Mangia! Mangia! Little Italy in San Francisco

Saturday - June 9, 2007

And that is exactly how we spent our Saturday afternoon - eating our way around North Beach. Ciao Italia!

Z. Cioccolato, "The Sweetest Spot in North Beach". We were immediately seduced by their sign which read "Free Fudge Samples Today". To M's delight, it was all the free saltwater taffy and fudge you can eat here! There are barrels and barrels of the chewy stuff, old-fashioned candy (I will post on the bubble gum cigarettes sometime... hmmmm?), fancy-schmancy chocolates and fudge. Over 35 flavors of fudge are made there. My favorite is the Cafe Latte. K and M also liked Tiger Butter, a chocolate and vanilla fudge with a layer of peanut butter. K also found Dutch licorice cats (Katjes Drop - semi hard and chewy), which he claims to love as much as licorice coins (Dubble Soute - strong, chewy and double salty). Licorice candy experts (ahem) will have you know that "they each have their own distictive, delicate flavors."

Victoria Pastry Co. This historic bakery has been around for 90 years. We had a cannoli and a delicious tiramisu here. We'll have to try their famous Gateau St. Honore one day!

And because that wasn't enough, K bought more Italian pastries at Mara's Italian Pastry, a hole-in-the-wall, but terrific coffee shop.

The sugar fest continues at Gelataria Naia, with a large cup of Rose Petal, Ferarro Raffaelo Coconut Almond Treat, and Madagascar Vanilla gelato. You can have up to six flavors in your cup! I have to say that Ciao Bella's Rose Petal gelato is superior though . . .

Molinari's Deli. There are no words, other than to say - we are Salami Converts.

Bresaola. Have you tried it? Che bello! This is SOOOOOO good!!! Dinner was ruddy, translucent slices of bresaola, with a generous sprinkling of shaved parmesan cheese (ok, plenteous shaved parmesan cheese), drizzled with lemon olive oil, and roasted garlic bread dipped in olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

For breakfast on Sunday, we had salami with Westfield Farms' wasabi goat cheese (purchased from Cowgirl Creamery in Marin County), slices of tomato and a sprig of fresh basil on toasted wheat bagel. So, I find out that salami is not to be confused with salumi. Salumi is a term to describe Italian cured meats, such as pancetta, proscuitto, and many others. I find that if I incorporate new vocabulary in my daily speech, I will remember it better: I cannot stop eating salami, which is a type of salumi!!!