NOVEMBER 2, 2009 -- Taste of Little Italy happens twice a year and sells out each time (ticket sales are capped at 750). The next one is Wednesday (November 4) from 5-9 p.m., and it’s your last chance to pay one price for access to 27 different restaurants in one night.
New this year: Fabrison’s, Pizzeria Luigi and the organic beefy deliciousness of Burger Lounge. Yogurtland will be dishing out 16 different flavors of dessert, and Enoteca Style will serve Prosesso (Italian champagne) to ticketholders 21-and-up.
You’ll never get to all 27 eateries in one night (nor should you try). But the restaurants are close enough together so that you can plan a meal strategy, and not just do a bloated stagger down India Street.
Consider: The views from The Glass Door; the “crazy” risotto from Po Pazzo; and/or the saffron arancini bites at Anthology, where jazz violinist Jean Luc Ponty plays two shows (at 7:30 and 10 p.m.). No, jazz flautist Ron Burgundy is not billed that night.
Tickets are $35 in advance; $40 night of. Get more information at tasteoflittleitalysd.com.
Egg-zactly!: The Broken Yolk (355 Sixth Avenue) is a most welcome addition to the downtown breakfast scene. The food selection is tops and the eggs are never greasy. But the best bet for a bubbly bargain is the mimosa special. You get a bottle of decent and drinkable (Wycliff Brut) champagne and a half carafe of either orange, cranberry or pomegranate juice for $12.99.
See if that puts you in the mood to take the Broken Yolk challenge: Eat a dozen-egg omelet in less than one hour and your meal is free. You also get a t-shirt to mark this proud moment, and your picture goes up on a Wall of Fame/Shame.
Fox Rocks: This past weekend, after splitting cranberry mimosas at The Broken Yolk, the Significant-O and I set out for a sports bar to watch the continued domination of the Chargers over the Raiders. The East Village Tavern is always elbow-to-elbow on Sundays. So we pedaled our bikes to the enormous new Hilton Bayside (east of the convention center) and were wowed by the water’s-edge scenery at the Fox Sports Grill. This big, but slightly-off-the-well-trodden-path pub/eatery was 75 percent capacity. The crowd—slightly older than EVT’s—was decidedly pro-Chargers. Put this place on your list (but if you go, grab a booth—some dining room chairs seem sized for kindergartners, and especially not a Broken Yolk Challenge kinda guy).
Happy Birthday: Urban Solace in North Park is turning two (but not the terrible kind). Chef Matt Gordon’s fall menus will be paired with Palmina Wines (the gift President Obama presented to Italy’s President Giorgio Napolitano at the G8 Summit). A second U-S is slated to open in Encinitas in spring 2010.