Not a huge review but a brief synopsis: This is a new place in N Potrero with it’s own parking (!). No reservations but no wait at 7:15 on a Thursday, we got the last table. Fairly casual, we were in jeans and sweaters but you wouldn’t been too out of place in shorts and sandals.
The place smells great. Wine list has plenty of decent options (all interesting regional Italian stuff, no glory bottles). But, they are inexpensive bottles (mostly <$15 wholesale) marked up a lot ($35-50 list price) so with $15 corkage, BYO is the way to go.
The appetizers, based on what we ordered and what we saw on others’ tables, are mixed. Our arugula and endive salad ($7) was fantastic and about all you could ask for $7. Our braised artichokes ($4) were mildly undercooked, served cold (not a big deal but warm would have been nice) and the lemon oil drizzled on them was the best part. Oh well. A fava bean / burrata dish at the next table looked good and disappeared fast. No idea on the pasta dishes.
For pizzas we got a margherita and a margherita with egg and arugula. Both were excellent. I love Neapolitan pizza and of course I could pick these apart but for $10 and $14 respectively, they were awesome. I would say they weren’t quite as good as A16 but those who like their crust a little more cooked might lean the other way (I love the soft and chewy A16 crust). My first time getting a pizza with an egg on it. The egg is cracked into the middle just before it goes in the oven, so the white is “fried” into the sauce, the yolk is still reasonably runny. It was AWESOME. With arugula on it I was in heaven.
Either way for $54 with corkage ($15) and no fucking around with the lines / reservation systems at other places… we will surely come back, but not running back.
It was only in the past 6 months or a year that I (somehow?) went from being nauseated by runny yolks to not being able to get enough of them… thus never having ordered it. Also I order a plain Margherita about 95% of the time anyways.
Overall, from side dishes to pizzas, for my tastes I don’t think it really compares to A16, but it’s a bit cheaper and you can easily go on a lark instead of farting around w/ a reservation, so we’ll be back. Being able to park doesn’t suck either.
Just for an update on the Pizza world… Been to Delfina recently, A16 a couple of times recently, back to Nostra a while back, and finally to flour+water. flour+water was fantastic and is all around damned near as good as A16. I’d still give A16 a very slight nod, but it’s splitting hairs. I’d say Delfina is a distant third, and Nostra 4th, sticking w/in the confines of the city…
Another very good new place in SF is Tony’s in North Beach. I only went once, but our group of 6 tried 6 pizzas. All were excellent. The crust is on the crisp, chewy and well done side, which I loved. The toppings are unique, and some of them like truffles are on the expensive side. We did get some fresh heirlooms on one pizza (last summer) and that was about $28.
The wine list is decent with similar selections and mark ups to Pizza Nostra. There was a short disagreement over whether a wine was corked or not (it was!), and a very strange comment from the bar manager who said it was so slightly corked, he might serve it to people by the glass and see if the customers complained/commented. I can’t remember what their corkage is, but I don’t think it was unreasonable. We brought in at least 4 bottles without a problem.