San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Focaccia at new cafe in S.F. stunning, just like the view
The Presidio’s newest restaurant was packed recently with people ogling both the stunning, unobstructed views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the golden focaccia pizza.
Il Parco debuted in mid-January at 215 Lincoln Blvd., overlooking the Tunnel Tops park and waterfront. (It’s now easily one of the city’s most scenic outdoor dining experiences, particularly on a sunny day.) Eduardo Rallo, who runs nearby restaurant Colibri, brought on a nationally renowned pizza consultant to launch the Italian restaurant. Anthony Falco rose to prominence at famed Brooklyn pizzeria Roberta’s and has spent the last several years helping restaurants across the country perfect their pizzas.
Falco was manning the pizza oven at Il Parco during opening week. His expertise has paid off: Il Parco’s standout sourdough focaccia is the best thing on the large menu. It’s available throughout the day in different forms, from a breakfast sandwich to pizza.
Il Parco also serves pastries, salads and pastas, with a grab-and-go section for picnics. Grab a coffee or a glass of chilled red wine with a warm slice of bubbly focaccia and soak up the view. The open-air restaurant boasts a large outdoor patio partially enclosed by enormous windows that provide protection from wind and fog without blocking the scenery, and the Presidio is, of course, full of beautiful picnic spots.
Here are three of the best ways to enjoy focaccia at Il Parco.
Focaccia barese
Pizza isn’t served until noon, so if you’re there for breakfast, go for the focaccia barese ($4). It’s Il Parco’s simplest, and arguably best, focaccia execution. The top is delightfully (and audibly) crisp and golden brown, giving way to a soft, almost custardy interior. Salty Castelvetrano olives and tomato sink into the bread’s bubbly crevasses. More breakfast options — a breakfast focaccia sandwich and breakfast pizza — are expected to be in the works, too.
Focaccia sandwiches
Lunch includes several focaccia panini, including a spicy meatball sandwich and a New Orleans-inspired muffuletta ($13) stacked with mortadella, soppressata and prosciutto crudo from Berkeley charcuterie specialist Fra’ Mani.
Focaccia pizza
Il Parco specializes in pan pizzas, sold whole or by the slice, with toppings like mortadella with pistachio pesto and gooey stracciatella cheese or spicy soppressata sweetened with honey. The four-cheese pizza ($11.50) is very of-the-Bay-Area, dotted with Cypress Grove’s tangy Humboldt Fog goat milk cheese and Cowgirl Creamery’s Mt Tam Triple Cream.
Il Parco. 215 Lincoln Blvd., San Francisco. Open 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 7 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday; 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday; and 8 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday. ilparcosf.com