North Beach

A Peek Inside Capos on Vallejo

Tony Gemignani’s Capos in the former Pucinella Pizzeria space on North Beach’s Vallejo Street is taking shape. The brick facade on the front of the building is in place. Soon a big black awning will hang out over the sidewalk. A beautiful custom-built wood Art …

Frittata: Italian Egg, Sausage and Potato Pie

Frittata, an Italian egg pie with potatoes and roasted sausage. Use the basic recipe and include your favorite ingredients. You can have a flavorful fritatta on the table in about 20 minutes.

North Beach Walking Tour Saturday!

Fans who took my tour a few months ago called to see if I would do a tour of North Beach for out-of-town guests this Saturday, April 28 at 11:00 a.m. Do you want to join us? Get to know my my favorite restaurants, bakeries, food shops, art galleries …

Pasta Primavera: Bowtie Pasta with Spring Vegetables

The farmers markets are overflowing with early spring vegetables so I just had to make Pasta Primavera, farfalle (bowtie) pasta with just-arrived asparagus, fava beans and sweet peas. Pasta Primavera is a classic Italian-American dish concocted by Sirio Maccioni and made famous at his Le …

Discovering North Beach–A Post From Italia

Nuok is an Italian travel, art and food site. A recent post by Alessandra Maffei who lives in Roma celebrates North Beach. “The air was soft, the stars so fine, the promise of every cobbled alley so great that I thought I was in a dream.” is Alessandra’s …

Gianni Hosts a North Beach Antipasti Party?

The other night my Emerald Tablet friends and I put together a tasty family-style dinner at North Beach’s Vicoletto, the Calabrian restaurant on Green. We were talking about a Gianni’s North Beach cooking demonstration and tasting at their gallery and creative learning space. They don’t …

An Easter Dinner Menu for You

Here’s a 4-course Easter dinner suggestion. I even threw in Italian wine pairings. Follow my easy video demonstrations and text recipes (a fan suggests I call these “videocipes” or “recideos”) and make dinner for yourself. Bake the 2 traditional Easter Pies the day before and let them sit …

Battle of the Chefs in North Beach

My friend Viola Buitoni hails from Perugia in the region of Umbria. Viola is a wonderful cook and Italian culinary teacher and she’s hosting Battaglia dei Cuochi, the Battle of the Chefs, this Monday March 19 at the San Francisco Italian Athletic Club on Stockton overlooking …

St. Joseph’s Day Is Coming! Make Zeppole

March 19 is St. Joseph’s Day, also Father’s Day in Italy. It’s the time of year to make a special sweet, Zeppole di San Giuseppe. You find zeppole all over Italia this time of year. Each region makes them in their own way. In North …

North Beach Farmers’ Market Is Back

I missed the Sunday North Beach farmers’ market since the tents were rolled up last October. But spring has sprung and the market re-opened last Sunday. It’s in a new location on Powell between Union and Columbus right across from Washington Square Park. This is a much …

A Permanent Pop-Up In North Beach?

Permanent Pop-Up. That’s an oxymoron isn’t it? Pop-up food purveyors pop up for a short while and then go away to pop-up somewhere else, right? Well that’s not the case with Chubby Noodle, the permanent pop-up restaurant at the Green Street bar Amante. This is the …

Truffles at Cavalli Cafe Again

We had lunch yesterday at Original Joe’s. (I had the breaded veal cutlet Milanese with a light lemon sauce and a side of ricotta ravioli in a bolognese sauce. Both were delicious renditions of classic North Beach Italian-American fare.) Original Joe’s bombolini puff pastry with vanilla …

CSI in the Kitchen

Have you ever craved a dish your Mama made for you? Did you eat a dish in a restaurant that you just had to make yourself? Can’t get the recipe? I read an interesting article last week about everyday kitchen detectives re-creating lost family dishes …

North Beach’s Food Oscar Nominee!

North Beach’s own Park Tavern is nominated for the James Beard Foundation Best New Restaurant Award.

A North Beach Valentine’s Day

Many of you have been reading last year’s Valentine’s Day post Accidental Heart a cute memory from when I was a kid in Jersey. It’s that time of year again. Valentine’s Day is next Tuesday. I’m not a big fan of going out for dinner on Valentine’s Day. It’s …