Sushi on North Beach

Obviously NB is primarily known for Italian food, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for a good sushi restaurant. Stop #41, Sushi on North Beach unfortunately does not fit the bill. Goose & I both ordered the California Dinner: miso soup, green salad, rice, California roll, beef & chicken teriyaki, and shrimp & veggie tempura. It was more than enough food for one person & reasonably priced at $15.95. The soup & salad were standard. The entrée left a lot to be desired. They somehow managed to mess up a California roll. This is something Goose just could not fathom. I agreed with her, how is it even possible for the simplest roll to be bad? The beef & chicken were bland and the tempura was too dry. We both hardly finished our meals. Our waiter was great, and really friendly and like I said the prices were good, but sadly the food was not. 

http://www.northbeachsushi.com/

One Ciabatta loaf

Justa Bite, Just alright

Stop #40, Justa Bite has an interesting menu that includes salads, sammies, omelets, Chinese food, and pastries. So what does one order at a place like this? The chef salad. It was ok, everything tasted fresh. I added avo to it, which was good. Some of the homemade pastries looked good. This is most likely a place I will not return to, the salad was decent but the odd combo of menu items kinda weirded me out.  Not much more I can say about this one.

2 Ciabatta loaves

 

Da Flora

Stop #39, Da Flora is quite unique. The atmosphere is quaint & friendly. Several people that walked through the door were greeted with a hug from the owner. They prefer cash & ask that you don’t use your cell phones (I’m a fan of the no cell phone usage during dinner btw). The menu changes daily, but the one thing that is always available is the homemade focaccia bread. This was hands down the BEST focaccia I’ve ever had. I would go back just for the bread alone. It was crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, had a hint of salt, and was lightly coated in olive oil. We ate two full plates of it between the two of us, and for once in my life I didn’t feel guilty about the carbs because they were worth every bite. We had the stuffed artichoke for a starter. I expected it to be served warm, instead of cold, but it was still really good. The crunch of the breadcrumbs and the tender artichoke heart was a great contrast. FZ had the halibut served over asparagus. He thought it was a little bland and like most of the meals he orders he wasn’t satisfied with the portion size. I had the risi bisi: risotto with fresh peas. I’m not typically a fan of peas, but I love risotto so I gave it a chance. It was delish. Great flavors & texture. Not too rich, and very filling. Overall I really enjoyed the meal and the ambiance. The prices were on the higher side, but again fairly average for NB. Go try the focaccia!!   

http://www.daflora.net/

4 Ciabatta loaves

Melt! Fondue for two.

Melted cheese? Yes please. Stop #38, Melt was cheesy goodness. Megs & I had the fondue for two, very reasonably priced at $15 each. You get a small green salad to start, it was simple, but good. We went with the classic Neufchatel- gruyere & emmentaler melted in white wine with kirsh, cherry brandy, and spices. Amazing mixture of flavors and you could taste every one of them. The fondue is served piping hot with bread, apples, and green & red grapes. All of these were great items to smother in cheese. My only issue was that the bread was a little on the dry side, but once it was doused in the cheese you could hardly notice. The place is adorable, lots of board games to play & live music on certain evenings. We had a bit of an issue with our restaurant.com voucher, but other than that the service was friendly. Megs said “I thoroughly enjoyed my time here,” very true statement.

http://www.melt-cafe.com/

4 Ciabatta loaves

Piazza Pellegrini Pleases

I heard a horror story about stop #37 Piazza Pellegrini, so I was skeptical about dining there. Luckily my fear subsided with my amazing meal. The atmosphere is festive, service is friendly, and the portion sizes are plentiful. They gave us complimentary bruschetta that they claimed was for making a rezzy. It was really good, garlicky with juicy tomatoes. FZ had the Salsicce con polenta: grilled spicy Italian sausage in a roasted 
bell pepper sauce, served over polenta. It was quite tasty, the polenta was some of the best I’ve ever had. It was also enough food for FZ, who never seems to get full. I had the Saltimboca alla Piemontese: chicken filled with prosciutto 
& mozzarella in cream sage sauce. This was delish. Large variety of sautéed veggies, crunchy seasoned potatoes & two large chicken breasts. The sauce on the chicken wasn’t too heavy and was really flavorful. There was so much food, I was able to bring an entire chicken breast home for leftovers. Pellegrini is slightly pricey, but for the portion sizes and food quality it’s worth it.

http://www.piazzapellegrini.com/index.html

 4 Ciabatta loaves