Day 7 - Farina Pizza & Cucina Italiana / Craftsman & Wolves (San Francisco)

One other uber important thing I had to do in San Francisco was to meet up with Charlene, who I had not seen since Russell was three days old. 

As I had the whole she-gang with me, Charlene picked Farina Pizza which was friendly for babies, in-laws and catching up with dear old friends. 

Insalata di polpo con patate

Marinated baby octopus with lemon, parsley and potatoes

I would never have thought to pair potatoes with octopus but it worked. I was particularly impressed with the potatoes; they didn't taste like the mealy scuds we get back at home. 

Insalata all’Amalfitana con serzetto di arance

Arugula salad served with orange segments, fennel, black olives and walnuts

The couple of salads that we had were light and refreshing - characteristic of the fresh food this region is blessed with. 

Insalata pentacolore con aceto di lavanda e fragole

Baby spring lettuce mix served with lavender vinaigrette and strawberries

The pizzas, chewy and slightly charred, were scrumptious in a way that reinforced the Neapolitan's reign as the king of pizzas in my books. 

Italia
Fior di latte mozzarella, prosciutto, arugula, olive oil and shaved parmesan

The Italia was my favourite pizza. There is just something about cured meats on pizza that is unmistakably classic. 

Tonno e Cipolla

Fior di latte mozzarella, onion, Albacore tuna, olive oil and basil

Never been a canned tuna kind of person but this was pretty tasty. Just goes to show you can't go wrong with melted cheese and bread. 

D.O.C.

Fresh cherry tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, romano cheese, olive oil and fresh basil

Relatively unadorned, I was easily bought over by the simple fresh ingredients. 

For desserts, we walked several doors down to Craftmens. Undeniably hipster, it was fortunately quite empty and our large horde could plonk down comfortably on a communal table. 

Unlike most hipsters that cafes that rely on homely and sometimes, outsourced bakes, the sweet treats on display were delicate and modern. Think petit French pastries as opposed to all American bakes. 

We shared a chocolate salted caramel brownie, lemon meringue tart, chocolate praline slice and a strawberry pistachio cake.

After spending quite a bit of time deciding where to go for dessert (we had to think about baby, the cold, the drive back to Cupertino etc), I'm glad we spent more time catching up at Craftsman & Wolves.