Our second night in San Francisco we headed to Puccini and Pinetti to refuel after a hard day's work.
I couldn't tell if this was a one of a kind, nice restaurant, or one of a Paparazzi-like chain. We approached the host and he let us know there were no tables but we could sit in the bar area.
We took a seat at one of the bar tables, but after fifteen minutes, no one offered us a drink or menus. The host noticed this and let us know a booth had opened up in the back and he'd be happy to give it to us. Score!
As soon as we were seated our waiter popped over with ice water and focaccia bread with a delicious, mysterious spread. Some type of tapenade.
We were looking over the wine menu when he suggested the Valley of the Moon Sangiovese which he said had cherry, blackberry and chocolate flavors. Um. Yes, please!
We ordered a glass each and it was exceptional. So good in fact, I never snapped a photo! I was too busy drinking.
We each selected a salad to start. Beet salad for her, the warm spinach salad for me. We both agreed the salads were good, but not amazing. After all, we'd been on a roll with incredible food so far. I guess it had to end at some point.
Our entree courses restored our faith. Tomato, mozzarella and pesto pizza for her, ravioli with tomatoes, roasted corn and a pesto cream sauce for me. Both entrees were rich and delicious.
I noticed while we were dining there were a ton of families in the restaurant. This seems like a great place to take young kids when you're celebrating something like a parent or grandparent's birthday. If you're visiting San Francisco from out of town, Puccini and Pinetti is a spot you can skip.
