SF: Lunching at Pizzeria Delfina

Even before they opened at noon, people were already waiting in front of Pizzeria Delfina. The good thing about being there as they opened though, is that you get seated pretty much immediately. The crowd filled up seats minutes after the door opened, both inside and on the sidewalk of 18th St.

Then again, that also means they're suddenly starting to cook for a full house, so we waited for food staring at our condiments plate in anticipation. Can't wait til I can put this stuff on my pie.

The fried sand dabs we got as appetizer (special of the day) came out first.
Piping hot and crispy sand dabs were topped with crisped spinach. A drizzle of lemon made these pieces of fish amazing. Definitely a great start to my Delfina meal. I would watch out for these babies on the menu next time and will definitely get them again.

The first pie: Napoletana (tomato, anchovies, capers, hot peppers, olives, and oregano - $10)
Delfina's pizza is a saucy thin crust pizza - thin enough to put the focus on the sauce and toppings but not too thin that the pizza would fall apart.
The Napoletana here is a great representation of the classic where great ingredients are put together well. My only complaint with this pie is that it was pretty burnt at parts. Luckily this didn't happen on our second order.

The second pie: The Purgatorio (spicy tomato sauce, pecorino romano cheese, 2 eggs)
Everything with eggs is good I'd say and this is quite an interesting pizza. The runny yolk does well at cutting the spiciness of the tomato sauce and sopping up the remaining yolk with their delightful crust was pretty amazing. Not burnt either. We were all quite happy with this pizza.

It was a very satisfying lunch on a Sunday afternoon. They had desserts and they probably would've been good, but with Bi-Rite across the street ... tough choice but this time around we opted for Bi-Rite.

Pizzeria Delfina
3611 18th St
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 437-6800
www.pizzeriadelfina.com

Product Review: POMx, Iced Coffee with Antioxidants?

Being a foodblogger, I occasionally get samples of some interesting food products. I'm no Rumdood who has half of his living room floor covered with samples of rum or LA&OC F00die who gets dessert bars delivered, but still, once in a blue moon ...

Like when I was asked if I wanted to try POMx Iced Coffee spiked with antioxidants from POM. POM made iced coffee? Yep, guess they do now.
POMx Iced Coffee now comes in three flavors: Vanilla, Cafe au Lait, and Chocolate and is advertised with a cute slogan: Healthy Buzz! The iced coffee tasted lighter than Starbucks' bottled frappuccino and goes down quite smoothly. I'm sure you're not surprised but I especially like the chocolate one - sweet, chocolatey, and smooth. Do I feel healthier? It's impossible to tell with just one bottle unfortunately!

If you want to make things more interesting, you can always mix it with some ... whiskey perhaps? I'm calling this the Very American Whiskey, with all that Americans love: Jack Daniel's, coffee, and antioxidants.

Do 1 oz of JD on the rocks and top it off with POMx chocolate iced coffee - remember, the taste and body of POMx iced coffee is pretty light, so if you use too much, the taste of the Jack will be overpowering.

Upcoming Events! October 15-25

October 15-18. Okay, so this is not in LA area, but the Tequila Expo is going on down in Tijuana, and I'm planning to check it out with a few bloggers led by Street Gourmet LA. The festivities start at 1 pm every day on Av. Revolucion.

Saturday, October 17. Stonefire Grill celebrates the grand opening of its Pasadena outpost by giving out FREE meal to those who make reservation to dine between 5 and 9 pm. While your meal is free, tips are being collected and donated to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, so please, please tip well! More details on the Yelp event page. Reservations are required and limited to parties of four; call Meredith McWade at 818-991-4054 ext. 0. 473 North Rosemead Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91107

Sunday, October 18. LA's very own San Antonio Winery is holding "Taste of Italy" and has prepared samplings of food from various regions of Italy (with the wine pairing of course). The tastings include regions you rarely hear of such as Antipasto of Umbrian smoked dried meats, mushrooms, cipolline, artichoke hearts and olives (Wine: Armaldo Caprai, Grecante 2007) and Grilled seafood pescatore kebabs from Liguria (wine: Luzano Verdicchio de Castello di Jesi, 2008). 10 dishes in all + dessert for $50 pp. 2-5 pm, 737 Lamar Street. Call (323) 330- 8771 for reservation.

Monday, October 19. Truffle Dinner at Minestraio Trattoria. To see the menu and details, see my previous post here.

Sunday, October 25. Los Angeles Magazine once again presents The Food Event.
Last year's Food Event was a great fun with cooking demos and contest between the top chefs in LA.
This year promises to do the same with cooking demonstrations from exciting chefs such as Ludo Lefebvre from the heavily missed Ludobites (come back soon, Ludo!), John Sedlar from Rivera, Suzanne Tracht from Jar, Andrew Kirschner from Wilshire, and David Myers from Sona and Comme Ca. There will of course be tons of food and wine samplings from Petrossian, Gordon Ramsay, Westside Tavern, Loteria Grill, and numerous wineries.
The event is held at a lovely outdoor setting at Saddlerock Ranch in Malibu Hills. 1-4 pm.
Tickets are $95 and benefit the American Heart Association and Kids Courage Foundation.