Ideale in San Francisco, CA
One of the restaurants recommended by Rebecca, Jodi's cousin, was Ideale, an Italian restaurant located in North Beach, that serves Roman dishes. When you enter that place, you would think that it is small, but, in fact, they have a second dining room, in the back. I like observing what is going on in restaurants and quickly realized that many patrons are regulars, some of them speaking Italian, that is always a good sign.
Dining room at Ideale in San Francisco, CA
We decided to just order some entrees and have dessert, rather than going through a full meal with appetizers, not that there were no appetizers on the menu that we would have liked, but more because of all the food we had that day. Rebecca ordered the tortelloni alla paesana, that are homemade tortelloni, stuffed with veal and served with prosciutto and mushrooms, in a light cream reduction. It was pretty good, tasty, the tortellini being well made and perfectly cooked. According to Rebecca, usually it is better: I cannot imagine what it is then as I really liked it that time!
Tortelloni alla paesana at Ideale in San Francisco, CA
Jodi ordered the spaghetti al cacio e pepe, that are homemade spaghetti with pecorino cheese and black pepper. A succulent dish that was a bit salty, because of the cheese. Again, great pasta, well made and perfectly cooked. I also appreciated the amount of sauce in the dish.
Spaghetti al cacio e pepe at Ideale in San Francisco, CA
On my side, I went for the risotto, served with squid, mussels, clams and shrimp. It was very good, cooked in a light white wine sauce, it had a generous amount of seafood from where emanated a fragrant smell that made me want to dig into this dish right away.
Risotto at Ideale in San Francisco, CA
We finished up with dessert and got two classics:
The tiramisu:
Tiramisu at Ideale in San Francisco, CA
The panna cotta:
Panna cotta at Ideale in San Francisco, CA
Both desserts were delicious and it was hard not to finish them. The tiramisu was very creamy with nice hints of coffee, and the panna cotta had a perfect texture, with the right density.
We had a nice dinner at Ideale and I finally regretted not to have an appetizer that evening, not that I left hungry, but more to try something else there from their menu. It is a good Italian restaurant and the fact that they make their own pasta is definitely a plus.
Enjoy (I did)!
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