SFReview
photo credit: Mary Lagier
The Italian Homemade Company
Included In
The Italian Homemade has three locations around the city, but the one in North Beach is a little different than the others (and is one of our favorite places to drop into whenever we need a pasta fix). All of the food is served on paper plates, their soundtrack of Italian disco always makes us want to dance like we’re in a deleted scene from Mamma Mia!, and if you peek behind the cash register into the “Pasta Lab,” you can see employees making trays of fresh pasta. From open to close, it’s buzzing with a combination of tourists who walked in off Columbus and people from the neighborhood grabbing a quick bite. But even when there’s a line stretching out the door, it moves fast and you’ll be glad you waited it out once your food arrives.
photo credit: Haley Heramb
While everything on the menu is solid, you come here for the pasta. It’s a mix-and-match scenario of a few different pastas they make fresh every day and your choice of one of seven sauces. From tagliatelle with a heavy pork and beef bolognese to salty prosciutto-filled tortellini with pesto or butter and sage, it’s all good enough that you’ll chuckle a little when you think about eating something you like this much off a paper plate. The price usually hovers around $14 per order, and for that you’ll get enough noodles and sauce piled up and covered in parmigiano to feed two hungry people - even though you’re going to want it all to yourself.
photo credit: Haley Heramb
There are also salads with bresaola or buffalo mozzarella and piadina sandwiches wrapped in a thin flatbread. They’re stuffed with things like mortadella and scamorza, and are a good thing to swap in when you want a break from pasta, assuming that’s something that happens from time to time.
Stopping in here for lunch on a random Wednesday works just as well as coming on a Friday night before checking out a show at Cobb’s or Bimbo’s. Plus, it’s a great place to get takeout from if your sweatpants feel like they’re sewed to your couch on a Sunday afternoon.