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San Francisco's Little (and Little-er) Italy

April 3, 2009 at 9:11 AM | by | Comments (0)

Over the past century, San Francisco's Little Italy neighborhood (also known as North Beach) has suffered an oddly similar fate to New York's area of the same name: It's been slowly but steadily eaten away by Chinatown and other surrounding neighborhoods.

In fact, many visitors trek straight from Chinatown to Fisherman's Wharf without even realizing they've gone through what's left of this historic nabe. But while there may not be the many dozens of old-school Italian eateries there once were, there are still some genuine, tasty Italian finds to be had.

Dinner: Mario's Bohemian Cigar Store Café. Don't be turned off if you're not a smoker; there's no tobacco for sale at this former cigar store. But there are brilliant meatball and fried eggplant sandwiches lathered on hot foccacia bread.

Drinks: If you want your Little Italy experience to feel like you've walked onto the set of the Godfather, then Tosca Café is the place to go. This 80-year-old bar feels like it hasn't been updated in at least 60, and that's a good thing, if you're up for kicking it in red vinyl booths while downing grappa-spiked espressos while Sinatra plays nonstop on the jukebox.

Cappachino and Cannoli: How could you leave any Little Italy without coffee and dessert? Cavalli Caffe & Imports is a favored stop for both. At $4.50 a pop, these crispy ricotta treats had better taste like they came fresh out of grandma's oven in Sicily, right? They do.

Brunch: Mama's on Washington Square. OK, not Italian food at all, but this 50-year-old family-owned spot is as embedded in the 'hood as any, and it's a favorite brunch spot for banana nut French Toast and eggs Benedict with prosciutto (see, that's at least a little Italian).

Related Stories:
· Delizioso! San Diego's Little Italy, Just Like Mama Used To Make [Jaunted]
· San Francisco travel coverage [Jaunted]
· Tour Harvey Milk's San Francisco [Jaunted]

[Photo: debaird]

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