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John Birdsall
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No. 65, brioche bread pudding from Tartine Bakery.
Way back in January, SFoodie began a daily diary of our 92 favorite things to eat and drink around here. Why 92? It was the exact number of posting days from the start of 2010 till today, the day
SF Weekly's
Best of San Francisco issue hit the streets ― our version of advent, if you will. In
Part 1 and
Part 2, we recapped dishes 1 through 61; in this third and final installment, we take you home. Major thanks to Jonathan Kauffman, Andrew Simmons, and Carolyn Alburger, who collaborated on this long march through the city's best. And thanks to Web editor Alexia Tsotsis for her tireless paginating. Grab a fork and meet us after the jump.
click to enlarge
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It's sort of about the sauce.
Number 62: Prupisceddu in Umidu (Stewed Octopus) from La Ciccia In the wrong hands, octopus tentacles can end up having the tough, rubbery texture of an over-abused kid's toy. At Noe Valley Sardinian eatery
La Ciccia, however, they are stewed slowly until they are meaty, chewy yet pliant, bathed in a rich, piquant, brick-red tomato sauce. As good as the octopus (called prupisceddu in umidu, $11) gets, the sauce is half the appeal. Even diners indifferent to carbohydrates scuffle over the basket of dry, otherwise un-noteworthy bread so they can get to dunking. Unique among Italian restaurants in San Francisco, La Ciccia has a lot to offer ― like fregula pasta with fresh ricotta and grated cured tuna heart, for example ― but a trip here wouldn't be right without a dip in that ruddy, ocean-kissed bowl.
La Ciccia 291 30th St. (at Church), 550-8114; dinner only, Tues.-Sun.
