My Go-To Places for Regional Italian Food in San Francisco

Craig Lee for The New York Times

Salsiccia cruda di Bra, spiced veal and pork sausage on grilled crostini and salumi, at Perbacco. More Photos »
By MARK BITTMAN
Published: January 28, 2011

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ABOUT 20 years ago a friend took me to Caffe Trieste in San Francisco’s North Beach for an espresso. It wasn’t easy to find a stand-up espresso in those pre-Starbucks days, but — more to the point — it helped me to recognize the strength and authenticity of that city’s not-especially-large Italian community.
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San Francisco’s Italian Flavor

Northern Italians, mostly from Liguria (specifically Genoa), were among the first European immigrants to arrive in San Francisco in significant numbers, right about the time of the Gold Rush. Perhaps because their arrival coincided with the region’s development, and because much of California is essentially “Mediterranean” in both climate and topography, their impact was profound.

It’s not novel to say that so-called Californian cuisine is essentially Italian (perhaps “Italian-dominated Mediterranean” would be more accurate). But no comparably sized city has more authentic and better regional Italian food — of all the cities in Italy only Rome has the audacity to support restaurants whose food originated in other regions — and, really, with the possible exception of New York, it may be said that San Francisco is the world’s best city for regional Italian food.

There have been better-than-average Italian restaurants in San Francisco for as long as I can remember, but at no time have there been more than there are right now. (The East Bay is equally good.) In addition to those described here, there are Pesce, 54 Mint, Dopo, A-16, Incanto, SPQR, Ragazza, Little Star, Odesso, Corso, Boot & Shoe and others. These four, all in San Francisco proper, are my go-to places for regional Italian food.

Perbacco

Now nearly five years old, Perbacco would be the best restaurant in the vast majority of American cities; here, where the cult of the new dominates, it’s become an afterthought. (It doesn’t help that it’s in the financial district, which is not exactly happening, at least at night — more’s the pity.) Few corners are cut and few accommodations made to timid eaters; this is not what the Italians would call a trattoria (unlike the other places here, more or less), but a real ristorante, an establishment that focuses on traditional dishes done in the highest possible style. The space is large and elegant — if anything, a bit sterile, though not unattractive. The emphasis is on the food of the Piedmont, among the most luxurious of regional Italian cuisines.

Yet two perfect examples sound anything but luxurious: tripe, slow-cooked in white wine and diced aromatic vegetables, with big white beans, rosemary and of course garlic; and pig trotter meat made into cakes, cooked very crisp, with a vinaigrette — known locally (in Piedmont, that is) as batsua, or “silk stocking.” Indeed, the latter dish, though as humble in origin as they get, is really high-class eating — carefully prepared and beautifully served — while the first could convert many who are repelled by offal.

Not that all the food here is challenging. The pastas are accessible and just short of incredible: agnolotti stuffed with veal and cabbage and sauced with a reduction of veal stock and grated cheese (a must); taglierini with a ragù of pork and porcini, with Parmesan; and gnocchi that were light, not eggy or doughy, topped with sheep’s cheese and hazelnuts. They all left our party clamoring for more.

Meat dishes keep the quality level high: a plate of salumi was brilliantly varied and heavenly; meatballs of pork and veal, lightened with apples, is a creation I wanted to replicate at home; hare cooked in its own blood — a dish I’d never previously taken to — was easily the best I’ve ever tasted. Everything was spot on.

Unlike too many good San Francisco restaurants, it’s open for lunch. The wine list is fantastic (there are 20 wines by the glass, most of them interesting), and the desserts are almost as good as the savory dishes. It’s a winner, and one that promises to stay that way.

Perbacco, 230 California Street; (415) 955-0663; perbaccosf.com. An average meal for two is about $100. (None of the prices include drinks or tip.)

La Ciccia

On my last visit to San Francisco I found myself near the once-remote corner of 30th and Church (I think this is called Upper Noe Valley, though there are disagreements) three times. One visit was to Incanto — which is good — and to Tataki, my friend Casson Trenor’s excellent “sustainable sushi” restaurant. The third was my now-regular visit to La Ciccia, the Sardinian restaurant that holds close and well to its roots. Its menu, written in the Sardinian dialect (translated, fortunately), is small and appealing.

Start with pani guttiau, a kind of carta musica, or super-thin flatbread baked with oil, rosemary and pecorino. (Sardinia is one of the world’s best places for sheep’s cheese.) It wouldn’t be amiss to order a thin-crusted pizza or two, also; the one with big fat capers, pecorino, a little mozzarella, oil and oregano is a personal favorite. There is good salumi here, too, including cooked pancetta and cured raw bacon, both of which are divine.

The octopus in dark tomato sauce is simply magnificent; it must have been cooked for many hours. Fresh spaghetti with grated bottarga is a classic and very likable dish; most people I’ve eaten with prefer it to the powerful and possibly hard-to-take sauce of pecorino and tuna heart, which is decidedly “fishy.” Fregola (something like toasted big couscous) with squid ink and a sauce of many different seafoods, is meaty and very good.

Not everything succeeds. Shrimp in a credible but uninspired tomato sauce thrilled no one; lamb with beets, honey and truffle oil felt less than authentic; and the house bread — which you probably won’t eat much of anyway — is weak. But the Sardinian wines are fine and not expensive; most of the food is local and/or organic (though no fuss is made about it); and the desserts, like saffron ice cream and ricotta rosemary cake, shy away from cloying sweetness — a welcome change.

La Ciccia is small (about 40 seats), with an intentionally and elegantly simple design that some might find generic. It’s also homey, if a tad noisy. I intend to keep going until I get sick of it, which hasn’t happened yet.

La Ciccia, 291 30th Street; (415) 550-8114; laciccia.com. An average meal for two is $80.

Delfina Pizzeria

It’s now 12 years since I wrote about the original Delfina, so I can’t be accused of jumping on the bandwagon. But in recent years I’ve become a bigger fan of the operation’s two pizzerias, one of which is in the Mission, next to the original restaurant; the other, which I favor, is in Pacific Heights. (Full disclosure: my daughter is a server there, though it doesn’t help me get reservations, because there aren’t any.)

The place is a joint, and it’s noisy and crowded — the best seats are probably those on the sidewalk, and on my last visit that’s where I sat, semi-sheltered by a canopy, in a light drizzle — and the food is sensational. (To get anyone over the age of 25 into the place, it had better be; this isn’t an atmosphere for unwinding. And often it seems that those who are unwinding do so at high volume. I know, I’m old.)

Anyway. This is southern Italian food done well. I suppose it’s closest to Neapolitan, but there is much here that reminds me of Rome. The cooked vegetables — a simple plate of escarole or chard with raisins and pine nuts, grilled fennel, cauliflower with garlic, capers and bread crumbs — are just perfect, and seem to me the best way to start a meal here, while you’re waiting for a pizza. The pigs’ ears with chili and lime will turn some people off, obviously, but they’re super-popular, for good reason: nothing is crunchier.

There is a lot of disagreement on which are the best pizzas. My favorite, hands down, is the Napoletana, made with tomatoes, anchovies, capers, chilies, olives, oregano — and no cheese. It’s the kind of pizza I grew up eating on Avenue A in New York City, actually, right down to the slightly burnt crust. But if you prefer cheese or meat, there are plenty of good options.

Delfina Pizzeria, 2406 California Street; (415) 440-1189; pizzeriadelfina.com. An average meal for two is $60

Farina

Liguria comes to the Mission at this bright, modern and pretty restaurant with a big open kitchen. The region is represented most vividly here by the focaccia di Recco — golden, poofy, cheese-stuffed dough made in a hill town southeast of Genoa known for little else. I’ve never even seen focaccia di Recco tackled elsewhere, yet Farina has made it a staple here, and they do it well, and in the open — which is fun.

Much of the rest of the menu follows suit. You can get pansotti, another dish you rarely see outside of Liguria. Stuffed with cheese and greens (chard, perhaps, or nettles, or spinach, depending on the month), this triangular pasta is served with a “pesto” made largely from walnuts and is rich, filling and delicious. Mandilli (pasta handkerchiefs), served with classic pesto, is also irresistible, as are raviolini with shrimp, butter and sage. In fact I have not had a pasta dish here that wasn’t perfectly cooked and well worth eating.

Second courses are not as reliable; they’re simple — broiled or roasted or grilled or sautéed pieces of fish or shellfish or meat, barely sauced — but the modest treatment they receive here works only when the ingredients are absolutely superior, and that’s not always the case. Maybe I eat too much pasta, but that was my judgment more than once.

Farina’s front wall is nearly entirely glass, so it’s bright during the daylight hours; there is a lovely sidewalk seating area, and the interior is modern and pretty. The wines are pan-Italian, fairly priced and interesting. And I left there happy each of the three times I visited.

Farina, 3560 18th Street; (415) 565-0360; farina-foods.com. An average meal for two is $100.