little italy food tour

we love living so close to north beach, AKA

san francisco's "little italy." one, it's the cutest

neighborhood ever and two, we kind of love 

italian food more than any other food.

the only problem is that similar to little italy in

new york, sometimes the "italian" restaurants don't

end up being so italian. a little bit more touristy, a little

 less authentic. no one wants that! so we're constantly

on the search for the good stuff. i discovered chef joseph's

culinary food safari of north beach and instantly knew i

had to go on one of his tours! he knows all the good places

and hidden gems. he also knows so much history and helped

me see this area of the city in a whole new way! here are

some favorites from the 3 hour walking tour. this is a fun

thing to book whether you live here or visit san francisco!

^ we met and began the tour at washington square 

park, the heart of north beach. i can never 

resist a picture of this pretty church. 

^ and off we go with chef joseph!

^ a list of all the places we hit

during the tour...pretty extensive!

^ i am in love with the color and energy

of this part of the city. i mean, just look at this.

^ our first stop was the famed liguria bakery,

baking up foccacia bread since 1911.

i have loved this place since discovering it when

we first moved here -- their amazing fresh 

foccacia bread wrapped in butcher paper and

tied with twine is close to heavenly. they sell

out fast each day, so it was our first stop and i

immediately knew this was a legit food tour

because liguria is the gem of north beach!

^ of course we passed by the well-known 

breakfast joint mama's. we didn't eat there

during this food tour, but we did get some 

tips for how to work your way around that 

famous line! :) hints: get take-out, or go 

later around 2:30 PM. it's WORTH it!!!

some of the best french toast i've ever had.

this area has a lot of great italian pastry shops,

but victoria's is one of the best...along with

mara's, which you'll see a little ways down.

^ i had never seen this place even though

it's just right off washington square! chef

joseph told us that they are famous for their

fondue, and the open faced tuna melt.

^ little italy's famous truffle shop, xox truffles.

chocolate lovers (AKA me,) this is your place!

capp's italian diner was also mentioned

as a classic stop for lots of true italian

families in the city, and even governor

brown stops in here when he's in town!

^ these markets! speechless.

mara's italian pastry won the best

pastry shop in my book. their cannoli's

are FAMOUS, they have all different kinds

of biscotti, and they have......chocolate-dipped

apple fritters. you read that right! yum city.

^ how can you look at this and be sad?

^ cartons of olive oil like you see in italy..

i might need to stock up on these, so cute!

^ molinari deli...no words. HOW have i not been

in here before? it's straight out of europe and 

a feast for the eyes and senses. i think i'll be

stopping in here a lot more often in the future!

^ you can never have too many sweets shops.

stella pastry was another winner!

^ really fun tastings in here with the

craziest flavors of balsamic vinegar!

my mouth is still tingling from the tastes.

^ and one last fun candy shop...if you have kids

this would be a perfect stop in north beach!

or if you're a kid/ candy lover at heart :)

^ last but NOT least, chef joseph's vote for

best pizza in little italy. we have been to tony's

and love it, so we agree! it's been almost 2 years

since we've been here though, so i'm excited to

try it again knowing it is truly the best!

i could walk around this area all day every day.

good thing it borders our neighborhood so i can

run down anytime! this was such a fun tour and

i loved getting to know the area better...and making

my taste buds happy :) thanks chef joseph!

buon appetito! 

la vita è bella.

xo