Tag Archives: Italian restaurant San Francisco

Ofena Fits Like A Glove

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A special of porchetta to celebrate Ofena's first anniversary.
A special of porchetta to celebrate Ofena’s first anniversary.

Tim Humphrey’s Ofena restaurant is a passion project if there ever was one, filled with meaningful touchstones from his life.

Located on Ocean Avenue in San Francisco’s Lakeside Village, the building sat empty for a dozen years before the the chef-owner and his business partner, Tan Truong of San Francisco’s Ju-Ni and Handroll Project, took it over.

Named after the town in Italy from where his great-grandparents hailed before immigrating to the United States, Ofena the restaurant just celebrated its first anniversary last month. When he was 30, Humphrey took his mom to that town. After she passed away, he found her travel journals about that trip. Now, her handwriting is immortalized in the lettering for “Ofena” on the menu, as well on the neon sign on the front of the restaurant.

The script used for the restaurant's name is from the handwriting of Chef Tim Humphrey's late-mother.
The script used for the restaurant’s name is from the handwriting of Chef Tim Humphrey’s late-mother.
Executive Chef Tim Humphrey, who has cooked at a legion of well-known Northern California restaurants.
Executive Chef Tim Humphrey, who has cooked at a legion of well-known Northern California restaurants.

When you get to the dessert menu, you’ll find an especially sweet tribute to another longtime friend of Humphrey’s, a server who worked at many of his previous restaurants who passed away from leukemia. More on that later.

It’s all characteristic of the warmth you’ll find at this restaurant, which was packed last Saturday night when I was invited in as a guest of Humphrey’s.

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Dining Outside at Cotogna

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The Tuscan mixed grill at Cotogna in San Francisco.
The Tuscan mixed grill at Cotogna in San Francisco.

With festive pine cones adorning simple plywood tables, string lights festooning sidewalk trees, and blankets as soft as cashmere at the ready, Cotogna’s parklet has got to be one of the nicest around.

That’s what I found when my husband, two friends, and I dined outside last weekend when it hovered around 48 degrees. The popular Jackson Square Italian restaurant has tables outside right on the sidewalk, as well as a sizeable parklet. The latter is where you want to sit if possible because it has a canopy overhead, so if it rains, you’ll probably be fine unless the wind kicks up mightily.

Indeed, with both an overhead and tall standing heater at each table, we were as comfortable as can be. In fact, halfway through dinner, two of us even shed our coats because we were that warm.

The nicely appointed parklet.
The nicely appointed parklet.

With our server’s charming Italian accent, we almost felt like we had taken a trip to Italy during the holidays, too.

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Contrada Delivers On Pasta, Pizza and A Good Time

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Chef Jason Tuley with his wood-fired pizza oven in the background at Contrada.

Chef Jason Tuley with his wood-fired pizza oven in the background at Contrada.

 

On an early Saturday evening in San Francisco’s Cow Hollow neighborhood, people were still making their way to bars and restaurants.

But one place was already bustling and nearly full — Contrada.

It’s easy to see why. The Italian restaurant, which opened in January, is the kind of place that’s easy to go to and easy to like. On that Saturday, when I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant, there were groups of hipster guys, families with toddlers, gal groups, and everything in between. It’s the kind of place you head to when you’re meeting friends for a casual night out or want an old-standby, where you know you’ll leave satisfied.

The long, slender restaurant boasts a walnut bar, antique mirrors and reclaimed wood panels on the walls that sort of look like a Jenga game gone wild. There’s a patio in the back, too, where you can dine al fresco on a nice summer night.

The bar area at the entrance.

The bar area at the entrance.

Artful reclaimed wood on the walls.

Artful reclaimed wood on the walls.

Chef Jason Tuley, late of TBD in San Francisco, and Picco Restaurant and Pizzeria in Larkspur, oversees the kitchen. The pastas are made in-house in the production room downstairs. And the pizzas cooked in the wood-fired Italian oven.

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Pizza Perfection at San Francisco’s A16

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Marinated sardines with frisee and apples at A16.

As the saying goes: The more things change, the more they stay the same.

In the case of San Francisco’s A16, that’s a very good thing. The restaurant, which specializes in the cuisine of Campania, has weathered quite a few chef changes over its eight years. But you’d never know it. The narrow restaurant is always packed. And the food is consistently stellar, especially the pizzas and pastas.

That was the case on my most recent visit there last month, when I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant.

Executive Chef Christopher Thompson took over the helm earlier this summer. He also journeyed to Naples this year, where he became a certified pizzaiolo in Neapolitan-style pizza.

The Margherita with added prosciutto di Parma.

Of course, we had to have one of those pies. We opted for the Margherita ($15) with tomato, mozzarella, Grana Padano, basil and a splash of olive oil. The blistered crust was crisp, even holding up well enough in the center to the milky mozzarella that had melted delightfully to become one with the sweet tomato sauce. You can tell the sign of a great crust in that it should have a developed flavor all on its own. This one does. It also had plentiful air bubbles to create a wonderful chewy texture in parts.

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