Last week Toasticles was craving Italian food from a typical San Francisco Italian restaurant like the ones his family went to when he was a kid. So we went to a typical San Francisco Italian restaurant – except it was in SOUTH San Francisco.
In my 40-plus years in this area I had never been to Bertolucci’s, which has been sitting at the corner of Cypress and Lux Streets since 1928. In 2005 it became Sodini’s Bertolucci’s, which is kind of awkward. The place has been renovated but still looks like an old-fashioned dinner house, with big booths and decorations consisting of columns, opera posters, and oversized wine bottles.
I ordered Veal Milanese (politically incorrect, I know) which came with a small salad with creamy Italian dressing, garlicky vegetables, and polenta, for $22.00. Toasty ordered the same thing. He does this a lot, which says one of two things: either he has no will of his own and cannot summon the energy to choose his own entrée, or we are so much alike and in sync that we are really one soul in two bodies. Either way, I’m scared. And it annoys me because sometimes I would like him to try something different so that I can taste his.
The food was good, not great. The veal was fried crispy, and even though it was kind of thin it was not overdone. I wonder if it is supposed to be THAT thin, though. We did the early bird thing as Toasty had to get to work by 8:00PM and we are rapidly turning into senior citizens (please stop me before I start putting plastic slipcovers on my furniture). The place was empty when we arrived but full when we left. We’ll probably go again.
I know Toasty felt comfortable there, and I have to admit I was also reminded of restaurants of my youth in Illinois – Italian restaurants like D’Amico’s and Al’s Steak House, places Tony Soprano would find comfortable. Tony would probably like Bertolucci’s as well.
Sodini’s Bertolucci’s
421 Cypress Avenue
In my 40-plus years in this area I had never been to Bertolucci’s, which has been sitting at the corner of Cypress and Lux Streets since 1928. In 2005 it became Sodini’s Bertolucci’s, which is kind of awkward. The place has been renovated but still looks like an old-fashioned dinner house, with big booths and decorations consisting of columns, opera posters, and oversized wine bottles.
I ordered Veal Milanese (politically incorrect, I know) which came with a small salad with creamy Italian dressing, garlicky vegetables, and polenta, for $22.00. Toasty ordered the same thing. He does this a lot, which says one of two things: either he has no will of his own and cannot summon the energy to choose his own entrée, or we are so much alike and in sync that we are really one soul in two bodies. Either way, I’m scared. And it annoys me because sometimes I would like him to try something different so that I can taste his.
The food was good, not great. The veal was fried crispy, and even though it was kind of thin it was not overdone. I wonder if it is supposed to be THAT thin, though. We did the early bird thing as Toasty had to get to work by 8:00PM and we are rapidly turning into senior citizens (please stop me before I start putting plastic slipcovers on my furniture). The place was empty when we arrived but full when we left. We’ll probably go again.
I know Toasty felt comfortable there, and I have to admit I was also reminded of restaurants of my youth in Illinois – Italian restaurants like D’Amico’s and Al’s Steak House, places Tony Soprano would find comfortable. Tony would probably like Bertolucci’s as well.
Sodini’s Bertolucci’s
421 Cypress Avenue
South San Francisco, CA 94080
(650) 588-1625
http://www.sodinisbertoluccis.com/
http://www.sodinisbertoluccis.com/
