Palmabella's Passions

I have tried to get a reservation at this trendy San Francisco restaurant on our last two or three visits to the Bay Area, and finally succeeded! A-16 (named for the autostrada that connects Naples to Puglia) is a packed restaurant specializing in Neopolitan pizza and food from the region of Campagna. They have a wonderful selection of both red and white wines from various regions of Italy. I have drooled over recipes in my copy of their award-winning cookbook (A-16 Food & Wine by Nate Appleman and Shelley Lindgren) for a year, and we were pleasantly surprised by both the food and service.

We started with TWO burrata and crostini appetizers for the four of us. Brad had pasta: "Scialatielli with ragu di testa, wild arugula and pecorino canestrato", while Roxanne, Federico and I chose pizza: fungi for Federico, Salsiccia for Roxanne, and fig, ricotta and prosciutto for me. The wines were great, the coffee was perfect, and we had a great evening!