Still Smitten: Five Things To Love About Sotto Mare When I returned to San Francisco in 2006, fresh from eight frenetic years in New York City, I was looking for a place to settle down–a city that I could call home. Initially, I chose North Beach because the people … Read the rest
Richie Azzolino Of Sotto Mare: The Road Back From Covid If you were out in San Francisco this past weekend, you probably saw exactly what I saw: San Francisco is coming alive once again. The streets were thronged here in North Beach on Friday and Saturday, and although masks were … Read the rest
Never Better: My Birthday At North Beach’s Sotto Mare Growing up in a big and very traditional Italian-American family, from an early age I was immersed in the foods of Italy. The dishes my Calabrese grandmother cooked, and that she taught my mother after my parents were wed, defined … Read the rest
North Beach Classic: A Local’s Review Of Sotto Mare I’m a food guy, and as anyone in my orbit can attest, this is nothing new. I’ve always been this way, largely due to my Italian grandmother’s influence. For Grandma, food was the primary activity; when I was growing up, … Read the rest
Sotto Mare’s Rich Azzolino Dishes On Seafood, His Retail Fish Market In case you’ve been traveling abroad for awhile, there has been a sea change on America’s fine dining scene over the last decade. As the farm-to-table food revolution that started in Alice Waters’ humble Berkeley kitchen at Chez Panisse 46 … Read the rest
Born In The Beach: Sotto Mare’s Secret To Success Just in case this is your first visit to the blog, let me share something with you: I absolutely love Sotto Mare. The modest, unassuming restaurant on Green Street is one of the best in the city, and one … Read the rest
North Beach’s Sotto Mare: The New School Is Old School In 2007, Gigi Fiorucci opened North Beach’s acclaimed Sotto Mare, to little fanfare. Though Gigi had been in the restaurant business his whole life, he had no way of knowing what kind of spectacular success the place would eventually … Read the rest
Betty Lou’s Seafood & Grill Opens In North Beach – Table Of Content There are few things I enjoy more in San Francisco than a meal of fresh, well-prepared seafood. Salmon in particular is a favorite treat, grilled a perfect medium rare. There are a handful of places in this city that can … Read the rest
North Beach Fix: Indian Summer Edition Time marches on, even in the treasured time capsule that is San Francisco’s North Beach. Change is inexorable, and after ten years here in the Beach, I’ve learned to take the constant transformation with a grain of salt. I’ve seen … Read the rest