Restaurants

Pasta Moto "Quick Taste of Italy" new in SF

San Francisco Metreon Shopping Center, in the San Francisco Center has a large lower floor filled with mini versions of larger restaurants as well as your basic food stalls.   Think International Terminal at SFO more than Harrod’s Department Store’s famous Food Halls.

Westfield – Metreon is a state of the art technology and entertainment marketplace covering over 350,000 square feet on four levels. It is the new home of the old Emporium-Capwell’s for you old school shoppers and citizens like me. Remember that crazy Ferris Wheel on the roof of the store at Christmas? How was that legal?

While shopping at Bloomingdale’s and checking out the Rosetta Stone kiosk in the mall, I got really hungry all of a sudden. Maybe from thinking of my trip to Spain and all the fresh seafood I was going to consume!  Deep down inside though, my craving was for simple comfort food rather than a balanced sensible meal.  Good thing I was at a mall because the lower level produced the perfect choice, Pasta Moto! Read More »

Artichoke Panzanella salad

Amici’s East Coast Pizzeria in one sentence: Thin crust pizza and pasta chain that is cheery enough but not too loud or prefab, plus it’s toasty warm on cold foggy evenings because of the brick ovens.

Who you’ll see there: Families, volleyball team, tourists, solo travelers

Make sure to try: Panzanella salad with artichokes, onions, capers, tomatoes and some crisp lettuce. The small is big enough to share when you pair it with one of Amici’s super crispy thin crust pizzas.

It’s okay to skip: The breadsticks with ranch dressing appetizer — seriously, eating breadsticks and ranch dressing before your pizza is why America is fat. If you need a ranch dressing fix, put it on a house salad.

Best dessert: Cheesecake with two forks to share — simple, light and lemony

Service: Friendly, relatively inexperienced young people, maybe even a first job for a lot of kids. Absolutely no upsell, but they can  answer questions if you ask them. Read More »

City of Movies is Cinecitta

On a gorgeous sunny afternoon in San Francisco, we walked into an Italian restaurant for some lunch, a cozy new place in the heart of North Beach.  Cinecitta Bar and Roman Pizza is a new Italian restaurant, only four years old, compared to the nearby Fior d’Italia – America’s oldest Italian restaurant.

We walked into the place and immediately loved its atmosphere. It reminded us of the many cafes and small restaurants in Rome, Italy that we’ve enjoyed in the past.

Years ago, we used to come to this same location for the roast chickens served up by Gira Polli.

Today our lunch included trying out their namesake panini, Cinecitta made with salami, prosciutto, roma tomatoes and fresh mozzarella. It was so delicious and fresh tasting! And the best surprise was they actually used Buffalo Mozzarella mozzarella di bufala which is much tastier than its cow’s milk cousin, and more expensive. That little touch made such a difference in flavor and showed us that the owner certainly cared about what she served.

Cinecitta Panini

We also had their individual pizza. I chose the Trastevere with prosciutto, tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella and arugula. They make it with a thin crust and lightly spread the sauce, along with a drizzle of olive oil across the base.  Like the thin pizza in Rome, this style keeps other toppings from getting mushy and keeps their flavors alive. With the peppery taste from the arugula on top, it was molto bene!

Great Thin Crust Pizza at Cinecitta

This savory little restaurant is located in the heart of North Beach, across the street from old school favorite Mario’s at Washington Square Park. Parking is on the street or at two near by garages, otherwise easily located by public transportation. Casual enough to drop in and bring the kids too. Cinecitta is a real find. And don’t forget to try a glass of their Chianti with your meal, delicioso.

663 Union St
(between Columbus Ave & Powell St)
San Francisco, CA 94133
(415) 291-8830

Mon-Thu. 12:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 12:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.
Sun. 12:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.

Sigh. I have no more tricks left in my closet.

Dressed for success

On Saturday, I wore my lucky candy-striped red and white warm-up pants. I wore my favorite Indiana sweatshirt. I wore the socks with pictures of popcorn on them, and grabbed my “IU is red hot” rubber bracelet. I carried the purse made from an IU jersey. I even got out the big guns: my Indiana tennis shoes. (Yes, I have a pair of tennis shoes with “Indiana” and the university logo embroidery stitched on them in bright red.)

And if that weren’t enough to make hapless Ohio State fans nervous, I ate lunch at Mother Bear’s Pizza before heading over to the stadium for the game. How much karma can a college basketball fan cover herself in?

My husband thinks the clothing ritual is humorous — he lost his matching logoed sneakers several years back — but he’s all about indulging in a good pizza for Saturday lunch before the game. And it’s hard to turn down a bargain like a 10-inch one topping pie, an order of breadsticks (well, we could have had salads but you already know how I feel about that) and soft drinks for $13.95. The only disagreement was our usual of what to put on the pizza. He had his heart set on the deluxe with everything dumped on it, which of course violates the one-topping restriction.

Sausage has been my standing pizza order since I was a freshman living at McNutt and buying my own dinner for the first time in my life.

An IU tradition: Mother Bear's

Because we were short on time (hey, the line to get into Mother Bear’s is a bear), I won. I also persuaded him to try the toasted sesame thin crust, because I had to know what something made from three kinds of flour, Parmesan cheese and a dabble of field honey would taste like. Today I’m convinced that’s where I made my  mistake: never, ever stray from the script when it comes to superstitions. Not to mention this gourmet crust wasn’t near as satisfying as the traditional pan version, which just screams college campus when you bite into it. But hey, pour enough cheese on it and I’ll overlook it.

So we ended up on the wrong side of the scoreboard again. Now I will do what every loyal fan does in the face of defeat: To the hostess there on Third Street, put me down for a table for two on February 15. I bet you can guess my order. The sniff test says I’ll need to run a special load of laundry before then, too.

Mother Bear’s Pizza

1428 East Third St.

Bloomington, Indiana

(812) 332-4495

Photographer credits:  Mother Bear’s website, Julie Sturgeon