Dinner with Kelly! We took the BART over to Pizzeria Delfina in the Mission. There was a 45-minute wait, so we walked to Bi-Rite Creamery at the end of the block for some frozen happiness. I've been in San Francisco for three days, and we've come here at least once a day!
Check out our stamp card. Pretty cool, huh? Only three more stamps to go...we are almost pau!!!
In addition to ice cream, Bi-Rite Creamery also makes popsicles and soft serve. This time we decided to try their soft-serve (which is sold at a separate shop next door to the ice cream shop).
Specials for the day. Always two flavors which change on a daily basis. You can see the flavor rotation here.
We both had Salted Caramel and Vanilla in a twist ($3.50). I tried Salted Caramel the previous day in ice cream form, which I found was much better. The flavour and "saltiness" of the caramel was much too weak in soft serve form, more akin to a light caramel.
Post-soft serve we checked in at Pizzeria Delfina - perfect timing! Our table had just opened up. Two seats at an outdoor table along 18th Street. Chilly out, but we kept our coats on and the heaters made everything okay.
Kelly and I each had a glass of wine and shared an appetizer, pizza and dessert. The perfect amount for a lighter dinner. First up was the Shrimp Salt and Pepper ($10.75). Seven large pieces of shrimp, lightly battered in rice four and fried, dusted in a saucy mix of salt and pepper.
So many pizza options to pick from! Note: for those who are curious, they use a gas oven. At first we were leaning towards the Funghi Pie (porcini mushrooms, fontina, panna, nepitella), but the Carbonara Pie also sounded awesome. Like carbonara exploded onto a pie! Scallions, guanciale, pecorino romano and a single farm egg. Finally we decided upon the Salsiccia ($15). It proved to be a solid choice - one of the more hearty, meatier selections. The crust was too burnt at parts, though consistently crisp and chewy throughout. Housemade fennel sausage with tomatoes, with thinly sliced bell peppers, red onions and mozzarella.I'm glad we shared because a single pizza each would have left us too full for anything else. The pizza slightly larger than the size of a Motorino pie for you New Yorkers :) And the most comparable restaurant we have to this in NYC would be Roberta's in Brooklyn.
And finally, a giant cannoli for dessert! The fried shell, light and very thin for a cannoli, is housemade and stuffed with sweetened local ricotta from Belfiore Cheese Company in Berkeley.
Many restaurants in the city add on a tax as part of the "Healthy San Francisco" initiative. Read more about the initiative at the SF Gate. Delfina charged us $1.25 per person, where as other restaurants charge a percentage of the bill (Zuni Cafe, where I had lunch the following day, tacks on 4% of the total bill). What do you think of this?
We immediately returned to Bi-Rite Creamery for yet another round after dinner. I cannot get enough of this place!! This time I "created"my own sundae ($6.50). The combination turned out pretty well!
One scoop each of Ginger and Balsamic-Strawberry. Berry Compote to top (super generous with bitty wild blueberries), and Brownie Chunks. Freshly Whipped Cream for a final flourish. There will be many, many more visit to Bi-Rite before I head back to NYC :)Pizzeria Delfina
3611 18th Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 437-6800
Bi-Rite Creamery
3692 18th Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 626-5600
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