La Nebbia, Nebby and Neblina

Ah, these nebby words.

Another San Francisco restaurant review on La Nebbia, a prosciutto bar way out in Noe Valley run by a Sardinian couple that also run La Ciccia around the corner  Immediately I asked myself "Is this where Pittsburgh gets its word nebby,  since it has so many Italians?"  But la nebbia is the same as the Spanish neblina, meaning fog or mist.  Nebby in Pittsburghese means nosey so I am hard put to find how it could have been derived from nebbia, but it is also hard for a Pittsburgher to see the word La Nebbia and not think of being nebby.  Prosciutto isn't my favorite meat but I do remember eating a serrano ham in Toulon, France that was particularly good.

Crab Tostadas

There's also a Jaliscan-Californian restaurant called Loló in the Mission District that offers dishes that Fernando might like: octopus tiradito, oxtail empanadas, squid in black ink, gambas bravas, lamb sliders, beef tongue mini tortas...  It has Fernando written all over it, even in the mezcal bar.  However it is a tapas place with loud Latin music and reservations are recommended well in advance, which makes me feel that it is too trendy for us.   Hm.  I wonder if AARP has a restaurant guide to San Francisco...

San Francisco Eater has a Heat Map that lets you know "what's new, what's hot, which favorite chef just launched a sophomore effort, where to sip the cocktail of the moment".  One of the hot new restaurants is Verbena (which I mentioned in my last post) that SF Eater calls "another nice addition to the suddenly hot restaurant scene in Russian Hill."  Isn't it exciting to be staying in the midst of a suddenly hot restaurant scene?  Maybe we should just eat close to home!  Although I think most of this hot restaurant scene is on the west side of Russian Hill so we'd have to hike up and over or take the bus.

We could splurge and go to La Folie which has one Michelin Star and hosted President Francois Hollande for lunch recently.  They have a Menu Jardiniere for $95 but the photos of their meat dishes will easily dissuade you from going vegetarian.  For dinner they offer a 3 course menu for $85, a four course for $95 and a 5 course for $105.  Obviously the 5-course menu is the best deal and we wouldn't have to eat at all the following day.  Let's see.  What would I order?

1. Dungeness Crab Salad, Green Apple and Fennel Panna Cotta, Blood Lime Vinaigrette
2. Goat Cheese Tatin, with Roasted Eggplant, Artichokes, Tomato Confit, Portobello Mushroom, and Sauce Vièrge
3. Lobster and Mushroom Risotto, with Leeks and Lobster Broth
4. Roasted Emigh Farm Lamb Chop with Butter Beans, Lamb Bacon, Curry Carrot-Date Puree
5. Fuji Apple Tart Tatin, Crunchy Puff Pastry, Kabocha Crème Caramel, Maker’s Mark Ice Cream,  Pomegranate

As you can see, there's lots of preparation that goes into these dishes so it is probably worth the $105.  However they probably expect us to dress up and we are on vacation...