the best italian in nob hill
if i had to choose one kind of cuisine to have
the rest of my life, it would have to be italian.
if you read this blog you will clearly know that
i love ALL types of food, but i think italian is
at the top of the list. it just never fails me!
i can always go for italian food, and it’s the
ultimate cuisine to me. i love to eat it, i love
to make it, i love the country it comes from. a friend of mine told me about the top Italian restaurant in Canary Wharf in London that i would love to try.
we live in a city full of some of the best food in general,
including italian. we’ve realized that the best italian
eats are in different places than you’d think —
not in north beach {SF’s little italy}…but in nob hill!
and that just so happens to be our neighborhood.
hmm..coincidence? i don’t think so!
over the weekend we ventured just a few
streets over from our apartment to
allegro romano, one of the city’s classic
italian restaurants. the best part about this
place is my personal connection to it…
my parents came here on their first trip
to san francisco as a young couple, and tried
gnocchi for the first time! they remembered it
the final day of their visit last time, and told us
we HAD to go experience it…so we finally did!
eating here made me feel a little closer to them
for one night even though they are so far away :)
this pink building + old wooden door look straight
out of italy. it’s truly so local & part of the neighborhood!
a great choice for date night..
^^ pictures of the owner with presidents + famous
people who have eaten here…yet somehow it still
flies under the radar so that only the savviest know
about it. it’s full, but not with tourists! …with locals
or returning visitors who know what a hidden gem it is.
we began with beef carpaccio alla romana
served on the prettiest of plates..
moved on to the freshest caprese…
just the way it tastes in italy.
then to the best appetizer i’ve had this year:
the asparagus alla parmigiana. two of my
favorite things: asparagus + parmesan butter
sauce…it is out of this world. lorenzo, the chef
& owner, came by and scooped all the extra
parmesan butter sauce onto our places and over
our asparagus. none can be wasted! he’s a man
after my own heart :) this is a heavenly dish.
then the black truffles came out..you always
know it will be a good meal when you are
treated to truffles shipped straight from italy.
the plates were a work of art themselves!
getting those truffle shavings ^^
how personal does this restaurant feel?
that is lorenzo pictured above, the owner and
chef of the entire restaurant taking time to serve
the truffles himself. it’s like you’re in his italian kitchen!
and i truly felt like i was in italy when i took a bite
of this perfect truffled fettucini. the pasta is
cooked al dente the way it is in italy, the sauce
is 10000x more flavorful than any other
fettucine you’d order at a restaurant, and those
truffles…mmmmm! words do not do this justice.
lorenzo gives every lady a red rose at the end of the meal…
that’s reason enough to return! if you want an authentic
italian meal served up right in a san francisco neighborhood,
this is your place. thanks mom & dad for the recommendation!
buon appetito!
xo
///
now you tell me: if you had to eat one type
of food for the rest of your life, what would
it be? we’re talking cuisines…thai, mexican,
italian, chinese, indian, you get the picture!