which can range from rustic-chic to elegant-chic to hipster-chic, but is indeed very often some type of chic. At least when you’re paying $20 a plate or more. So I was surprised to walk into what I can only describe as a diner. Like, old school, knick-knacks all over the walls, counter seating, single-page laminated menu old school. It was interesting.
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In North Beach we have all kinds of shops and restaurants in which you can peruse, nosh, imbibe, and otherwise enjoy yourself. Little Vine is a little gem of a shop on Grant between Union and Filbert that sells wine, cheese, and other specialty foods. It’s not a restaurant, except that it does serve a daily sandwich (on Acme bread, which they also sell!), but I liked it so much, I wanted to blog about it anyway.
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North Beach is San Francisco’s “Little Italy”. As such, you’re never more than a stone’s throw from an Italian restaurant in these parts. Most of them, as far as I’ve experienced, are relatively mediocre, as you might expect in a tourist-oriented area with an overabundance of one type of restaurant. Caffe Baonecci is a nice change of pace.
burrata salad with tomatoes and arugula
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If you happen to be awake and ready to head to a nice breakfast before 9am on a weekend in North Beach, prepare to see a whole lot of “closed” signs, probably a bit of vomit on the sidewalk, and droves of Chinese ladies exercising in the park. Because apparently that’s all that’s happening in the mornings in North Beach — we’re a late night neighborhood.
Artichoke Hash Benedict
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I have taken to pimping out the natural foods store near my house. Literally.
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It’s a Thursday evening. I stand outside the natural food store near my house. I hold in my hands a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables which I purchased at said store. They’re fresher than what you can get from the farmer’s market. They’re as delicious as anything you could grow in your own home. Can you grow them? No, you live in San Francisco. So you’re looking at me.
A man walks by on the sidewalk. I hold out a basket of strawberries. He glances at them, then looks at me, never breaking his stride. I wink menacingly. He breaks eye contact and hurries on. It was obvious he wanted them though. He’ll be back.
A young woman strides by in yoga pants and a baggy, gray knitted sweater. She has a gym bag. She’s wearing sunglasses even though the sun’s almost set and it’s cloudy and cold. I whip out two cobs of fresh, sweet, white corn. I thrust them toward her. She dodges, frowns. She’s obviously not in the mood tonight; I move on.
I’ve moved to the corner. I hold my wares in plain sight: two oranges, the corn, the strawberries, a bunch of kale, and four avocados. A car slows as it passes. “You lookin’ for a nice meal?”, I ask. The passenger and driver exchange a glance. “How much?”
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Don Pisto’s, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
Yes, this is brunch. You want to eat it.
Don Pisto’s is quite literally the closest restaurant to my house. It’s a block away. It’s hard to ask for a better restaurant to be so close to, honestly. Indeed, let me count the ways:
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Extra, Extra, ReadAllAboutIt! Capo’s Now Open in North Beach!
Say that in, like, one of those Dick Tracy Chicago gangster accents to get the full gist of what’s happening in that sentence, y’shee. Capo’s is the newest gig from world champion pizza tosser Tony Gemignani of Tony’s Pizza Napolitana, one of the famous SF pizza joints (also the owner of Pyzano’s in Castro Valley). This time he’s gone old school with Capo’s — red patent leather booths, brick walls, and mood lighting chandeliers. And a specialization in Chicago-style deep dish pizza. I can dig it.
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Not like that mean doctor guy on TV, but like the teeny tiny little restaurant in Big-Plate-Italian*-dominated North Beach, San Francisco. The House. Grant Avenue just off Columbus. The location is unsuspecting. The website is underwhelming. The food is amazing.
Tuna rolly things. They don’t have a menu on their website, so you’re getting my best recollection of the dish names and components. Good luck!
I went for one of my four (yes, four) birthday meals this year. I went on my actual birthday. This was The Choice. It’s difficult to choose a birthday restaurant, let me tell you. “Angie, you know all the restaurants in SF, why don’t you pick?” Wait, what? Is there a sit-down Quizno’s in midtown**? No, seriously, I don’t know all the restaurants. I was looking on the SF Gate’s top 100 list and hadn’t even heard of most of the places. It’s sad, I know. And it’s exacerbated by the fact that I have a horrible memory. What I’m saying is, come birthday time, I’m on Yelp and OpenTable like every other idiot.
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