Ahhhh. Thursday and the start of the weekend, at least, in my mind. Mijo and I try to welcome and celebrate the beginning of the weekend on Thursday evening. At Beretta, the plan was just a round of drinks and maybe an hors d'oeuvre. Before we even finished these delicious cocktails - Dolores Park Sizzler on the left and Diablo on the right - we were told by the hostess that she has a table for us and the next thing we know we were ordering food. We eventually stayed for over two hours. Beretta, on Valencia @ 23rd Sts, is a hip, crowded, fun place. We totally enjoyed our Thursday evening here!
Cocktails galore. Mijo decided to get the Diablo cocktail which is tequila, lime, ginger, agave, cassis 11. I sampled their Dolores Park Sizzler which is made up of rhum, lime, maraschino, absinthe, bitters 9. Both drinks were good. For my cocktail, I had to wait for a few minutes to let some of the crushed ice melt. Otherwise, the drink would be too concentrated and strong. The mixologists are friendly and they make short conversations. I think they are just making sure you are enjoying their mixed drinks. Their bar and their cocktails, in my opinion, is the main attraction at Beretta. Well, that's I had first thought until we tried their food.
Monterey Sardines en Saör. As soon as we got a table, we decided to get an appetizer just so that we can finish our cocktails. This sardines in the menu caught our eyes. It tasted a hint of vinegar in the sardines which is a familiar taste to my palate. My dad used to make fish cooked in vinegar called paksiw na isda. I later learned from the internet that saör is an Italian sauce that is vinegar based. I was surprised that Mijo enjoyed it too because he's usually not a fan of fish with sauces. This dish made us decide to stay, get our dinner here and enjoy the moment.
Chianti 2010 by Colli Senesi (Salcheto, Tuscany). Since we decided to stay for dinner, we ordered a glass each of their Chianti and paired it with an Italian sausage pizza and bacallao or salted fish. It was delicious! At the same time, it washed down the taste of fish in my mouth. Imagine, two fish dishes that evening - the sardines and the bacalao. It was also delicious with thin crusted italian pizza.
Spicy Italian Sausage, panna and green onions. For us, Gialina serves one of the best pizzas in town and Beretta is probably up their with Gialina. This thin crusted pizza is tasty, not super greasy and the crust maybe thin but it is crunchy. The side of the crust is crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. This pizza went very well with the glass of chianti. We didn't wait a long time for this pizza which is a bonus.
Baccala Mantecato. We first asked the waiter if this dish is salted fish. We asked because the name suggests is it bacalao. I thought the waiter said it is fish but not salted at all. We were right when we suspected it is bacalao. The dish is smothered on top with melted cheese and butter. The creamy and buttery taste of the toppings complimented the salty fishy taste of the fish. The dish is compact too so it can get you full even though the serving is tiny. I can say it was a good decision to stay for dinner. Beretta is hip but super crowded. Remember, we went there on a Thursday evening. They only accept reservations for big groups but they put your name on their list if you call an hour before you get there.
Ciao!
~rl
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