Trattoria makes a zabaglione to remember
This is Chronicle restaurant critic Michael Bauer’s Between Meals column, an update of the restaurants he visits as he searches for the next Top 100 Restaurants. His main dining reviews, which include a ratings box, are written only after three or more visits.
It’s been more than six years since I made my last visit to Jackson Fillmore Trattoria, the tiny southern Italian restaurant opened by Jack Krietzman in 1985.
I was happy to discover it is still a crowded neighborhood spot — a good sign. When Krietzman opened the restaurant on a shoestring more than 30 years ago, he simply repurposed the existing sushi bar; now the bar is lined with people eating plates of spaghetti.
I was also happy that two dishes I remembered were still on the menu: the raw zucchini salad to start and the warm zabaglione to end.
The zabaglione is a simple, classic dessert that most kitchens won’t tackle because it has to be made to order and takes a cook’s undivided attention and much practice.
I know that firsthand. When I was writing “The Secrets of Success Cookbook” 18 years ago, Krietzman gave me the recipe and I tested it several times. Even though it requires only four ingredients — egg yolks, sugar, Sherry and white wine — it can be tricky to master the technique. You have to continually whip and warm the yolks over the flame or the yolks won’t rise and turn light and glossy. Whip too long and they begin to deflate.
Krietzman says he learned to make the dessert at the now-closed Vanessi’s on Broadway, one of the first upscale restaurants to have an open kitchen. When he was getting ready for tryouts at that restaurant in the late 1970s, he practiced this dessert, taking 10 tries to get it right. In Krietzman’s recipe, a bit of crushed berries is spooned into the bottom of the serving glass; the hot zabaglione is poured in until it overflows and pools on the plate below. If I were doing it at home, I would add sliced berries to help break up the richness.
Carpaccio di zucchini ($10.25) was the other memorable dish that’s been on the menu since about 2001. That’s when Krietzman went to Italy and fell in love with the combination. It blends raw julienned zucchini, olive oil, toasted almonds and loads of shaved pecorino cheese.
On my return visit it was comforting to see that much remains the same and that the food and service are better than I remember from last time. On this visit I also enjoyed several other classics. The carbonara ($17.75) was good, although it tasted as if the cooks had left salt out of the pasta water. The local red snapper ($23.75) was sauteed in a spicy tomato sauce.
More than the food, what impressed me were the number of regulars. They often hugged the waiters and no doubt ordered what they did the last time they were in. The restaurant has been around long enough that diners who started eating there as children are now bringing in their own kids.
It’s the type of place that gives esprit de corps to a neighborhood. This is a restaurant that has earned its place in diners’ hearts. 2506 Fillmore St. (at Jackson), San Francisco; (415) 346-5288. www.jacksonfillmoresf.com. Dinner Wednesday-Sunday. Reservations and credit cards accepted.
Don Pistos does Mexican cuisine like no one else
I know of no other Mexican restaurant that offers a hamburger, but then again I know of no other Mexican restaurant like Don Pistos in North Beach.
How many other places, for example, offer a 2-pound lobster ($48) cooked in pork fat and served with griddled tortillas, beans and rice?
It’s really special, and the pork fat — or maybe it’s the cilantro butter melted into it — seems to intensify the flavor of the seafood.
As for the hamburguesa ($14), the meat is mixed with onions that have been sauteed in bacon fat. The meat marinates overnight, and then the beef is ground with crisp strips of bacon. The halfpound grilled patty is served on a locally made bun with a generous dollop of guacamole. It’s worth ordering, but then you’d have to pass up the enchiladas ($16) or the 19-ounce mesquite grilled pork chop ($37).
The restaurant was started eight years ago by Pete Mrabe, who has been a godsend to empty North Beach storefronts. In the last few years he’s opened three other places in North Beach: Chubby Noodle, Pete’s and Central Station Deli and Market.
He established a firm reputation at Don Pistos, and much of the food is excellent. On the last visit, I especially liked the pork tamales ($13), where the masa was moist and tender and the slow-braised meat intense with chile and spices, and the carnitas tacos ($12) served with a wedge of lime.
The kitchen also makes Mexican sashimi ($14) with local salmon, and chorizo and mussels ($15) in a white wine broth. And considering they have only a wine and beer license, they’ve come up with an excellent version of the margarita ($8) using agave wine.
The service, too, is distinctive — efficient and a bit sassy. It strikes just the right tone for this Mexican hybrid, which now has a second location in the Marina with a Tequila bar and different menu.
510 Union St. (near Grant), San Francisco; (415) 395-0939 or www.donpistos.com. Dinner Monday-Friday. Open continuously 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday. Reservations for 6 or more.
Michael Bauer is The San Francisco Chronicle’s restaurant critic and editor at large. Email: mbauer@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @michaelbauer1 Instagram: @michaelbauer1