Sometimes I get spaghetti and meatballs in SF. This is my tier list.
Tier A Italian Homemade (~$15) - ok, not technically spaghetti and meatballs because they don’t make spaghetti. Fettucine and meatballs. It’s fresh pasta made in house, and is cooked al dente and really good. The meatballs are reasonably tender and juicy. But really it’s all about that delicious fresh pasta. Also, the sauce is not watery and clings nicely to the pasta. The best spaghetti fettucine and meatballs I’ve had in the city
Tier B Tosca Cafe ($28)
I liked their spaghetti and meatballs but on a recent visit they’ve fallen off a bit. Still, al dente pasta and very tender small meatballs.
Tier D (aka Tier meh) Original Joe’s ($25.95)
I like a lot of dishes at Original Joe’s, but their spaghetti and meatballs is kind of meh. The sauce (a meat sauce rather than a tomato sauce) was a bit watery. The noodles were cooked a bit past al dente. The meatballs were pretty good, tender, beefy, not too dense.
Harlequin ($20)
A new place in SoMa on 4th Street just off Market, where Keystone used to be. Similar to Original Joe’s - the noodles were a bit past al dente. And the sauce was kind of tasteless. Meatballs were fine, but a bit lacking in quantity.
Former Delfina chef opens SF restaurant dedicated to affordable pasta
Fromm SFGate:
Pasta Supply Co., at 236 Clement St., is a new venture from celebrated chef Anthony Strong. The immediate attention grabber might be the deli display cases chock full of hand-cut pastas, for those looking to buy fresh pasta to cook at home. But the restaurant just started dinner service, much to my delight and that of my co-workers, who have been stalking the restaurant’s Instagram for months.
I’ve not been to Buca di Beppo but yeah Emmy’s is not one of the top contenders, my main issue with their spaghetti are the noodles which have been a bit overdone. And sometimes I like those overcooked noodles perhaps out of a sense of nostalgia for the overcooked spaghetti and tomato sauce I remember from some school fairs. I still put theirs a bit above the bottom two in my list though.
I went there once, I think for my daughter’s sixteenth birthday. Or maybe it was “The Stinking Rose” . I recall we took a limo, I forgot my wallet, and the driver raced back to somewhere in Solano County and got it from my husband. I think we also saw “Beach blanket Babylon”.
Also, my husband does like spaghetti and meatballs, so I want to follow this thread.
You know, I did find the fettucine and meatballs a bit better at the Hayes Valley location than at the North Beach one. I wonder though if it is partly due to a psychological effect from the paper plates at the North Beach location though vs. the Hayes location which uses proper dishes.
Great thread! More of a sandwich thing… how do you rank Mario’s Bohemian Cigar?
Yeah, it’s more of a neighborhood spot than a destination place. The Dolly Parton pinball machine is currently out of service, but is is a nice appetizer before hitting the pinball buffet across the street at Outer Orbit.
I wonder if al dente needs to be specified when it’s paired with meatballs? I ate there a few weeks ago, and found my kids’ spaghetti (w/ meatballs) overdone for my taste. On the other hand, I was pleased that my puttanesca spaghetti was not only al dente but also with a bolder anchovy presence than I’d expect
Spaghetti Bolognese with Meatballs at the Gold Mirror in SF, an old-school Italian restaurant on Taraval in the Parkside neighborhood.
Al dente noodles in a meaty Bolognese sauce that was not watery, with two large pork and beef meatballs. I would put this in tier B-. The main minus for me was the meatballs could have used a touch more salt (or parm), but this was a solid spaghetti and meatballs.
I tried the 1 Franklin location, to go, Fettuccini with bolognese and meatballs. We didn’t care for the meatballs, really dense, not much flavor but the pasta was good.
I was surprised they refused to accept cash, only credit card.
Family’s spaghetti+meatballs aficionado with small stomach scarfed down large portion (no box). Everything we ordered tastes homemade (maybe not bread) and menu trumpets gnocchi:
. I recall we took a limo, I forgot my wallet, and the driver raced back to somewhere in Solano County and got it from my husband. I think we also saw “Beach blanket Babylon”.
vs. the Hayes location which uses proper dishes.
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