Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Picking Up Food in SF

Gentle Friends in keeping with my Wednesday is SF day - I thought I would talk about a couple of places we recently visited.... first up would be Holey Bagel....

....  it is right down on 24th Street..... so within walking distance of home, and they have some of the best bagels in SF - we stopped on the way to Mass on Sunday and picked up these....

... a sesame bagel for Rico and a Bialy for me.  I knew to stop before Mass as they run out of bialy's very quickly and since we go to the early one, 8 am, we were stopping by at 7:30 am and even that early they only had 3 left in the case.  What prompted this stop was the hunk of cream cheese in the fridge for what I was baking later in the afternoon (more about that tomorrow) and I just couldn't see all that creaminess going to waste!!  BTW they were delicious and hit the spot when we got home!!
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Yesterday on the way home we got a wild hair about dinner and stopped at....

... Lucca Ravioli Company on Valencia Street.  They have been around since 1925 and have been doing great Italian food for 75+ years.  We knew they had pre-made pizza dough, sauce and cheese already to pick up and that's what we did.  I got some snaps...

... these paper signs in the window change all the time depending on the specials they have going...

... the ceiling has a big mural of Italy that I couldn't get in a single photo - the store is small and there are many shelves and when we were there were quite a few patrons waiting to get to the counter, so getting a good picture of the ceiling was kind of out of the question.... you can see all the salami's and sausages hanging behind the counter along with the gorgeous prosciutto's....

 ... this is the meat counter.....

... and at the other end is the cheese counter....

... all along the back wall is the "wall of wine"  this is only a small section...

...next door is is the area you can see them make all the ravioli and dough for the shop, this was taken from the street and you can see my reflection in the glass....

... we got home and Rico got to work rolling out the dough and slathering on the sauce... (in a past incarnation many years ago he Managed a Straw Hat Pizza joint in the Valley so he has that "pizza know how")....

..... I like onions he likes green peppers and we both like pepperoni and black olives.....

... just before going into the oven.....

... and hot out of the oven...  a really nice pizza for a lot less than ordering out and just a little effort.

Lucca's is a great store with tons of imported Italian edibles, I would recommend as you walk in getting a number as that is the only way you will get waited on, and go as early as possible, this place sells out of everything, dough, sauce, all the various ravioli's they make - and just about all the fresh daily salads they have.

That's about it for today sports fans.  Thanks again for stopping by, do stop again!!

Take care,
edgar

20 comments:

  1. What a colorful post! Who knew a post about eating could be so pretty! Seriously, the ravioli company sounds terrific, I would probably be shopping there all the time as Italian food is my fave. Thanks for sharing SF with us.

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  2. Luv the lil Italian shop, pizza looks fantabulous ~ drool! We NY'ers can purchase beer/wine coolers in supermarkets, would be so much easier if we didn't have to get wine/spirits in the liquor store:(

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  3. That pizza looks like it's to die for!!!!! Seriously hungry now. Have a great day.

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  4. I love it when you take us about the city. So much fun.

    I hope you are happy, now I have to have pizza for dinner! :)

    Blessings to you and yours

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  5. Bad post to read when I'm starving. lol

    Linda

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  6. Seriously, now I want a pizza and am thinking about heading to the Italian Food Center around the corner for some pizza dough, fresh mozzarella, roasted red peppers and some big Sicilian black olives. I already have some homemade meat sauce in the freezer. The only problem is that whenever I go to Luigi's, I come home about $50 or $60 the poorer. I can't resist the cheeses, the imported almond nougat candy, the home-made raviolis and the imported dried pasta ... not to mention the sesame biscotti [which my Dad used to call the "lousy" cookies meaning the ones he bought when money was too tight for pignoli cookies.] Now I am remembering the trips with my Dad to the Canarsie Market ... an open air Italian feast for the eye and the nose. I'll be nostalgic for my Dad and busy in the kitchen this afternoon ... and it'll be all your fault/credit.

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  7. Oh, all that food sounds fantastic !!
    Bagels with cream cheese and pizza - what a great combination.

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  8. OMG that pizza looks delicious!!! (viewed as I sit here eating a bowl of cheerios). :-)

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  9. I am really enjoying this part of your posts. Looks like wonderful places to shop and that pizza, Wow!

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  10. Oh wow! So wonderful!!! That is a real Italian grocery! Love the bagel shop too. Love bagels!

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  11. Wow, that looks good! How lucky you are to have such a wonderful market close by!!

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  12. Oh my goodness! What a great store! Makes me think of North End in Boston, MA. It's Italian everything and a wonderful place to shop. Nothing like that in this area. Sounds like your Sunday was fantastic.

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  13. Dearest Edgar: I love your food pics, I am a nut for sesame bagels I even toast mine, and drop lots of yummy butter on both sides.
    The italian restaurant looks super cool I love the deli counter looks good.
    Blessings
    Catherine

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  14. Mmm, tasty post. And I just realised that you took your Bagels to Mass LOL

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  15. Edgar, I just crawled into bed since I have to get up at 4 am to catch a plane to St. Louis and thought I would check into see what you have been up to this week. I didn't think that reading your post would make me so hungry. Now I want a pizza and a bagel. Both places look great. Also you are making excellent progress on your Halloween piece. Have you seen the new Blackbird designs?

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  16. A feast for the eyes, and tummy! Everything looks so yummy! :)

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  17. Looks like 2 wonderful places. This is exactly why I love some city in my vacations :)

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  18. Wow and YUM! My very first job was in a pizza joint. Since there is no place as cool as Lucca's here I usually buy a good quality boxed pizza and then add to it to make it good. I certainly wish I could just go in and buy dough and sauce. But my waist would probably get bigger if that was an option. Ha ha.

    Hey I am making my cornbread the Edgar way. Wow..thanks for sharing that with me.

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  19. wow Edgar! you are lucky, that counter looks like an Italian one. the real thing, I mean :)
    only tags and prices are different, and boy is our stuff pricey in the States!
    seeing the ads outside for bottles of Aperol and Fernet Branca made me smile. it's regular stuff for me, when I should remember they sound exotic to you just like that chili & cornbread did to me the other day.
    I'll have pizza this week, promise to take pictures before it ends in my mouth. yours looks so tasty, we prepare our own too during wintertime, when using the oven is a bonus. ;)
    you know what, see if you can find some mascarpone da Lucca. then I can give you our recipe for the best Tiramisù ever. :D ciao!
    chiara

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