Giordano Bros.

One of my fave things about doing this blog is bringing friends together. So what better excuse than Monday Night Football and delish sammies? Stop #13 brought us to Giordano Bros. Touchdown! This place rocks. The initial crew consisted of Erin, Megs, Shawn and myself. The atmosphere is great, very lively, tons of TVs, several beer options and even a few wine selections. Plus they have happy hour from 3-7pm. Score. All the sammies come on Italian bread with provolone cheese, fresh cut fries, and oil & vinegar coleslaw. Yes, the fries & slaw are ON the sammy. Hence the all-in-one sandwich.  They are also very fairly priced. I shared the smoked turkey with Erin. I’m generally not a fan of slaw, but this was so different and actually really tasty. Shawn ordered the Capicola and Megs the Coppa. Both of them really enjoyed their choices. There was a lot of head nodding after everyone took their first bite, silently agreeing that the sammies were amazing. Shawn liked how the bread was extremely soft. Megs thought it was cool how the flavor went back and forth between the fries and the slaw. We did feel they would be even better if the fries were crispy, just to give the sammy more texture. We got beer battered onion rings and fried pickles to share. Erin was ecstatic about

the rings since she thought they were some of the best she had ever had. They were great and not greasy at all, which is always a plus. Megs thought the pickles were done perfectly since they didn’t have too much batter and weren’t over-fried. And any place that serves Ranch with your sides without requesting it gets bonus points in my book. We finished off our meal with two warmed peanut butter chocolate chip rice crispy cookies. This was the only part of the meal we weren’t too impressed with, they were a little dry, but still very interesting. After that our late arrivals joined us: Matt, Faham, and Ryan - fresh from the gym, they were smart and worked off their meal first. Matt & FZ had double turkey with fried egg and Ryan had double pastrami with fried egg- guess they worked up an appetite.  The boys loved their sammies too and everyone was happy with the food and locale. Lastly I have to mention the amazing bar man. Not only was he hilarious and friendly, but he was the only one working the room and he was on top of everything. Job well done, my itchy mustache friend.

http://www.giordanobros.com/

5 Ciabatta loaves:

Viva!

When the World Series happens in SF so do out of town guests, so I was happy Judybug who lives in San Diego was able to join me for stop #12: Viva. Only fitting that we would go somewhere (when translated) called Hooray on game one of the World Series. Viva serves up traditional Italian dishes, so of course Judy ordered the Gyro plate. J She really enjoyed her dish that had very hearty strips of lamb. We started with the minestrone soup, 

it was good, tons of different veggies and lots of noodles. I also ordered the bruschetta to share, and when it arrived Judy informed me she doesn’t like tomatoes…oops. More for me! And I was happy about that since it was very tasty. For my main dish I had the garlic pasta: fresh garlic, virgin olive oil, chilies, and Italian parsley. It was punchy. Very big kick to it, but it was enjoyable. The waiter was an interesting character- we asked him what he recommended and he told us he no longer eats there since he’s been working there for so long and too much of a good thing can be bad. I obviously enjoyed my time with my lunch companion and the food was average, but I probably won’t be running back to Viva any time soon. Maybe for game one of the next Giants World Series since its tradition now.

http://www.vivapizza.com/

Two Ciabatta loaves 

Pizzelle di North Beach

 

Ok, so in case anyone in SF hasn’t heard the Giants are the World Series Champs…AGAIN! I did consume Columbus during their wild run, but blogging about it was a challenge since I was consumed with baseball games. Back on October 21^st I went to stop #11, Pizzelle di North Beach. What better way to fuel up before an NLCS game than a slice of pizza and a beer? I was extremely impressed with this place. I ordered my pesto slice, a side of ranch dressing and a Peroni (all for $7.25!) from the very friendly man behind the counter. While he heated it up in the oven I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Pizzelle is MUCH more than just pizza by the slice. They have a full menu. I wasn’t even aware of this until I started checking out my surroundings and saw the large chalkboard above the counter with several menu items on it. They offer appys, salads, pasta, and sammies as well. This is a very good thing because if the slice of pizza I had is any indication of how good the rest of the food is, it will be delish. My pesto slice was one of the best I’ve had. Soft cheesy dough on top of a crunchy crust. Yummo. They have a couple of TVs for your viewing pleasure, friendly staff, good prices, and comfy booths. I look forward to going back to check out other menu items. 

http://www.pizzelledinorthbeach.com/

5 Ciabattas

Taqueria Zorro

Not much to say about stop #10, Taqueria Zorro. Been there a couple of times before for a burrito and wasn’t too impressed. Decided to change things up this time and go with a veggie taco, again I wasn’t too impressed. Prices are good, food is mediocre at best, there are TVs if you want to watch sports, and they do sell beer. Lots of daily specials, but too bad the food is not special. Next!  

One Ciabatta loaf. 

Nizario's

Did you miss me? I sure missed eating unhealthy food like pizza, so I was thrilled that next on the list was Nizario’s. After a month long cleanse (go me!) I went to stop #9 with my fabulous sister Stanko for a slice of pizza. The little sis even decided to treat, very nice of my out of town guest. They had about six different slices available. I went for the cheese with pesto & she had ham & pineapple. It was $7.50 for two slices, about average in NB. Nizario’s is much more spacious on the inside than it looks from the outside, but its still fairly small. They have two flat screen TVs, but don’t think of this as a good spot to grab a beer and watch a game since they don’t serve alcohol. The pizza was decent, but not mind blowing, we both agreed it would probably taste better after a couple of beers (that you would have to consume elsewhere). Best part of this spot for sure was the company.  

http://www.nizarios.com/

Two Ciabatta loaves (one for each Ciabatta sister)