Luggage Room Pizzeria: Promising but a Miss

I had somewhat high hopes for The Luggage Room Pizzeria in Pasadena after reading some of the message boards and hearing about it from a fellow foodie friend. Then I heard it was from the owners of the adjacent La Grande Orange. First red flag. Aside from a slightly decent burger, I hadn't been impressed. Didn't like the vibe or decor there. And I felt somewhat the same way about the ambiance at  Luggage. Plus, I have yet to find a fantastic eatery in Pasadena (cue the hate mail from impassioned Pasadenos). Call me a hater, but it's true.

I entered fully prepared to like this place. I even refrained from a chance to have pizza for lunch to save myself for this pie.

But you guessed it. I was disappointed. I had been excited about the prospects of being able to top my pies with extra freebies like egg. Looks the part above, right?

Well, the crust didn't quite cut it for me. Ok, I am a crust snob. Fine, I am an everything snob. But I can't help it if I've tried the most amazing pizza in Napoli and can't get it out of my head. It set the standard and I can't go back. The crust should be crispy yet substantive enough to be able to hold the cheese, tomato sauce and other light toppings without getting too soggy. I long for light and airy pizza where you don't feel heavy at all even after four slices. I know I sound like a broken record when it comes to burgers and pizzas, but Mozza for sure and Olio does a better one than this place.

Let's start with the good -- the kale and quinoa salad. Kale seems to be making a comeback and that's a good thing if it means getting more vitamins and calcium into my body. It came shredded with some shaved Parmesan cheese and tomatoes but the nice touch was the crunch and nuttiness from the sunflower seeds. It was like a speed cleansing to prep my stomach for the unhealthy food about to make its way. The dressing was light and lemony. Thumbs up. See, I'm not always scathing.

But that was the extent of the somewhat positive experience. Service was good but the clunky wooden trays they brought the pizzas on were inconvenient and miscalculated for the small tables, especially since we had ordered three pies. Why disincentivize (I hope that's a word) ordering multiple pies and make it hard to place on the table?

The white wine Sangria that our server claimed was one of its signature drinks was basically 99% ice, 2 grape halves, one tiny orange wedge and one teaspoon of wine. Weak. I drank it because it was cold. But I can confidently say that my Sangria is at least five times better.

We got the classic Margherita, one with Italian sausage, fennel and roasted red peppers and another one with burrata, roasted garlic, piquillo peppers and balsamic reduction. The last one we topped with an over-easy egg for free. I give them props for offering the option of adding cool toppings like egg, broccolini, fresno chiles, roasted garlic, etc, for free. But alas, while I loved the egg, it wasn't able to save the mediocre pizza.

Margherita is my pizzometer wherever I go. And this didn't exactly pass. Serviceable, but not enough to want to return. My love of piquillo peppers drew me to that pie but I could barely taste them, not to mention the roasted garlic.

The sausage and fennel one was probably last  among my ranking of pizzas we had. But I am biased against meat in my pizzas. Yes, the carnivore extraordinaire, the one who adds bacon and meat to everything does not like to have meat in pizza.

We had a bunch of leftovers so my dinner mates and I took some home...and had them for breakfast with an egg the next day. Sure, eggs always take things up a notch but the pizzas were still too salty without too much else in terms of flavor.

None of the desserts enticed us so we passed.

Needless to say, I'm glad I tried it but I won't be returning.

Credits to photos 4 & 5 go to ctg. Thank you!

Faux Pas Bistro: Are Smashed Home Fries a Faux Pas in a Bistro? That's The Least of Their Problems.

I really wanted to like this place. The location is great, the ambiance and open-air setup take me right back to bistros in Paris or New York and service was excellent. But alas, the food just didn't deliver. To be fair, the place just recently opened so line cooks are still "in training," we were told. But it held so much promise.

I mean, look at that incredibly photogenic burger with smashed fries, which, by the way, seem to be the fries du jour. But more on that later. Let's talk about this beautiful burger. No sooner had I bit into it did I discover the patty tasted good but it wasn't cooked right. Not enough redness. It was overcooked the first time and then the second time around as well. We didn't want to be too harsh so didn't ask for yet another round but...I won't belabor the point.

So the patty itself was flavorful enough with decent texture but again, it was somewhat ruined by overcooking. I also had issues with the works -- shredded iceberg lettuce, really? One, it was a royal pain to eat and didn't add much to the mix. Two, iceberg? Who does that for a $12 burger? Could hardly taste the roasted garlic aioli or the cheddar cheese. The sesame brioche bun was ok but it could have been less dense. Yes, I have issues with dense buns. And I just wanted to write that.

The "fries" were more like smashed home fries, which our server had warned us about but I had read the posts about these beforehand so it wasn't a surprise. I thought it was well executed -- even better than at Short Order at the Grove. It's true I not-so-secretly longed for double-fried-in-duck-fat-kind of super crispy "frites" you get at bistros (think Schillers' Liquor Bar in New York) but I still appreciated these for their uber crispiness. And the fact they weren't over salted, a topic I have been known to rant about.

Let's balance the bad with the good. Look at adorable the bread "basket" arrived at our table with a side of tomato spread. The tiny breads were nice and warm although they weren't stellar, they were good, especially with the spread.

I must now judge the Margarita pizza, or Pizzette Marguerite. Not sure it's the correct use of the word, pizzette, at least according to a rudimentary search I did to figure out the difference with a pizza. It's apparently plural for pizzetta, a small pizza in Italian but maybe it means something else in French.

Anyhow, it had none of the airy lightness I recall from the OG pizza in Napoli. The dough was too thick and doughy. There was far too much cheese that made it even heavier. The balance of dough, cheese and tomato sauce was all off. Sliced fresh basil on top was the only decent thing about it and that's not saying much. So we took it back...They were thankfully very gracious about not charging us for something we weren't going to want more of.

So gracious were the host, server and sous-chef that they gave us a pineapple tart with chantilly cream on the side on the house. Again, I didn't love it but it was very generous and nice of them to make sure we left happy. The tart was too sweet and dense but I liked the pineapple brulee that I cracked with the tip of my spoon.

My final rant about the place is the green salad, which was absolutely nothing special. Ok, it's just a starter salad but some tossed greens and two pieces of tomatoes doesn't make a salad. Disappointing for a fancy bistro that presumably takes its food seriously. Why not try to wow us with a seasonal salad like the incredible carrot salad I had recently at Son of a Gun? Bo-ring.

I'll probably be banned from this restaurant as they'll know it was me. I'm not sure I'll be returning though because while service was really attentive and I appreciate them going out of their way to accommodate us, they really need to work on the quality of the food and execution. Like I said, I really do want them to succeed. Honest to God.

But for pizza, must confess that I'd much rather go to Olio a few blocks away. And for burgers, well, you know my faves (Houston's in case you don't!).

Gjelina: Very Good Pork Belly, Margherita Pizza and Mushroom Toast (Read on to find out what this is)

After many failed attempts at nabbing a table at Gjelina, my friend and I finally made it to this prized local gem. We're both big eaters wanting to try everything on the menu, so when it came time to order, we weren't shy. That is to say, we grossly over-ordered. "We could always take the leftovers home," we reasoned.

We duly researched what the most raved about dishes were on Yelp and adjusted to our own preferences. The verdict is that it is very good, even excellent, but a lot of the dishes were very salty, service by the model-lookalike wait staff was spotty and the noise level made us feel like we were in a stadium watching the World Cup's final match.



Still, the quality of the food was superb and I would return in a second, given, of course, I can get a table (They're not on Opentable, which makes it cumbersome to actually dial the number on your phone and talk to a human being).

The highlights were: Miatake mushroom toast with creme fraiche and truffle oil (which was the #1 raved-about dish online and didn't' disappoint); a refreshing kale salad (more details later); the Margherita pizza (almost as good as Mozza); grilled radicchio; and the braised (oh so soft) pork belly.

In retrospect, the only dishes that weren't as memorable were the variation on lasagna with beef cheeks and the dessert -- a black berry and chocolate bread pudding.

Let's go back to the dishes that were worth the trip. The mushroom toast was like a fancier and decidedly more scrumptious cousin to the lowly cream of mushroom. Ok, that may be offending the dish and the chef but I can't help it if that's my only reference. The point is, it was velvety and creamy with very strong mushroom aromas and flavors. To borrow the now-cliched phrase, it was decadently good.

I liked the kale salad (second image up top) that came with shavings of mild ricotta salata, shaved fennel, radish, lemon and bread crumbs that gave it a crunchiness along with the crunchy texture of the raw kale ribbons themselves. I'm always up for new and interesting ways of eating superfoods like kale, so this was a nice take. I've only stir fried kale with some olive oil and garlic but this one seems like a winner for the summer.



I also liked the Margherita pizza, which had an ultra-thin crust that was chewy with nicely charred edges that gave it a nice crunchiness. The tomato sauce, mozzarella and fresh basil were very good. Like someone yelped, possibly my second favorite pizza in LA after Mozza.

The pork belly. It's hard to go wrong when you have a whole layer of fat that by default is going to impart a ton of flavor and juiciness. Braise the baby for hours and you're likely to have a winner. Ok, the flavor of the pork was also pretty good. This was clearly no cheap pig (hailed from Niman Ranch). The glistening pork from the caramelization came on top of a bed of polenta, bitter greens and apple cider that gave it a tartness and sweetness at the same time.

Another vegetable I don't cook much with is radicchio. I'm not a fan of the raw version, but when grilled, it takes on a whole new identity -- the bitterness becomes subdued with the smokiness from the grill. In short, wonderful.

We chose a few healthier dishes to balance out the heavy meats and stuff with creamy goodness like the mushroom toasts. Oh, did I mention that the bread used for the toast was excellent? It was like a French peasant bread of sorts that held up nicely to all that topping.

The issue with the beef cheek lasagna variation was that it had a slight unpleasant smell from the meat (maybe cheeks have a distinct smell that I wasn't aware of, perhaps like liver or tongue?). In any case, it distracted from the main flavors and while ok, I wouldn't get it again. It did, however, fare better when I repurposed it at home with a runny fried egg for breakfast. Yes, that's my go-to breakfast makeover strategy and it works most of the time. This one tasted decent and I'd venture to say even better than the original, if I may say so.

The dessert sounded promising -- black berry and chocolate bread pudding but truth be told, I think one of the reasons we couldn't fully appreciate it was that we were stuffed, even after having packed a lot of food to go. Then again, the bread pudding wasn't anything special either. At least not nearly as revelatory as the one at Tartine in San Francisco anyway.

I'd definitely like to return and try some other dishes. This place has a very extensive menu. Wasn't crazy about its by-the-glass wine selection but wish it offered BYOB. The outdoor patio was also very nice. It wasn't cold with some heat lamps and I'd imagine it's only going to get better with warmer weather.

Olio Pizzeria & Cafe: Good Neighborhood Pizza Joint

It's always nice to find a cute little neighborhood joint that serves decent pizza with fresh-made fruit juices. Olio Pizzeria & Cafe is that kind of place, almost invisible in the corner of Third and Crescent Heights. The place is pretty tiny, although seemingly child-friendly with a few bar seats and about five tables. We went there for a late lunch (or early dinner) around 5pm and found it fairly empty.

It makes fresh sodas and both the tangelo one and lemonade were very good -- refreshing and not too sweet.


We got a half Margherita and half pizza that had prosciutto, Swiss chard, cherry tomatoes and Parmesan cheese (it's usually served with Italian sausage but they had run out, which was better for me since I don't like Italian sausage much).

The Margherita was pretty good. The crust was crispy, charred well and chewy and substantial at the same time. I usually leave the crust out when eating pizza, but I readily ate all the crusts because they were tasty, like eating bread.

The other half was a bit too busy for my taste. Too much going on with the prosciutto cubes, greens and a ton of cherry tomatoes. I liked the combo of salty prosciutto with slightly bitter greens with sweetness of tomatoes, but just too many toppings was overwhelming. Think they should use toppings in moderation.

We started with a greens salad that had a very interesting mix of roasted apples and walnuts with a light dressing. The greens were good, but the roasted apple was my favorite part. A nice and different touch you don't see much in other salads. I'd seen raw apples in goat cheese, beet-like salads but rarely roasted. It helps because I've found myself developing an allergy to raw apples, which makes me really sad but just have to cope with it, I guess. Sigh.

Service was good. Parking is street parking. Think this is the kind of place that's going to get crowded during peak hours very soon. It also has a Santa Barbara location.

Veto Vito's Pizza and Pass on Pinches Tacos in WeHo

I've been reviewing the good, so it's time to review the bad. Pinches Tacos and Vito's Pizza, both in West Hollywood.

The carne asada tacos were tough and the meat was not well-seasoned, just overly salty and flavorless. Then they got the order wrong -- brought us chicken mole tacos instead of the grilled chicken we wanted, and were too hungry to take back by the time we got our food. Still searching for that decent Mexican joint near me that I can stop by for a decent taco when I have a hankering...

Nor have I found a good pizzeria near me that serves half-way decent pizza. I tried Vito's after reading some raves on message boards, but to no avail.


My dinner companion and I tried several types of pizza, including the Margherita, which was ok and the white pizza, which had mascapone cheese, and was the best, in my opinion. Maybe it was the novelty of pairing mascapone cheese with pizza. One could say it was a bit of cheese overload but I personally can never have enough cheese so it wasn't a problem.

The pesto one was soso, as was the one with sausage and pepperoni. I usually don't like meat on my pies, so that may have biased the ranking.

I still like the Pizzeria Mozza for high-end, but in search of an equally juicy and flavorful Margherita topped with fresh basil for a fraction of the price.

Naples, Italy: Da Michele, the Birthplace of the Perfect Pizza

I had heard a lot of warnings about walking around in Naples' shady neighborhoods but was motivated by one thing and one thing only -- to get our hands on the alleged best pizza on earth at L'Antica Pizzeria Da Michele.

So we braved the rough stradas of Naples, home of the pizza, about a mile's distance from the train station, and found our holy grail, or rather, holy dough.


The storefront was nondescript and unassuming, without so much of a line with throngs of people waiting hours to quench their hankering for the perfect pie.





I loved the simplicity of the place -- spare and clean. It wasn't free of tourists but it didn't have the traits of a tourists' trap so it was fine. Plus, I was, after all, a tourist too.

I also liked the simple menu : Pizza Margherita or Pizza Marinara, with the option of extra mozzarella cheese. You can wash it down with some beer, soda or water.

Not to belabor the point about simplicity but this Pizza Margherita was indeed simplicity at its best. Tomato, mozzarella, olive oil and basil. That thin crust was probably the best darn crust I've bitten into in my life. It was crunchy and soft at the same time, charred just enough to give it smokiness. I guess it's true what they say about the ingredients mattering the most. The water in Italy was incredibly good. I'm sure the other ingredients for the dough and dairies used in the cheeses, etc. are also excellent.

The Marinara wasn't too shabby either, consisting of tomato, garlic, oregano and olive oil. A great option for the lactose-intolerant...I just loved how light the pizzas tasted. No huge lumps of melted cheese and crazy toppings a-la-CPK. I respect one's right to add whatever one wants on a pizza but it's definitely worth trying in its purest form.

There's a reason this place has been in business since 1870 and its Neapolitan pizzas are so famous worldwide. I spotted a celeb shot with Julia Roberts on the wall. I think she muttered something about a "no-carb-left-behind" diet in her latest film that I won't be seeing.

But I digress. If you ever make it to this side of Italy, this place is an absolute must. The walk over wasn't too bad. Just make sure you do it during daylight.

On your way back, you can stop by one of many bakeries lining the roads and satisfy your sweet tooth with zeppole, a traditional Neapolitan pastry that had custard inside. It was worth trying once but not to die for.

Did I mention the pizzas were a steal at five euros for a large pie?

It's a shame that one has to pay an arm and a leg at places like Pizzeria Mozza that serve similar pies and yet not quite the same in any case.

SF Report I: Pizzaiola vs. Little Star

I went. I ate. I conquered. The culinary high point of my trip to SF was probably a nice outdoor dinner at Pizzaiola in Oakland, with not one but two rainbows blessing this delicious meal. I know this isn't a news flash -- the chef is a Chez Panisse alum -- but as you know, I don't subscribe to hype so I had to actually savor the goods for myself.



The menu changes daily and it has a lot more than just pizza. A few things stood out. My favorites were the refreshing and silky halibut crudo with avocado and grapefruit, sprinkled with some red pepper flakes (or marash pepper, according to the menu). The subdued meatiness of the halibut paired so well with the buttah-like nuttiness of the avocado and slightly sweet and sour citrus -- in short, the perfect summer starter. Red pepper flakes injected a slight kick.



I also liked the grilled squid salad with cherry tomatoes, red onions, cucumbers and mixed greens like frisee. The squid was smoky and soft and made for a great salad with minimal dressing. I should mention I had an interesting nectarine and basil drink to start off, which was good as a mocktail but I'm sure would be great with alcohol.

It helped that the complimentary bread was from Acme, one of my favorite bakeries in the Bay Area. Solid, crusty bread that was fresh and came with good quality butter.

The fried chicken was a pleasant surprise. Buttermilk fried chicken isn't the first thing that comes to mind when I think Italian. But it was delightfully crispy and the chicken was moist and juicy on the inside. The sides of mashed turnip, stir-fried greens were very comfort food-y, just like the chicken. That crust was really something else. I guess it's the buttermilk magic.

My favorite entree was the meatballs, which were so incredibly juicy and flavorful that I almost became a meatballs convert. I've had one too many dense and dry meatballs in my day, but judging from the flavors and textures, we surmised that they must have been made from several kinds of meat such as veal and pork. The tomato sauce it came with definitely enhanced the meatballs without overwhelming them with excessively strong flavors.

Other dishes included a mushroom pasta that could have used more mushroom flavor (or mushrooms, for that matter) and my least favorite was the squash pizza, which was a bit bland.

The pizza crust was good but the toppings of squash, "pounded parsley" and grana cheese tasted fresh enough but needed something more. I thought the crust was better at Pizzeria Mozza and the pizza toppings combination was better at Beretta.

The stir-fried greens with garlic were fine. The desserts were good but not fantastic. The peach ice cream was very peachy and the unusual pine nut tart a la mode was nutty and creamy. The chocolate cake was moist and not too sweet.

I wasn't blown away by the desserts but then again, not every place can be like The Bazaar.

The outdoor patio was a great space and service was good.

I would definitely return to this Temescal area and explore more. I walked by Barlata and other talked-about haunts so will have to check those out.

I didn't make it to Zacchary's Pizza in Berkeley so instead went to Little Star in the Mission (it has another branch on Divisadero), which I was told was better. I had the spinach, garlic and tomato deep dish pizza, which was good. I liked the crust better than Zach's because it didn't get too soggy like Zach's. The spinach topping was extremely garlicky and a good two slices were, needless to say, very filling but satisfyingly so.

Upon request: I couldn't refuse my first request to review a place, a hole-in-the-wall in Chinatown called Chef Jia's, adjacent to the (in)famous House of Nanking. The honey chili chicken was too sweet and not spicy enough for me. Don't get me wrong. The chicken morsels were perfectly fried and super crispy. But the sauce had far too much honey and not enough chili, so I had to dip (more like dunk) the chicken pieces in the red chili sauce that came in the condiment jar on the table to make them more palatable. The white rice was also not as fresh as it should be, even though I did stop by at an odd hour and it was $5.25 a pop. I actually liked the egg soup the lunch special came with. Now that had a bit of spice and was a good remedy for my almost-cold.

Random afterthought: I found that Midi in Union Square area has a decent burger and fries. Bun isn't quite on par but the patty was cooked medium rare with crispy, warm, fresh-out-of-the-fryer fries. Not sure I would return unless I were staying at the attached hotel, but good to know in case of a serious late-night burger craving.

Pizzaiola
5008 Telegraph Ave.
Oakland, CA 94609
(510) 652-4888

Little Star
Multiple Locations
400 Valencia St. (Mission branch)
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 551-7827

Chef Jia's
925 Kearny St.
San Francisco, CA 94133
(415) 398-1626

Bottega Louie: Get Pampered, Skip Dessert

I like that Downtowners now have more lunch options beyond the old-school steakhouses and chains, thanks to eateries like Bottega Louie, that's part of the boom of fancier restaurants popping up in this office-filled area. It's a beautifully converted space with exceptional service and good food -- just short of fantastic to match the ambiance. Of the small plates and pizza our group shared, here are my favorites.

The calamari was crispy and soft on the inside, with a light batter and a slightly spicy cocktail sauce.

The portobello fries were crispy but in a different way. The batter was a bit thicker than the calamari but it somehow worked. It helped that it came with a wonderfully garlicky aioli dip spiced with a bunch of herbs. Delicious.

The Bianco pizza topped with fresh arugula was light and the greens added a crunch to the cheesiness. The ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan cheese combo wasn't overly heavy and the crust was thin and much better than the complimentary dry and mediocre baguette slices before our meal. The butter was great but what's with the bread? I used the crust as the bread and slathered the butter on it to good effect. I'd say it was on par with Pizzeria Mozza, except the ones I had at Mozza had more interesting toppings.

Other dishes were just ok, including peas with prosciutto, asparagus with hard-boiled egg, burrata with tomatoes atop a pesto sauce and my least favorite, risotto rice balls.

The peas were serviceable but nothing to write home about. I think the prosciutto chunks made that dish and it was probably meant to be like a deconstructed pea soup (with ham hocks).

The asparagus were just blanched and topped with what was described as "sauteed egg" but basically appeared to be chopped up hard-boiled egg that was likely sauteed. It was fine but again, a bit on the bland side.

The burrata was ok but my palate had recently been titillated by the sumptuous burrata at Cube so this one didn't seem as good. Maybe it was the pesto sauce that it sat on top of that I wasn't a big fan of. The grape tomatoes on the vine were not that sweet. Maybe once tomatoes are in full season, this dish may improve.

The deep fried risotto balls were crispy but the parmesan cheese for some reason had too strong a smell that ruined the experience for me. I usually love parmesan cheese so it's a bit puzzling but I won't be ordering that again.

I absolutely loved the service, which was efficient, attentive but not solicitous, knowledgeable but not snooty and plentiful (lots of wait staff standing around in case you needed something). Amazing how a bit of investment and training can make a difference in one's experience.

The adjacent bakery was such a joy to behold when I walked into the restaurant, tantalizing me with colorful macaroons neatly displayed alongside other baked goods. But alas, the chocolate eclairs I got were overly sweet and utterly unremarkable. In fact, I would go as far as saying they were bad. For the price and type of place that probably prides itself in its "patisserie," it was a sore disappointment. I also tried its pain au chocolat (chocolate croissant), which was just slightly above average. I think I had better at Breadbar and even Le Pain Quotidien. And don't get me started on its apple turnover. It was bad. It was non-traditional because it didn't have the apple paste inside, just chopped apple topped over the croissant. It didn't do it for me. Croissant wasn't as flaky as it should be.

Bottega Louie
(213) 802-1470
700 South Grand Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90017

Cube: For Food and Wine Lovers

Some of you may know my obsession with ham and one ham in particular -- the mother of all hams that I've oversold to the point of raising suspicion whether I was on The Bazaar's payroll. Jamon Iberico de bellota of black-footed pig fame. I had a sublime ham experience at The Bazaar and wondered if this transformational experience would be replicated at Cube.


The food was very good -- especially the braised octopus, scallop crudo with peaches and blood oranges and the super crunchy and creamy mac-n-cheese. The one disappointment was the ham that wasn't quite as good as that place.

But the atmosphere was great, service was generally good (except when the bill arrived unsolicited -- ok, they were closing) and I would definitely return. Let's start with the octopus. It was tender and rich in flavor, sitting atop a bed of charred radicchio and cipollini onions. I usuallly find radicchio too bitter but charred, it tasted nice and smoky.

The scallop crudo was very refreshing. The combination of thinly-sliced scallops and super sweet and juicy peaches drizzled with blood orange juice and some peppery greens was divine. I mean, look at that beauty! It tasted as good as it looked on the plate.

It's cool that the restaurant (which also sells specialty mostly Italian foods on the expensive side) changes its menu weekly to offer what's in season. There were some things that seemed to get more raves than others by folks, like the burrata, which was decadent and creamy. It's definitely not for the faint of heart (or the lactose intolerant). The one complaint about the burrata was that the price was a bit over the top at $16 per order. However, I really liked the burrata and nibbled on it throughout the entire meal with a wonderful Merlot.

Speaking of cheese, I also tried tetilla cheese that's a semi-soft cheese from Spain. It was good but a bit on the mild side for me. They gave us a sharp cheddar cheese on the house, which was, well, sharp. The ham and cheese tray came with cashews and dried cranberries but while they looked pretty on the tray and I like cashews and dried cranberries, I didn't want to waste my stomach space with these things. Mere distractions that didn't add too much to the ham and cheese experience.

Now on to the mac-n-cheese, which was one of the favorite things I had. It was piping hot when I tried to poke it with my fork. Check. After blowing on it, the first bite was crunchy, creamy and deliciously cheesy all at once. Just the right amount of breadcrumbs that were toasted just right to reveal a scorching hot cheese-fest of goodness underneath.


The bacon (fried guanciale to be exact) daintily placed on top predictably gave it an extra layer of crunch and punch of saltiness, but it almost didn't need it. Did I just say bacon wasn't necessary? Well, this mac-n-cheese was that self-sufficient.

The classic margherita pizza was good but a bit on the cheesy side for me. I couldn't help but reminisce about the really thin-crusted pizzas I had in hole-in-the-wall joints in Bologna that had minimal cheese on them and let the other ingredients shine.
We also had the tiramisu for dessert and it was moist enough and went well with the berries it came with. I'd probably try another dessert next time.

The ham and cheese selection is mind-bogglingly extensive so if you're a ham or cheese fiend, this is the place for you.

Cube
(323) 939-1148
615 N. La Brea Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90036

Beretta Overshadows Bar Tartine in SF

I've always believed that L.A. is a better eating city than San Francisco (I know I'll be flamed for this) but there are definitely some things you just can't get here, like an incredibly juicy Hot Link from Top Dog, the wonderfully cheesy and tomato-ey Chicago-style deep dish pizzas from Zachary's Pizza in Berkeley or the sumptuous quiches, bread puddings and crunchy breads at Tartine Bakery. So naturally, I headed straight for the oldies and also made some new discoveries along the way at Beretta.


Before I even go into new discoveries, let's take a moment to appreciate the classics, so perfect that you can't help but return over and over again -- even if it means standing in line in cramped quarters. Yes, that's the downside and the charm of Tartine bakery. It's a quaint little place where lines begin forming early even on weekdays. The quiches are incredibly hearty, creamy, perfectly salty with a crunchy top. There's something in that dairy (creme fraiche) the bakery uses. I think this is a case of excellent ingredients combined to produce the most exquisite breakfast, brunch, snack, whatever. I'm not even a big quiche person but no matter. I can't get enough! Then there are the plain and chocolate croissants and amazingly delicious bread pudding. I've tried the banana and apple bread puddings and I like the banana one better but they're both solid. I got greedy and brought one chocolate croissant to L.A. and can I say, that following morning's breakfast in my car was one of the best I've had in a while? Warm croissant with coffee for the road...Traffic? What traffic?

Finding a new gem is almost as satisfying as the tried and true and thanks to my foodie hosts, I did just that at Beretta. As much as I like the deep-dish pizzas, I am more particular to thin-crusted ones that aren't as heavy. I initiallly didn't think I'd like the combination of potato, rosemary, radicchio and crescenza that much but behold the first photo on top. Isn't that a beauty? We substituted gorgonzola on the menu with the creamy crescenza cheese I don't I was familiar. Apparently it had been recommended by a food critic and she was right on. The razor-thin slices of fingerling potatoes with the rosemary and grilled radicchio (which I usually find too bitter raw) all mixed with the buttery texture of the crescenza cheese were fabulous.

The cannellini beans and pancetta with pepper bruschette was also the right combination of salty and creamy with a bit of a bite. A note to self was to cook more with cannellini beans, especially in mashed form, since they're good for you and tasted so good here. Another revelation was the porcini mushroom risotto with barbera (red Italian wine grape variety). Everything about it was right -- the deep mushroom flavor, the creamy texture and the al-dente rice pellets, dyed a light burgundy from the barbera with a touch of grape flavor. It was so comforting, much like jjuk, Chinese or Korean porridge, only its flavors were stronger.

One thing that was off, however, was the margherita with burrata pizza. This is my favorite kind of pizza and my pizza-meter, if you will, since everyone has it on the menu and mastering this most basic pizza would pretty much be a vote of confidence for everything else. Complicated California-style pizzas a-la-Wolfgang Puck? No, thank you. Although the crust was great and the burrata was creamy like buttah, this margherita had too much tomato sauce that it overpowered everything. The crust and burrata reminded me of the margherita I had at Pizzeria Mozza, which was very good albeit overpriced.

A slight disappointment was Tartine Bakery's offshoot, Bar Tartine, which served mediocre food with inefficient and somewhat snooty service. We had many things with long and fancy names like cauliflower soup with meyer lemon, piment d’espelette and cilantro pistou; truffled grill cheese with king trumpet mushrooms, thyme, red onion and small salad; Liberty farm duck confit panini with blood orange marmalade, mizuna and shoestring fries; open face pork belly sandwich with avocado, egg salad, pickled jalapeno and shoestring fries and polenta hash with braised brisket, celery sofrito, parsley and fried eggs.

I lament to say that the best thing about the restaurant was the bread -- fresh and sturdy peasant bread with a great crust and moist interior. Much better than La Brea bakery and on par with Acme or Balthazar's bread in NYC. The duck confit panini was completely overpowered by the blood orange marmalade, which was a very bad match -- stuck out like a sore thumb. The open faced pork belly sandwich was ok but a royal pain to eat (open faced sandwiches simply should not exist). The polenta hash with braised brisket was probably the best dish by a small margin. I think the fried eggs did it for me. Like Anthony Bourdain said in a recent episode, "is there anything that doesn't taste better with an addition of a gratuitous egg?"










The soup looked beautiful and tasted decent but a bit thin and not as deeply flavored as it could have been. The shoestring fries were virtually cold, my biggest pet peeve being served lukewarm food that's been sitting underneath the lamp. They tasted kind of stale too. Unacceptable. The grilled cheese sandwich was good but not transporting. Next time I'm in town, I'll probably skip Bar Tartine (maybe give it a second chance for dinner) and go for the crusty pizzas at Beretta and dessert (or breakfast or brunch) at Tartine Bakery.

Beretta
1199 Valencia St.
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 695-1199

Bar Tartine
561 Valencia St.
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 487-1600

Tartine Bakery
600 Guerrero St.
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 487-2600