A16 is the kind of neighborhood Italian restaurant I wish was closer to my home. Unaffected but real Italian cooking with fresh ingredients, wonderful desserts, an excellent winelist all served in an elegantly casual space.

Today we were in San Francisco to visit the newly renovated Asian Art Museum so we decided to come in for an early lunch. We split an order of Lamb & Pork meatballs in marinara and a homemade mixed Funghi (Mushroom) Pizza. While the meatballs were moist and delicious in their tangy marinara, the pizza was crust was overly charred. Dessert which we also split was excellent again. Ripe macerated peaches were served with honey semifreddo on a toasted brioche round.

After our museum visit and a meander through town, we stopped at AG Ferrari’s to stock up on a few pantry items. The cheeses were looking especially good that day, so we picked out a few to snack on. They were kind enough to slice up a portion of each and then wrap up the rest for us to take home. We tried the following:

• Brillo Divino: drunken goat cheese soaked in red wine. Excellent
• Tomino Boscaiolo Longo: a mild Piedmont cow’s milk cheese
• Caciocavallo: another mild cow’s milk cheese, this one was made in CA. Similar to mozzarella.
• 18mo. aged Gouda from the Netherlands. Delicious.

Details…………………..
A16
2355 Chestnut St
San Francisco, CA 94123
(415) 771-2216 Make a Reservation
Website: www.a16sf.com

AG Ferrari Foods
Multiple locations
Website: www.agferrari.com/

Z and I had dinner at Satsuma, located near London’s theatre district. It’s another one of those clean lined, overly bright, hardwood floor and communal table + bench style restaurants that seem to be everywhere in London these days.

We had a leisurely, well priced, very good bento dinner with thick slices of tasty sashimi. The pic to the right is from this first meal.

Unfortunately, my second visit with friends a couple months later was not as good. The sashimi was less than fresh and service was horrid. It was also incredibly loud and completely packed even though it was only Wed night.

Since my 2 visits were so different, I would definitely give it another try. But if you see a substantial line forming inside the door, save yourself the trouble and head for an alternate dining spot and return to Satsuma some other time.

Details…………….

Satsuma
56 Wardour Street
Soho, London, W1D 4JG