San Francisco IX: A16

The morning after Monsieur P arrived in San Francisco, we took the bus to meet up with his friends for coffee/pastries at La Boulange in Filmore...

...at first I though La Boulange was a cute little French cafe, but then quickly found out that it was actually a big chain with a location in what seemed like every neighborhood of San Francisco. Sigh, how easily I was deceived by the charming, cozy decor. At least the cannelés were decent ;)

Post-coffee we strolled around Pacific Heights and Marina, stopping by the Palace of Fine Arts, and then...

...Crissy Field beach for some sun time!

We swung back though Pacific Heights for a late lunch at A16. The place was still bustling half an hour before lunch service was to end.

Bread and olive oil (upon request only) to start...

We decided to share a pizza and salad which turned out to be the perfect amount for two (I eventually added a pasta dish to our lunch, but more on that later!) First up, a Roasted Mushroom and Snap Pea Salad with radishes, nepitella and pecorino.

Many pizza options to pick from...click to see bigger.

We finally chose the Carciofi, an ideal combination of artichokes, with ricotta, smoked mozzarella, onions, prosciutto cotto, garlic, basil and chiles. I almost enjoyed the topping combination more than the pizza itself. Would love to use those same ingredients in a pasta dish...

An upskirt shot for you! Pizza is one of my favourite foods, as I've mentioned numerous times in the past, and I always make pizza an eating priority when visiting other cities. I enjoyed both Defina and A16 on this visit, but neither come close in delivery of final product to NYC pizza places, and were just as pricey. Perhaps I should stop attempting to compare, huh? ;)

While eating I couldn't help but notice that practically every diner around us had, in addition to pizza, the Cavatelli pasta, either as an appetizer or entree. I was so intrigued that by the time we wiped out the pizza and declared fullness, I placed an order for the housemade Cavatelli. It's okay right? We skipped dessert after all ;) The cavatelli was served with cannellini beans (both whole and blended in the sauce), tomato, chiles and pecorino. Nothing earth shattering nor delicious as we had hoped for. I wouldn't be inclined to order it on a return visit, but it sure did satisfy our curiosity.

Note: We sat at the bar, which definitely enhanced our lunch experience. Monsieur P loved watching them construct pizzas in the open kitchen and I couldn't get enough of the guy who just kept on turning out the cavatelli, pasta by pasta. Same twist, turns, rolls and cuts, over and over again for the entire hour we were there...mesmerizing!

Oh boy, looking at these vacations photos has me all wistful...summer in NYC is a disaster in terms of weather.. Would give anything for cooler temperatures and time away from work :) Hope you all have a wonderful upcoming holiday weekend!

A16
2355 Chestnut St
San Francisco, CA 94101
(415) 771-2216