Italian American at its most stubborn. Espresso bars, red-sauce rooms, and Tony Gemignani throwing pizzas a block from City Lights bookstore.
Sotto Mare in San Francisco is the North Beach Italian seafood room that does the city's best cioppino, a 12-table room that takes a few reservations.
OrderThe cioppino for two; the kitchen's whole reputation in one bowl.
TipWear an apron, no exceptions; the cioppino is not negotiable on splatter.
Scoma's in San Francisco is the 1965 Pier 47 seafood room at Fisherman's Wharf, with the Lazy Man's cioppino served from a 60-year-old family recipe.
OrderLazy Man's cioppino, with the shells pre-cracked by the kitchen.
TipReservations open 30 days out; the bar takes walk-ins from 12:00 and is the best seat for a single diner.
Tony's Pizza Napoletana in San Francisco is Tony Gemignani's North Beach room, with 13 ovens running 7 pizza styles and a long list of World Pizza Cup wins.
OrderMargherita STG, limited to 73 a day and cooked at 900 degrees.
TipThe Margherita STG is capped at 73 per day; arrive at 17:00 to lock one in or expect a sell-out by 19:30.
Park Tavern in San Francisco is Anna Weinberg's Washington Square sister to Marlowe and the Cavalier, with the same burger and a steady neighbourhood pulse.
OrderThe Marlowe burger with Cabot cheddar on a pretzel bun.
TipSunday roast lunch sells out by 14:00; book two weeks ahead for a window seat onto the square.
Bimbo's 365 Club in North Beach is the 1931 supper-club room that still books rock, jazz and cabaret into a velvet-curtained hall a block off Columbus Avenue.
TipSeated upstairs balconies pull a quieter view; main floor is standing. The room sells out fast on touring nights so check the calendar early.
Specs' Twelve Adler Museum Cafe sits down an unmarked alley off Columbus in North Beach, a sailors' and poets' bar since 1968 with maritime relics and cheap.
TipKnock on the yellow door at 250 Columbus to find it. Cash bar runs faster; the back booths are the local seats, not the bar.
Vesuvio Cafe on Columbus in SF, across Jack Kerouac Alley from City Lights, has been the Beat-generation bar since Henri Lenoir opened it in 1948 with two.
TipUpstairs balcony has the best people-watching over Columbus. The bartender will pour a Jack Kerouac cocktail to anyone who asks.
The Saloon on Grant Avenue first poured in 1861 and survived the 1906 fire, making it the oldest operating bar in San Francisco with blues bands every night.
TipLive blues every night with a small cover most weekends. Cash bar; the original 1860s wood bar is the photo opportunity.
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