Layered with sausage, ricotta, asiago, and mozzarella cheese. $17
Mercato, Charleston SC
I was a little disappointed with this dish. I expected something more, something that made it special. Don’t get me wrong, it was tasty but not something I would rave about. I really enjoyed everything prior to this dish so that’s probably why I wanted to end with a bang.
Espresso. $3.50
Pineapple Fountain, Charleston Waterfront Park. Perhaps it’s the botanist in me, but I absolutely love this fountain!
Tomato, fior di latte mozzarella cheese, basil. $13
Pizzeria Delfina, San Francisco CA
I love, love, love the pizzas at Pizzeria Delfina! Their crust is so light, airy and flavorful and their sauce tastes amazing. They must use great quality ingredients because no matter how simple the pizza may be, it’s always spectacular. The service is always friendly (not so much when they first opened) and I love sitting at an outside table and people watching.
7×7 Magazine’s The Big Eat San Francisco: 100 Things to Eat + Drink Before You Die – 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014
Breadsticks, chili flakes, grated parmesan, dried oregano leaves. Complimentary
Dolores Hidalgo church bell replica, Dolores Park. This park is one of my favorites in the city, partly because it’s so close to my apartment. My doggie loves running around and playing fetch at Dolores Park too.
Tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese on an organic flour crust. 12 inch pizza €8.50
Ristorante Romano, Dublin IRELAND
This pizza wasn’t very good – I guess I couldn’t expect much from an Asian/Italian restaurant in Dublin. The crust was thin, dense and it these weird stratified layers of dough. Very odd. It wasn’t very crisp either considering its thickness.
River Liffey at night. The river cuts through the center of Dublin and has many cute shops, pubs, and restaurants along it. Apparently, it’s one of the few rivers in Ireland with a feminine name.
Rigatoni pasta, tomato based sauce made with smoked bacon, onions, tomatoes, and red chilies with basil and parsley. €13
Ristorante Romano, Dublin IRELAND
This was one of the weirdest Italian restaurants I’ve even been to. All the workers were Asian which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I will say that the food certainly had some Asian flare. They even offer sriracha as a condiment for your meal. This pasta tasted ok – I liked the deep smokey flavor of the sauce and the bite of the rigatoni. But OMG, can you make a pasta this greasy!!! I was actually disgusted. Granted I was starving so I ate everything, but I was still grossed out by what I found at the bottom of the bowl. I’ve never seen that much grease separate from a pasta dish before!
St. Patrick’s Cathedral. We didn’t get a chance to walk inside, but this is a beautiful church from the outside especially looking at it from St. Patrick’s Park. The tulips were in full bloom!
Beef, pork and veal meatballs slow-cooked in a tomato basil sauce. $14.50
Jake’s on Market, San Francisco CA
Another definite comfort food. The meatballs were super juicy and the sauce was delicious! I liked that they didn’t go overboard with the amount of pasta.
Extra grated parmesan cheese.
Large hen-and-chicks plants (Echeveria sp., Crassulaceae), Dolores Street. I love the dramatic, upright inflorescence.
Earl grey, almond, vanilla gelato. $9
Locanda, San Francisco
This was the best part of the meal! But I guess since it was one of my birthday dinners, dessert is always the best part. Seriously though, this crostata was beautiful and delicious. I’ve never had a date crostata before, but the black adaba dates tasted amazing with the almond. And vanilla gelato can’t disappoint. I’m not sure where the Earl grey was, but I think it was incorporated into the glaze?
Cavolo nero, olives, white beans. $22
Locanda, San Francisco
This was SO good! The fish was perfectly grilled and the flavor combination was new to me. I loved the cavolo nero with the olives and white beans. A very hearty dish and beautifully executed. Cavolo nero is also known as black cabbage, Tuscan cabbage, Tuscan kale, lacinato, and dinosaur kale. I’m guessing that they used it to make the green broth.
Arugula, fingerling potato, onion. $24
Locanda, San Francisco
Again, this dish was definitely on the salty side. But the pork was SO tender and flavorful that I almostforgave the saltiness of it. I surely couldn’t eat the entire thing without a few gallons of water. The pork was also VERY fatty. I love fatty cuts, but this was over the top. As a general theme, my meal at Locanda was salty.
Grilled persimmon, crescenza cheese, pistachio, aperol. $11
Locanda, San Francisco
This was a very nice salad. The ingredients tasted great together, and you can never go wrong with crescenza cheese. The persimmon added a delicious flavor and the pistachio added crunch. Simple and delicious!
Focaccia bread. Complimentary
Omg, this bread was SO frickin’ buttery and delicious! Even though it was also very salty, I still say “Yes, please!”
Fried sage and parsley, lemon wedge. Piccolo $12
Locanda, San Francisco
The batter they used had a very good flavor, but I was disappointed that the whole this was SO salty. I love fried things, but this was also a little greasy. Kinda sad about that.
Stuffed with fresh gulf rock shrimp, green onions, shallots and red bell peppers. Served with Firewood sauce (mixture of marinara sauce and white wine cream sauce) and bread, topped with parsley and shaved parmesan cheese. $9.95
Firewood Cafe, San Francisco
I’ll admit that I’ve had this dish more than a few times after hanging out at the surrounding bars all night, hehe! I think it’s the Firewood sauce, a great mixture of marinara, wine, and cream) that hits just the right spots. It’s a warm and homey dish – a perfect plate to satiate an after-bar appetite. The tortellini always has a nice bite to them and the rock shrimp filling is delicious.
Mild Italian sausage, red and green bell peppers, Bermuda onions and homemade tomato sauce. $10.75
Firewood Cafe, San Francisco
If you like THIN crust pizza, Firewood Cafe in the Castro is the place to go. They have one of the thinnest crust around which is great for their mostly carb-conscious patrons, hehe! I personally love thin crust so I often order pizza from here. They have 5 different pizzas on their regualr menu and usually one daily special, and they’re all pretty good. The pizzas aren’t the most creative, but they are tasty, decently sized, and very affordable. Win, win if you ask me. This Italian sausage pizza was delicious. I like how the thin crust stayed crispy, and the vegetables did too. Their homemade sauce isn’t particularly noteworthy, but it’s yummy enough and doesn’t detract from the toppings. For $10.75, I’m sold!
These marinated olives are complimentary with your order. The small dishes are lined up at the counter. I always want to take more than one! I can’t help it, I’m a sucker for olives…
Vittle Monster 