Umbria Ristorante – SoMa
198 Second St (@ Howard)
San Francisco, CA , CA
(415) 546.6985
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VdV Rating: 3.5
Food: Italian
Ambiance: Casual
PRO: All Bufala all the time!, outdoor seating, solid food
CON: Kind of a cheesy car salesman waiter
I hit this place with my homie Fritz yesterday, it’d been a couple years since I’d been, even though I’ve always had good grub here. Options, options, so many places to have lunch with so little time. I mean, VdV is a taxing job if ya didn’t guess. Actually, hopefully a tax write-off job…oops. I didn’t mean that! We’re all about making VdV an Inc. 50,000 company as quickly as possible and supporting the country’s endless needs.
So after two years was Umbria getting a little long in the tooth? Or did it have the same shine as in days of yore?
Well, first the place should rename itself from Umbria to Bufala. No Shit, Guissepe, take that hint for free and make it so. I mean, Bufala is a benefit, Umbria is a backwards area of Italy. Word.
Anyhoo, Bufala (that’s the name I bestow Umbria from here on out, maybe it’ll catch on) was the same as the olden days as far as my feeble brain could recollect. Of course it’s still on the corner of Second & Howard, a nice bright space with windows on two sides, outdoor seating and a nice open dining area with a bar on the right side.
But y’know what’s weird? Hey, shut your pie hole! I’m just a little different, that’s all. Yes, not weird, but different. What’s weird is, even with a bar you can actually sit and eat at, and my propensity to always sit and eat at a bar when the opportunity presents itself, I have never been drawn to sitting at the Umbria, I mean Bufala bar. Hmmm.
So anyways, Fritz and I walk in here like we own the place and get seated by a nervous energy faux Italian dude who also served as our waiter. OK, maybe he was really Italian, but I swear his other gig is selling burnt-out used Fiats off some lot in Hayward. Hey, there’s nothing wrong with that, just sayin’ he should chill and 1) not try to sell us to the most expensive wine on the entire list ($175 wine for lunch?!) that pissed me off, and b) hover around our table like a little bitch and 3) try to take our 1/2 full (not 1/2 empty, we’re positive thinkers!) glasses of kick-ass Stuhlmuller Cab away once he poured us a taste of his house wine.
Anyhoo, what’d we start with? Ha. You were gonna say pizza, weren’t you? Nope, loser (good guess though). A bottle of 2006 Stuhlmuller Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. At 1PM, kittens! Whoa. At that point I knew the balance of the afternoon may be less than productive. And fortunately I was correct. Damn, I know myself. This wine rocked the house. Look for a review in the next day or so.
OK, after that, or more like along with the vino, yes we did order a pie. All of their pies are made with authentic Bufala BTW. Actually near everything on the menu. Damn Skippy. They have about a 1/2 dozen pies, and we went not for the trusty Margherita, but the Quattro Stagioni ($15.75), a thin cruster with..say it with me…Bufala Mozzy, Fresh Tomato Sauce, Artichoke Hearts, Olives and Prosciutto. Wait, that’s five things, not four. They need to rename it as Cinque Stagioni! Maybe the sauce is a freebie. Anyhoo, this is a good sized pie, and the toppings were fresh, plentiful and tasted great together. Something about the artichoke hearts and prosciutto on this pie really worked. Thin crust bitch as I am, I woulda liked the dough tossed a few more times to get it slightly more thin. But that said, it was a good pie….
Next I had the Gnocchi with Fresh Tomato Sauce, Basil ($16.50) and…guess what Gomer? That’s right, Bufala! Dang, guurrl. This was gooood. The pasta was tender, plump and luscious. Hey now, calm down. As they say, Pillows of Love. And the sauce, I reckon it was made from San Marzanos and was excellent, tangy, fresh and perfectly seasoned. Add a little fresh basil (leaves, not that chopped up crap) and little dollops of Bufala and ya got yerself a winner.
For some messed up reason, maybe to have one heart-healthy dish we each had a simple green salad, the Umbria Salad ($7.25). Some fresh greens, gorgonzola (sounds so much cooler than ‘blue’) cheese & walnuts. Fine. Whatever, we’re not some weird vegans so you don’t care about our salad reviews.
So bottom line? Bufala, bitches! Have you not been paying attention?! Good food, good wine list, nice, comfortable somewhat authentic Italian vibe = a pretty good time. Bam!
VdV Rating: 3
Hours:
Mon-Fri 11:30a-2:30p
Mon-Sat 5:30p-10:30p
Umbria Ristorante
198 Second St (@ Howard)
San Francisco, CA
(415) 546.6985