MENUS I LOVE PART 1: Delarosa SF

People wonder why I don’t “review” restaurants on Tasty Bits and I always respond by saying that I like to write about topics that are accessible to all, so I try not to write about restaurants, until now.

There are certain menus that I love because they either contain a few items that are ridiculously good, I crave when I haven’t had them for a while and/or want to try at home.

I figure that if I can get chefs to share a recipe or recipes from their amazing menus, then it becomes relevant to all. Of course, you can always eat at the actual restaurants when you come visit SF. By the way, when are you coming?

Inside Delarosa… always packed during business hours. Photo Henrik Kam.

DELAROSA

I love Delarosa and I am very lucky that it is in relative walking distance to my house. One of the owners, Adriano Paganini, has turned into quite the restaurant magnate. He co-owns three of the tastiest restaurants in SF, Delarosa, Beretta, Starbelly and just opened a new one called Lolinda where I was lucky enough to have been invited to the sneak preview party the other night. It was finger licking good Argentinian food with a California sensibility. I can’t wait to go back.

Back to Delarosa. If you are in SF, you must go for lunch, dinner, a snack or a cocktail. The food is delicious/addictive i.e. small plates, pizza, Italian… I’ll give you a link. The atmosphere is fun and unpretentious with a little bit of sexy. You are just as likely to spot a gorgeous woman or a newborn baby and sometimes a gorgeous woman with a newborn baby, a dog and a set of grandparents.

Mixology Prep

The chef and co-owner is, the very Italian, Ruggero Gadaldi. I feel like we are old pals because of how much I love his food. The cocktails are incredible as well. I walked in one morning to buy a gift certificate only to find the bartender/mixologist preparing fresh juices for the days cocktails.

I have so many favorites on their menu, but I will be sharing the recipe for one of the best salads I have ever had, and in my not-so-humble opinion, the best salad in San Francisco. The beet carpaccio salad, typed up for us by Ruggero himself. What makes this salad dance is the truffle vinaigrette and the ricotta salata. I will list a few other dishes at the end of this post that make me dance. They actually have great music in the bathroom where I have been known to dance.

THE Beet Carpaccio Salad – Photo Henrik Kam

DELAROSA’S BEET CARPACCIO SALAD

Serves 4

1   medium size golden beet
1   medium size red beet
2  bunches arugula, washed
4 oz  pecorino ricotta salata* shaved (salty cheese similar to a hard feta)
2  red radishes thin sliced
8 Tbsp.    olive oil
2 Tbsp.    truffle-mushroom paste*
1 Tbsp     sherry vinegar
2 Tbsp     water
1 Tbsp     lemon juice

1/ Trim the extremity of the beets and wash under current water, place them in a roasting pan with 2 cups of water, season them with 4 tbsp. olive oil, salt and fresh ground black pepper, cover with aluminum foil and bake in a 475ºF oven for 1 ½  hours or until tender, remove from oven on a plate, set aside.
2/ When still luke warm remove the skin with the help of a kitchen towel. Set aside till cold, then slice them thin with a mandolin and arrange them on four large salad dishes near the edges. Season the sliced beets with salt.
3/ Fill the center of the dish with arugula that has been tossed in a bowl with salt and lemon juice.
4/ In a bowl, mix the truffle-mushroom paste with sherry vinegar, water and the rest of olive oil, salt and then pour on top of arugula
5/ Again with a mandoline thinly slice and arrange on top of arugula the ricotta and the red radishes, grind some fresh black pepper on top and serve

MY OTHER FAVORITE DISHES – Click here for full menu

• Grilled Burrata bruschetta with honey and toasted hazlenuts (I think that is the recipe)
• Fava Bean Bruschetta
• Papardelle Napoletana (papardelle with a pork shoulder ragu… OMG)
• Pan fried Brussel sprouts (when in season) with a very dangerous caper aioli
• Lightly breaded and fried asparagus with the same capero aioli a.k.a crack sauce
• Beef spiedini
• Hot salame, coppa, diavolichio pizza
• Cocktail: El Diablo- blanco tequila,lime,ginger,agave,cassis

Thanks to Lisa Nourse, their wonderful Marketing and PR maven, for facilitating this and thanks to Chef Ruggero for generously sharing his recipe with us.