Mona Lisa - North Beach

[lmnopm]

Any hits/misses/things to avoid? I've never been and it is the "group dinner" location. I've really never heard anything about it and there aren't many chowposts.

Thanks.

[Sarah]

A long time ago, it was a decent if not good restaurant -- does anyone remember the name?

[wolfe]

Wasn't that the location of a restaurant associated with a Paolo(?) in 1975. Odd shaped with triangular space, like old US.

[Shane Greenwood]

I remember the triangular space being Michaelangelos up the street a few blocks.

[lmnopm]

Oh dear. I am not happy posting this because they seem like nice people, but since I asked originally, people are going to want to know the results. First, the table took a lot longer than expected - we were seated quite late and one had a flight to catch, so we didn't order starters, etc. They were nice enough to give us each a glass of wine while we waited, and waited. Food took quite awhile to arrive, which didn't bother me, except I knew one of the group had to eat and run at that point. Now, the food. I ordered a risotto with clams. This morning, my mouth still feels like the salt bomb that I had last night. I might have sent it back but for the time factor. I did eat it because it wasn't horrible (more like "little flavor except the salt), I was hungry, and we didn't have a lot of time. I tasted someone else's pizza - it was ok, but I like the Trader Joe's frozen italian pizzas better (of course, this could be because my taste buds were numb with salt.) There must be a special secret dish they serve that I didn't know about, because not only was it packed, but the crowd to get in when we left was huge. They are doing something right. If someone knows what it is, please tell me. To the nice people that run the place, sorry, but I have to tell the truth.

[rworange]

Thanks. I should have asked to you email me and discussed this off line because some of what you said is what I read about and discussed but is gone.

I am curious. Someone on Yelp said that they use regualar rice for the risotto. Is that true? How about the way they handled the clams. Ok, stuff was salty, but did the clams turn out overcooked or rubbary?

Yeah, the reports on the pizza have been uneven. Good to know what to expect.

Is the bread as bad as some report?

Thanks for reporting back. I guess there is a reason this joint doesn't get Chowhound reports.

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Molinari Delicatessen
373 Columbus Ave, San Francisco, CA 94133

[Shane Greenwood]

I was dragged here by a bunch of coworkers about a year ago. Hands down the worst food I've eaten in SF. "Tourist trap from hell" is exactly right. Cheesy, used car salesman service style. Cheap ingredients. Expensive prices. Skip this place for anything else in North Beach.

Tony's Pizza Napolitana is the best new food in North Beach. Click link below for reviews.

There are several other better options depending on what you want. Old school: Capp's Corner or Tomasso's. Higher end: Rose Pistola. Fun neighborhood pasta joint: Cafe Sport. These are way better than ML, but you'll find others on this board too.

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Tony's Pizza Napoletana
1570 Stockton St, San Francisco, CA 94133

[rworange]

There was a recent report by a reliable poster who liked the linguine and clams a lot. It is linked to the place record
http://www.chow.com/places/28520

I took a look at the menu and yelp reports after that. For some odd reason I took absolutely no notes. Usually when I got thru the torture of reading a zillion yelp reports about a place, I'l jot down things that get repeated over and over as good or lousy. There's only so many 'it was to die for' type of reviews I can deal with ... or visa versa ... "tourist trap from hell". All that sticks in my mined is the unending yelping about lousy service.

Taking a quick scan ... I just can't read that stuff again ... it does seem seafood might be a strong point for them. They have a lot of tuna pasta such as tunal ravioli. Looking at the dessert page on the website the Flute Limoncello looks good.

Looking forward to your report.

[Shane Greenwood]

rworange, have you been to Mona Lisa? It's really not good despite what one person said about liking the linguine and clams. I'm not sure how useful an overview of yelp reviews is to someone looking for CH reviews. I got stale bread, calamari that was deep fried into a soggy mess, bruschetta that tasted like it was made 2 days earlier, mushy pasta, and wine in a box quality house red.