The Other Critics

Mark Bittman Admits That Maybe, Possibly, S.F. Has Better Regional Italian Food Than New York

Mark Bittman
Mark Bittman Photo: Getty Images

Always ones to pounce on talk of the S.F.-NYC rivalry, we at Grub Street S.F. notice today that New York Times columnist Mark Bittman pays our fair city some nice compliments in the Sunday paper, vis a vis our regional Italian restaurants. “No comparably sized city has more authentic and better regional Italian food,” he declares, “And, really, with the possible exception of New York [itals ours], it may be said that San Francisco is the world’s best city for regional Italian food.” Wow, Mark. We’re blushing.

He mentions A16, Adesso (which he spells Odesso), Dopo, SPQR, Ragazza, and others, but because there are so many “better-than-average” Italian restaurants in the Bay Area right now, he only has time to highlight four: Perbacco (“The pastas are accessible and just short of incredible… Everything was spot on.”); Noe Valley Sardinian restaurant La Ciccia, where he loves the salumi and the thin-crust pizza with pecorino, capers, and oregano; Pizzeria Delfina, which he says he’s “become a bigger fan of” than the original Delfina, and where the food is “sensational” and reminds him a lot of both Rome and Naples; and Farina, where he loves the Ligurian pastas but the “second courses are not as reliable.”

My Go-To Places for Regional Italian Food in San Francisco [NYT]
Earlier: Bittman Goes From ‘Minimalist’ to ‘On Food’; Bon App Says ‘Bite Me’ [Grub Street NY]

Mark Bittman Admits That Maybe, Possibly, S.F. Has Better Regional Italian Food