VinDivine - Living it Up John & Janine Style

Mangarosa - North Beach

Our friend Loren took us here one night. He squeezed us in between his dating frenzy and his Arabic class. C'mon Loren, do you need to be ANY smarter?

Anyhoo, while he's frolicking in Iceland and Norway we're in sunny Tahoe blogging away about what? Good Italian-Brazilian grub....huh?

This place is RIGHT next to one of our favorite bars Tony Niks. So we walk in and belly up to the bar and look at the drink menu. "The best margarita" is what they tout! NO WAY. How do you do that? Being the experts we are we ordered up a round and while they don't get those exact kudos, they do brew up a decent one.

We decided to stay up at the bar to eat and glad we did. For starters, Loren orders up the cheese bread. Cheese bread? Hmmmm. No hmmm's about it this stuff ROCKS. They deep fry these dough balls and inject them with cheese. So what if they lodge themselves in your arteries? They Taste Good. Continuing the Heart Health theme, we also ordered up some yucca fries, which I thought were going to be weird but we gobbled them up. Not Enough Carbs Yet! So we went in for the pastries, which are to die for: 6 of them in all, 2 cheese, 2 chicken and 2 beef...trifecta! Then we finished up with the steak which I know everyone says is the bomb, trust everyone, it is. Rare, as usual.

Everyone here seems real nice and they even have valet parking (woo hoo!). Of course we finished up the night with too many 'tinis at Tony Niks. An awesome night! Taxi!

Mangarosa
548 Stockton St
San Francisco, CA 94133

Golden Boy Pizza - North Beach

Dear Golden Boy: You are my best friend..never judging as I stumble in after partying all night for a quick slice (or three), never putting the moves on my baby, always there for me to make sure the night ends on an up note and my AM is free of hangovers. What did I do to deserve you?

Whoa, OK that just got a little weird. But god damn, this pizza ROCKS, my friends. This is the quintessential SOAKAGE 'Za. We don't usually flock to the thick-crust style, we're more the strictly traditional Italian thin-crust fans - check our fave place in Capri, Italy.

But the Golden Boy delivers (not literally sucka, you have to drag your drunk ass over there). They must lace this stuff with some kind of drug. It is Pizza Ecstacy. We housed three HUGE slices the other night in the taxi between GB and our place in South Beach. Didn't speak a word to each other except for 'quit hogging the f'ing pizza!'.

Aww right! So you want details, do ya? Here we go:
1) You can grab a bar stool or table, or do what most of us do - stand in line like a beggar, and get your slice(s) to go
2) The crust is soo good. Thick, doughy, even a little sweet. You could eat the crust PLAIN. It's that good. Always cooked to a perfect  golden (hence the name) brown.
3) The cheese..mmmm. I don't know if it is the best Romano yada yada. I just know it hits the spot.
4) Doesn't matter what kind of toppings you get. It is all good. We like the Pepperoni and the Cheese.
5) If the person next to you in line drools on your shoes, let it go. He (or she) is either frothing in anticipation for the slices, or about ready to heave after throwing back one too many shots at one of the many bars in the 'hood. No need to get in a fight, either way just give a little room.
6) Tip the servers, man. The slices are a bargain
7) Contrary to us alluding that this may only be 'drunk' pizza, this place is awesome day or night, buzzed or stone sober:)

Golden Boy Pizza
542 Green Street (North Beach)
San Francisco, CA

Ideale - North Beach

Hey call Dennis Richmond at KTVU! Those crackheads at VinDivine are reviewing an Italian restaurant in, of all places...you'll never guess in a million years...wait for it...North Beach! Hey, it's harder than you think finding good Italian in such a touristy area:)

So you want good Italian? YOU GOT IT BABY! This authentic Italian trattoria is solid. Nothing fancy, just great service and fresh, excellent food in a nice atmosphere. Most of the wait staff is 'off the boat' Italian and so very nice. Small bar, not really for hangin' out, but you can wait there for your table and start building up an appetite, cuz for what you're about to experience you'll need a vomitorium. Tables kind of close together but who cares, everyone's happy.

Don't heavy up on the bread, man...it's really really good, but you've got some serious chow coming, so one piece only piece. I mean it!

Order: The sliced Zucchini Carpaccio with truffle oil. Ridiculous. Only one we've had better was in Florence. Prosciutto wrapped melon balls. Need I go on? OK, Caprese Salad with Bufala Mozzeralla...bam! For your meal if they have it order the Venison, and do not miss the Homemade Lasagna - it's nutty good. No lie. If they have anything with meat and pasta - get it. And any kind of risotto is awesome. The menu changes because everything is home-made, oh yeah.

The wine list is pretty good. Nice selection of  Cali wines and good Italian wine list too. If you're going to start your evening here, order lightly or share a meal - otherwise you'll be so stuffed you'll want to turn around crawl into bed instead of rockin' out in NB.

Sadly these guys don't have a website or any pix so you'll just have to take our word for it.

Ideale
1309 Grant Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94109
(415) 391-4129

Citizen Thai and The Monkey

This ain't no take out Thai my friend, no way. This place is great. It's got a few floors to it and frankly we've never been off of the bottom floor and we love it. In the heart of North Beach where the ole' Basta Pasta was, it's upscale Thai Restaurant and the people that work there rock. Our friend Loren introduced us to it and we're HOOKED.

Side note - It's actually TWO restaurants, "Citizen Thai" is "supposedly" a different place than "The Monkey" which is why you see two different menus. WHY you ask? Some idiotic planning rule that says in North Beach you can't have a big place.

Anyhoo, The Monkey menu is basically a noodle menu, the menu you want is the Citizen menu. Start ordering almost everything on this menu. Crying Tiger salad made us freakin weep with joy, Bags of Gold Chicken and Prawn in rice paper, are awesome. Note for couples: There are 5, make sure you split the last one or your chick will kick your ass for it. Oh, and you can't leave without ordering the Chicken Pumpkin curry, it actually comes IN a pumpkin!

We had some specialty cocktails too, try the watermelon mojito, or the red monkey...refreshinnnnnn. The wine list rocks for a Thai place, Gruner Veltliner by the glass or half bottle of Murphy Goode Fume Blanc.

No valet, but a secret, there is parking on Romolo behind the Romolo bar, but you have to be ok with driving your car up a 90 degree angle. Oh and don't tell too many people, that's OUR parking secret.

After dinner you can walk over to Romolo, Tony Niks, or the Rosewood and get your bomb on!

Citizen Thai and The Monkey
1268 Grant St.
San Francisco, CA 94133
(415) 364-0008