The Best Italian & Italian-American Recipes on the Internet
North Beach’s Victoria Pastry on the corner of Stockton & Vallejo makes some of my favorite cakes and pastries. They’ve only been doing it since 1914! Victoria’s St. Honore rum-soaked sponge cake with vanilla pastry cream and their domed chocholate Fedora cake are two of the best. For …
Chain stores are not welcome in North Beach. Over the last 2 decades Walgreens and other chains that wanted to open here were blocked by neighborhood protest. Since 2005 chain stores with more than 11 outposts have been banned by the San Francisco ordinance designed …
I’m back in the Village after a week out of town and was pleased to see the Capos sign was up. Capos is Tony Gemignani’s new place on Vallejo (between Stockton and Columbus). As Tony promised the vintage National cash register sits proudly on top …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
There was just one shuttered space left on the blocks surrounding Washington Square Park. Now there are none. The historic Original Joe’s restaurant re-opened in North Beach Thursday more than four years after a fire shuttered its Taylor Street location in the Tenderloin. “Joe’s Special,” a …
“It takes a village,” was the frequent refrain at a community meeting at Broadway Studios. The group gathered to develop a strategy to bring Broadway back. Call me crazy but after years of decline I think it’s happening. Maybe the transformation of Big Al’s sex …
Gianni’s North Beach was featured in a San Francisco Examiner article. The reporter and photographer joined me while we were filming our 3 new episodes.
The white butcher paper with the funny Italian sayings covering the windows for months is finally coming down. Geppetto, North Beach’s second salumeria (Italian deli) will have a soft opening tomorrow. “God willing,” says owner Giovannni Zocco. Geppetto (658 Vallejo between Columbus and Grant) is …
A new dawn in San Francisco’s North Beach? Will the Village be stronger in 2012 than it has been in 60 years?
Lidia Bastianich’s PBS special “Lidia Celebrates America: Holiday Tables and Traditions” is a celebration of family traditions, the common immigrant experience and the importance of food in 4 ethnic cultures. Watch it. You’ll feel good.
North Beach Festival Next Weekend
The 58th Annual North Beach Festival is next weekend, June 16-17. Don’t miss this opportunity to revel in all that North Beach has to offer. The weather will be superb. Stroll Grant Avenue, the oldest street in San Francisco. Enjoy music, ranging from The Carol …