Goat Hill Pizza - Sourdough Crust and City Views!

Goat Hill Pizza is another great place in my neighborhood, but it is also somewhat of a San Francisco institution. Its been around for....a long time. The original location is near me on Potrero Hill, but there is also a newer location in SOMA, which delivers.

There are so so many things I love about Goat Hill. First off, the pizza is delicious. I am crazy about sourdough, and their crust is sourdough, so its a match made in sourdough heaven. The crust is not too thin but not too thick - just right, crispy, with lots of flavor. Second - the toppings are terrific. They have pretty much everything you expect from a pizza place, plus some varied meat toppings and different sausages. I love that they have red and green onions. My roommate and I also adore the pesto pizza, where they swirl regular marinara with pesto. I like mine with sausage, feta, sundried tomatoes, red onions, and olives - yum.

Goat Hill also has pasta and sandwiches and salads. I have sampled the salads and they are basic pizza-place salads, with antipasti on top - nothing wrong with that. My dad had a big baked sub once and he seemed to enjoy it. The garlic bread is good and soggy and crispy all at the same time. Also Goat Hill has great, slightly cinnamony, iced tea. And rootbeer!!

The thing I really really love about Goat Hill is Neighborhood Night. Every monday evening from 5 until close is all-you-can-eat neighborhood night. You come in and sit down, order a drink, and then head over to a make-shift salad bar for a big salad with all the fixings. Then you sit and eat while waiters bring around many many varieties of pizzas - maybe a new pizza every five minutes or so. You take a piece when you want one and don't take one when you don't, and you can take more than once piece of a favorite if you like. My roommate and I are big fans of neighborhood night and go often. One thing I love about it is that the pieces they bring around are really small, so you can try quite a few different things. Its only about 10 dollars per person and I think it is soooo worth it. Just expect to wait in line if you get there after 6 - by 7:30 there will be a huge crowd and a long wait.

All in all, Goat Hill is a great neighborhood pizza place. And as all good pizza should, it almost tastes better cold the next day.

Food - (3.25)
Experience - (3.25)
Overall - (3.25)

For an explanation or our ratings system, CLICK HERE!

For yelp reviews of Goat Hill - CLICK HERE!

Emilia

Bar Bambino - Mama Mia!

Stupid title, I know. I'm tired today!!!

Bar Bambino is a new wine bar/restaurant in the Mission district of SF. Many of you may know that the mission is my favorite place to wine and dine, so when I heard of this place opening I immediately scheduled a date with another lawyer galpal to hit it up.

Located at 16th and Mission, it is not really an ideal part of the neighborhood for an upscale wine bar. For example, it is across the street from burger king. However I am of the mind that one restaurant can change a neighborhood, and it is right next to the bart station, so bravo Bar Bambino for picking this location.

The inside is very european - tiny tables, lots of people smooshed together, but its a fun atmosphere. P. and I were seated shortly after arriving on a Tuesday, though I imagine it is a lot busier on weekends. It was still packed the whole time we were there.

I started off with a glass of La Braccesca Rosso di Montepulciano Sabazio2004 Toscana. I wish I could tell you what this is, but I have no idea. I got it because I liked the name. Turns out it was a great choice - very bright, fruity, but also smooth. It didn't have much of a bite to it, which I prefer. I had two glasses over the course of the night and put it on my list of things to buy a bottle of sometime soon.

Next we moved on to eats. We started with a little plate of delicious olives. Both green and black, they were marinated until soft and served warm, covered in herbs and really flavorful olive oil. They were absolutely delicious.

Next we had a bruschette - huge slices of grilled bread covered in more of that olive oil, and served with a fresh salad of chopped-up heirloom tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper. Oh man. This was so simple and SO good - the combo was just the perfect summer meal. It was so good that I went home and re-created it for dinner the next night using tomatoes from my garden. Seriously delicious.

We moved on to Polpette di melanzane - Small balls of eggplant, pine nut with a touch of raisin; finished in a light tomato sauce. This was a dish Michael Bauer raved about in the Chron, which was why we ordered it. It was really good but I didn't think it was served hot enough. The little balls were very tasty though; this is on my list of things to try and re-create at some point.

We finished off our meal with a cheese plate. Unfortunately I can't tell you what we had because we just let the cheese dude pick it out for us, but they have an extensive cheese list, and you can create your own plate of 2/3/4 cheeses for a pretty reasonable price. They served it with more grilled bread and a chutney - very good. We also split a dessert, which was unlike anything I have ever had. It was a strawberry shortcake - but it was actually a dense shortbread cookie, with strawberry glaze and fresh whipped cream. VERY good and the perfect end to this meal. We washed it down with a lovely glass of Moscato d'Asti - the best I've had outside of my monthly wine dinners.

All in all it was a really nice meal. I like the ambiance at this wine bar much better then the crowd at District, and they serve more substantial food than at Yield or Hotel Biron. I will definitely be back there soon.

Food - (3.25)
Experience - (3.25)
Total - (3.25)

To view an explanation of our ratings system, CLICK HERE!

To read yelp reviews of Bar Bambino, click here!

Cara mia, Bar Bambino!

- Emilia

Trattoria La Siciliana - Brava!

Do they say brave in Italy? I have no idea. But "hell yes" didn't seem right for this title. For "hell yes" is what I say when someone asks me if I want to go to Trattoria La Siciliana ("TLS"). I don't go there very often, because it is in Berkeley, and I live in San Francisco. And for some reason the bay bridge is a barrier over which I rarely cross, even for a great meal. But my aunt and uncle live in Oakland, and we we meet for dinner, this is one of the places we go. On this occasion my mom was visiting my aunt, so my cousin and I trekked across the bridge in anticipation for a great meal.

I should disclose that my cousin used to be a hostess at TLS, and I think we got even better service because of that. But I have been there many times without her and it has always been really fabulous.

The first thing that I love about TLS is the bread dipping oil. The bread itself is not spectacular - I wish they would start using ACME or even Grace. But it is decent normal bread. The dipping oil is what makes it fabulous. It is olive oil loaded with spices, garlic, and salt - no vinegar. It is GOOD. So good that we usually stuff ourselves with bread sopping in it before our food even comes. They sell it by the bottle, and I always mean to by some, but I think I might eat it all in a week, so I have yet to bring dipping oil home. I should probably just try to make it. But I digress......

After the bread we had an appetizer - Aspagargi e Prosciutto. Fresh perfectly grilled asparagus spears are wrapped in prosciutto, and served with a balsamic vinaigrette glaze and fresh shaved grana padana cheese on top. This stuff is so good my family has started copying the recipe and serving it at parties. The cheese is really pungent and the asparagus is still a little crunchy. We mopped up every bit of the sauce and cheese.

TLS serves family style for groups of three or more, and we opted to share two entrees. The first was a special which they have often - Linguini alla siciliana - linguini sauteed with fresh tomato sauce, caramelized eggplant and red peppers, sicilian olives, aeolian capers, imported anchovies, and basil. This is SO good. So flavorful - the eggplant and peppers are like candy. Like Patch I love salt, and this is very well seasoned. We almost always order it - and it is really really delicious.

Next we shared the fish of the day, which was salmon, marinated and grilled, served with a lemon/olive oil sauce on top of spinach sauteed in garlic, with a few roasted peppers on the side. This was crazy good. We had to send it back at first because my aunt thought it was a little undercooked, but they brought it right back and it was perfect. I think I've mentioned that I don't really like cooked greens, but I seriously ate almost all of the spinach. It was so good! I need to start making spinach like that - so flavorful, I just loved it. We were all lapping up the lemony sauce, pouring it onto our portions of salmon. The salmon was really delicious, cooked perfectly (in the end).

We skipped dessert because we had plans to hit up an ice cream shop down the street, but the chef sent us each a shot of homemade strawberrycello - like limoncello but with strawberries. It was icy-cold and so delicious - I could have guzzled a big glass, though I might not have made it back home over the bridge afterwards.

All in all it was a really great meal. We split a bottle of sangiovese, which was really perfect with the meal, even though a white might have been better (we were all in the mood for red). I would and will go back there when I'm in Berkeley (and not in the mood for chinese, because I also love King Yen next door!). A warning though - make a freaking reservation. I don't know why but Berkeley people don't seem to understand the idea of making a reservation. There is ALWAYS a line out the door at this place - but if you have a reservation, you don't have to worry about it! The yelp reviews complain on and on about the long wait - pick up the phone and CALL THEM. Also, go early. Its worth the wait!!!!!

Food - (3.75)
Experience - (3.75)
Overall -(3.75)

For an explanation of our rating system, CLICK HERE!

For yelp reviews of Trattoria la Siciliana, CLICK HERE!

mama mia - I'll be back!

Emilia

Piccino: Food - 10, Service - 3

Anyone who catches the musical lyric reference in the title gets a virtual gold star (or diamond, or whatever it is we do around here).

Last night was my second visit to Piccino, a new tiny pizza bistro in my neighborhood of Potrero Hill/Dogpatch. Both times I've been the food has been really strong, but last night the service was....weird. It was weird. I will definitely want to update this review after going a third time and also trying a main course since I've only had the pizza, but I'll tell you my impressions thus far.

Piccino is tiny little place - 3 small tables inside, counter space, and then maybe 5 or 6 small tables outside. In creating the place, the owners got the look and feel right on. Little copper tables, clean easy ikea silverware and plates, nice colors - it feels right in there (unlike my impression of another neighborhood spot, Jay's Deli, but that review will have to wait for another day).

As Patch has mentioned before, a restaurant can have great ambiance and the food can still suck. Luckily that is not the case with Piccino - the ambiance is good and cozy, and the food is better than good. The menu is small, local, and seasonal. I have only been for dinner, when it features a few starters, 4 or 5 pizzas including one daily special, three or four main dishes, and a small section of desserts - along with a wine list, local beers, and coffee and espresso drinks.

The first time at Piccino my roommate and I tried two pizzas - she had the Margherita (tomato sauce and fresh mozzarella with basil), and I had the daily special, which was garlic sausage and meyer lemon and parmesan, and some other goodies that I can't quite recall. Last night she had the Margherita again (vegetarian) and I tried the pepperoni. All three of these pizzas were very, very good. The crust is thin and perfectly crispy - one problem I have with the crust at A-16 (to be reviewed one day) is that it tends to get soggy. Not so at Piccino. The pizzas are a little on the small side, but with a starter and dessert it is the perfect dinner portion for me (and I'm a good eater. I've been known to eat disgusting amounts of lesser-grade pizza in one sitting. I swear I have a separate stomach for the stuff, like a cow. Except I don't eat grass. Whatever.). The toppings are really delicious -the garlic sausage was spicy without being too greasy, and the garlic wasn't overpowering. On my pepperoni there was a perfect slice on each quarter of the pizza, along with deliciously fresh mozarella, which also graced the roommate's pizza. The tomato sauce is well-balanced, sweet but not too sweet, and nothing needs salt or is too salty. The pizzas here are really, really good. I honestly think they (the pizzas, not the mains or starters) rival A-16 and Delfina Pizzeria for best roman-style pizza in the city; just remember that the size of the pizza at Piccinos is smaller. While I would share a starter and a pizza at the other two places, at Piccino I definitely want a pizza to myself.

Speaking of starters, they were great last night as well. I had the gazpacho, which I was so excited to see on their menu, because I had been craving it all day and planning to make it this weekend if I can drag myself to the Ferry Bldg early enough tomorrow morning for tomatoes. The gazpacho was delicious - tasted of all the great summer tomatoes that are out right now, and had a drizzle of really fruity olive oil on top. My only complaint would be that I prefer gazpacho with some chunks of chopped veggies, and this one was processed smooth, but that's just me - the taste was spot on. Roommate had a salad of greens and strawberries with a balsamic dressing - simple but tasty. I also had a glass of chainti, which was perfect with the pizza and REALLY hit the spot.

Piccino has great, yet simple desserts. Last night we tried the Plout Tart and the cookie plate (roommate thinks heaven is a place filled with cookies, she loves them, and they are great here). The tart was REALLY good - the filling was fresh tasting but not too sweet, the crust was light and buttery, and it was served with just the right amount of fresh whipped cream. The cookies were also delicious, especially the jam-filled ones. All in all it was a really good food experience.

The service, however, was sort of lacking. I feel weird even writing about it, because the server was totally nice - but odd. First of all he didn't write down our order - fine, I know people are all into memorizing orders these days. But after bringing me my wine, he came back and said "yeah, dude, I totally want to make sure I got your order right because as you were telling it to me I was like, there is no WAY I'm gonna remember this." And he had gotten it wrong. Gazpacho, one of the two salads you have on your menu, and the two most basic pizzas on the menu every day - is that so hard? And if it is, just write it down! This kid continued his antics all night; roommate and I both felt like he was high on something. He would bring us our food or pepper or a napkin and then sort of hover there awkwardly. When I asked him which tart he prefered (there was also a lemon raspberry on the menu), he told me that he hadn't tried either of them, but that pluots were "totally in season," but also that pluots "might not be sweet," and he didn't know which one would be more sweet. I almost suggested that he go ask someone who did know since that seemed the obvious thing to do, and something he should have come up with on his own, but I just went with my gut and ordered the Plout. He also forgot to bring out our cookies. The pizzas were also brought out WAY too hot - they needed at least 60 seconds to cool before they got to us, and we were not warned, and my mouth IS burned. Lastly, when I ordered a latte, he informed me that they were out of espresso drinks. But the way he said it was just odd. He kept apologizing for it over and over (and for the fact that they didn't have decaf for the roommate), and wouldn't just drop it and bring me my regular drip already (by the way, they serve Blue Bottle Coffee, which is great). Either apologize and offer me my regular coffee for free, bring me a cookie, or just leave me alone if you don't have my latte. Its hard to explain, but it was odd. I felt uncomfortable the whole night and I'm really easy going.

So - in sum, I would definitely go back there again. I'm sure I will, and often. Its 2 blocks from my house and the food rocks. Simple, tasty, nicely presented. However I hope I don't get that server again.

Food - (3.25)

Experience -(2.75)

Total - (3)

For an explanation of our ratings system, CLICK HERE!!

SF Chronicle Review of Piccino
Yelp Reviews of Piccino

also mentioned in this month's Gourmet mag, but I couldn't find a link online....

Cheers!
Emilia

Perfect Pasta Salad (thanks Pam Smart!)

The pasta salad I made for our family bbq is from a cookbook by Pam Smart, called CookSmart: Perfect Recipes for Every Day. Its a GREAT cookbook. She is a former editor of Cooks Illustrated, which is one of my favorite resources, and her books read and work like a more gentle, less scientific version of the CI books. This particular book gives you a basic recipe for something - say, waffles - and then gives you easy variations on the basic recipe. Her waffle variations include cornmeal, blueberry, chocolate chip, etc etc.

She does the same thing for pasta salad, and her method has become my pasta salad bible, if you will. I'm not sure if one NEEDS a bible for pasta salad but it can't hurt, right?

Here is her method:

1. Cook 1 pound of pasta - small shapes like penne, fusilli, ziti, rotelle, etc.
   
2. Prepare 2 pounds of key ingredients - cooked and raw veggies, beans, seafood, mild cheeses
3. Add intense flavors - cured meats, stronger cheeses, nuts, olives
4. Add onions and herbs
5. Add dressing - she offers several different variations for use in italian, asian, and greek pasta salads, amongst others

The salad I made for the bbq on Sunday used tri-color rotini. The key ingredients were celery, garbanzos, roasted red peppers, bell pepper, artichoke hearts, and mozarella. For intense flavors, I added pepperoni, olives, and sun-dried tomatoes. I used a half of a red onion, parsley, and oregano. For the dressing I used her creamy vinaigrette - Sartini olive oil from Trader Joe's (my favorite cheap oo), fresh garlic, dijon, lemon juice, sea salt and fresh-ground pepper. It was DELICIOUS.

The only thing that I disagree with P. Smart on is when to dress the salad. She says to put the dressing on no sooner than 15 minutes before you serve. I find that putting it on an hour or two before, and chilling the salad, then bringing it closer to room temperature before serving really melds all the flavors together. In fact, I like it almost better the next day.

The book gives specific recipes for 7 or so different pasta salads, and then a list of possible ingredients so that you can design your own. The book has terrific recipes for waffles, chocolate cake, and brownies, but I think it is worth it just for the section on pasta salad. Her recipes are fresh, full of great ingredients, and they come out right every time, because her instructions are SO easy to follow.

Click Here for a USA Today article by Pam Smart, describing her pasta salad method. It includes some free recipes for a few of her dressings.

Cheers!

Em