the best italian in nob hill

if i had to choose one kind of cuisine to have

the rest of my life, it would have to be italian.

if you read this blog you will clearly know that

i love ALL types of food, but i think italian is

at the top of the list. it just never fails me! 

i can always go for italian food, and it's the

ultimate cuisine to me. i love to eat it, i love

to make it, i love the country it comes from.

 we live in a city full of some of the best food in general, 

including italian. we've realized that the best italian

eats are in different places than you'd think -- 

not in north beach {SF's little italy}...but in nob hill! 

and that just so happens to be our neighborhood. 

hmm..coincidence? i don't think so!

 over the weekend we ventured just a few 

streets over from our apartment to

 allegro romano, one of the city's classic

italian restaurants. the best part about this 

place is my personal connection to it...

 my parents came here on their first trip

to san francisco as a young couple, and tried

gnocchi for the first time! they remembered it

the final day of their visit last time, and told us 

we HAD to go experience it...so we finally did!

eating here made me feel a little closer to them

for one night even though they are so far away :)

 this pink building + old wooden door look straight

out of italy. it's truly so local & part of the neighborhood!

a great choice for date night..

^^ pictures of the owner with presidents + famous 

people who have eaten here...yet somehow it still

flies under the radar so that only the savviest know

about it. it's full, but not with tourists! ...with locals

or returning visitors who know what a hidden gem it is.

 we began with beef carpaccio alla romana

served on the prettiest of plates..

 moved on to the freshest caprese...

just the way it tastes in italy.

 then to the best appetizer i've had this year:

the asparagus alla parmigiana. two of my

favorite things: asparagus + parmesan butter

sauce...it is out of this world. lorenzo, the chef

& owner, came by and scooped all the extra

parmesan butter sauce onto our places and over

our asparagus. none can be wasted! he's a man

after my own heart :) this is a heavenly dish.

 then the black truffles came out..you always

know it will be a good meal when you are 

treated to truffles shipped straight from italy.

 the plates were a work of art themselves!

 getting those truffle shavings ^^

how personal does this restaurant feel?

that is lorenzo pictured above, the owner and

chef of the entire restaurant taking time to serve

the truffles himself. it's like you're in his italian kitchen!

and i truly felt like i was in italy when i took a bite

of this perfect truffled fettucini. the pasta is

cooked al dente the way it is in italy, the sauce

is 10000x more flavorful than any other

fettucine you'd order at a restaurant, and those

truffles...mmmmm! words do not do this justice.

lorenzo gives every lady a red rose at the end of the meal...

that's reason enough to return! if you want an authentic

italian meal served up right in a san francisco neighborhood,

this is your place. thanks mom & dad for the recommendation!

see our feature of their sister restaurant here.

buon appetito!

xo

///

now you tell me: if you had to eat one type 

of food for the rest of your life, what would

it be? we're talking cuisines...thai, mexican,

italian, chinese, indian, you get the picture!