Restaurants: Tommaso Ristorante Italiano

We walked in to Tommaso’s at 6:20 pm on a Friday and were met with throngs of people waiting for tables. An older gentleman with a thick Italian accent jovially informed us that a table for three would be 35 minutes. “Great,” I thought as I reached for my phone to try to find another restaurant in the neighborhood that wasn’t infested with tourists. (Not an easy feat in North Beach.) By the time I had fished my phone out of my pocket, though, my friends were already ordering a glass of wine from the same Italian gentlemen. Well, you know, when in Rome (or North Beach)... So I ordered a glass as well. Maybe it was the wine; maybe it was the charming Italian gentleman. Those 35 minutes seemed to melt away with the day’s stresses, and as we were led through the din and heavenly smells to our table, I was very glad we decided to stay.

We were very hungry, and – at this point – in a hurry, so we kept our order simple: asparagus a la vinaigrette, a caesar salad, and a pizza. The caesar arrived first. I’m a bit of a caesar salad snob, so I was very disappointed when I spied store-bought croutons in the salad. I begrudgingly took a bite and was amazed at how good it was – rich, creamy, very garlicky, and not too acidic. (Caesar dressings that are too tangy tend to taste bottled to me.) I ended up polishing off a healthy portion, all the while pretending the croutons were homemade. It’s a shame, though, because those croutons kept a very good salad from being truly excellent.

Up next was the asparagus a la vinaigrette – chilled asparagus in a tangy Italian vinaigrette. It was very basic, but very good, and a nice contrast to the richness of the salad.

We were told by a friend that we absolutely had to get the pizza with fresh spinach and shaved parmesan, so we did. Before it arrived, I wasn’t sure why she had made such a big deal about this particular pizza. Parmesan and spinach are, after all, a pretty common pairing. This pizza, though, was much more than the sum of its parts. It arrived with a pile of fresh spinach leaves on top that were gently wilted by the heat of the crust and sauce underneath. Topping it all was a generous portion of large parmesan shavings. The combination of the flavors and textures was incredibly good. The only problem with this pizza is that it will most likely prevent me from trying anything else on the menu, because I will want to order it at every future visit.

We didn’t have time (or room) for dessert, but I’ll be sure to try it next time.

Service was friendly and efficient, which is just what I’d expect from an old-school Italian restaurant like Tommaso’s.

The experience was soooooo worth the wait.

★ ★ ★

Tommaso Ristorante Italiano
1042 Kearny St
San Francisco, CA 94133
(415) 398-9696

(Originally written 05/21/2007)