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best red sauce Italian in SF?


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Ok, it's my friend's birthday, he doesn't like northern italian, he wants the italian food he grew up with in Queens. Perbacco no. La Ciccia, no.

 

So with the many choice in North Beach and elsewhere, where would you suggest for things like lasagna, eggplant parm, ravioli, etc.

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I'm not the best person to answer this question as red sauce Italian is one of my least favorite foods but the average tourist Italian place in NB is horrible.

 

I'd recommend Original Joe's (not exactly red sauce but old school vibe and on the park), North Beach Restaurant (more NB Italian. I've never eaten there but it's better than the random tourist place and popular with politicos), Capo's (a Chicago Italian place by Tony -- and more of a restaurant than the following), or Tony's (the other food gets overlooked as he's famous for his pizza). Other than that I have no idea.

 

Personally I'd try to talk him into Park Tavern. Sorry I'm not of more help!

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Not exactly what you are looking for but Cotogna was excellent last week, the pasta in particular. Flour & Water might be a solution for a good pizza/pasta meal albeit not exactly what you are looking for. Delfina has a "red sauce" dish as one of its signatures but was a clear couple of levels below those two places.

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If you want what I would consider "red sauce Italian" (bearing in mind that I'm from Vancouver, and our version of old school italian is very different), I would also suggest the North Beach Restaurant. My mom and I ate there last summer and it was fantastic. I especially loved the meat room downstairs. They also have an amazing wine selection. Now I should say, I knew a little bit about this place, but it has never been on my radar. We were trying to get to Ideale, another North Beach Italian joint which I would also recommend, and parking was becoming a bit of a major issue. It was due to my frazzled nerves that I pulled up to the first restaurant I saw with valet and told my mom that we were eating there.

 

http://idealerestaurant.com/index2.htm

 

http://www.northbeachrestaurant.com/

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You might be happy at Mario Bohemian Cigar Store. Eggplant Parmesan, lasagna. This place hasn't changed in decades. Lots of decades. http://www.dishtip.com/d/ca/san-francisco/mario%27s-bohemian-cigar-store-cafe/eggplant-parmesan/2661810

http://sanfrancisco.menupages.com/restaurants/marios-bohemian-cigar-store/menu

It's kind of a bar, actually.

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You might be happy at Mario Bohemian Cigar Store. Eggplant Parmesan, lasagna. This place hasn't changed in decades. Lots of decades. http://www.dishtip.com/d/ca/san-francisco/mario%27s-bohemian-cigar-store-cafe/eggplant-parmesan/2661810

http://sanfrancisco.menupages.com/restaurants/marios-bohemian-cigar-store/menu

It's kind of a bar, actually.

 

It is. But is also serves the dishes beachfan said he was looking for. However, his last post poses a problem. Upscale and old-style Italian-American red sauce seldom co-exist anymore. He's asking for a hot dog served on Limoges.

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