What takes place while the crew behind the most up-to-date eating place in San Francisco decides to open an offshoot of its extremely popular and wildly delicious eatery? Naturally, a grand slam is hit out of the park. Such is the case with Che Fico Alimentari, the recently opened little sister restaurant to Che Fico. From companions David Nayfeld, Angela Pinkerton, and Matt Brewer, Alimentari is an exceptional new addition to the metropolis’s eating scene and strives for any neighborhood food lover.
Like at Che Fico, Nayfeld oversees the culinary operations, Pinkerton is responsible for all things pastry, and Brewer runs the front of the residence. Although she’s no longer a partner, wine director Francesca Maniace is an essential part of the team and behind Alimentari’s awesome Italian wine list. While Che Fico serves Cal-Italian delicacies and artisanal cocktails, Alimentari is the quartet’s homage to Rome’s wine bars.
They’ve imported the top products from Italy and covered the walls with cans of tomatoes and lesser-regarded wine labels. It’s part wine bar, part grocery store, and part salumeria. The restaurant’s front appears like a deli with housemade bread, wallpaper with meat, and a chilly case of imported Italian cheese. The open kitchen is bustling and energetic, and the counter bar in front of it, which seats 12, is the perfect place for an at-ease date.
Although it’s much less formal than Che Fico, there’s something about Alimentari. It’s a transportive eating experience. A vibe may most effectively be described as exceedingly New York-esque when you stroll in. This is a place to be and to be seen. Rarely do you walk into an eating place in San Francisco and have each person flip to appearance and see who has stepped inside, but such is the case at Alimentari, and it’s a refreshing exchange of pace. This is wildly thrilling.
Once you sit down to consume, the revel in shifts, and you’re immediately trans. You’re immediately smooth to loosen up into the banquette and linger over an extremely top Sangiovese. Upstairs at Che Fico, it’s all about handcrafted, clean pasta; however, downstairs at Alimentari, the cuisine is Romain-stimulated, and pleasant Italian dried pasta is on the menu. But I’m getting beforehand of myself—an Italian meal and primarily come to the salumi, cheese, and bread.
The spreadable salami, called nduja, is smoky and scrumptiously porky. The housemade focaccia, slathered with whipped mascarpone, is heavenly. There’s sparkling mozzarella with candy solar-dried tomatoes, clean fava beans with chewy guanciale, and succulent spot prawn scampi. Everything is downright delicious. The pasta—rigatoni amatriciana, bucatini cacio e Pepe, spaghetti rage Alla Napoletana, and so forth.—is conventional and classic; however, it is accomplished to perfection.
It’s the form of pasta you will assume to discover at one of Rome’s top restaurants. Entrees encompass eggplant parmesan and braised short ribs with polenta, which are hearty and satisfying. Do a storeroom for dessert because the tiramisu is one of the nicest I’ve ever tasted. Che Fico Alimentari is a full-package eating place. It examines all the containers, from meals to scenes to wine, and then some. While there’s nevertheless a long wait to dine upstairs, Alimentari is just as precise as its predecessor. A famous new SF dining person has been born.
