RestaurantThing Information

Legit Italian restaurant. Somewhere in San Francisco might be the best! But anywhere somewhat near there works!

Here are some of my favorites
Gaspare’s Pizza and Italian Restaurant 5546 Geary @ 20th Avenue. This is the kind of place that reminds east coast folks of their pizza places, plastic grapes hang from the ceiling, That’s Amore on the juke box, excellent calzone and pizza, great pasta with your choice of traditional sauces. A neighborhood favorite with families and couples alike. Along the same lines Georgios on Clement at 2nd. They make their own sausage and the staff is friendly.
Café Macaroni – Columbus at Jackson – Wonderful Italian food, warm ambiance, lots of good entertainment options near by.
Marios Bohemian Cigar Store at Union and Columbus, a good place for lunch, try the meatball sandwich or chicken pannini…mmmmm!

Or some more upscale places:
Rose Pistolla on Columbus near Green incredible food get a table on the sidewalk and watch the world go by.
Scala’s Bistro – In the Sir Francis Drake Hotel on Powell at Sutter – Creative upscale Italian food served in a bustling, warm environment.
Chiaroscuro – 550 Washington across from the Transamerica Building. A quiet intimate room [14 tables] open kitchen, incredible house cured salami, good game a seafood options.

I sort of have this idea for a restaurant I want to open. Except I have no knowledge of the licenses and all that I have to do and get for it. Plus ideas for funding. Is there like an idiots (Simple reference guide) for it?
Ok, so in general it is difficult and the starting cash has to come out of my own pocket. But I am not deterred. Any more information and tips is also a help

Probably, but here goes:

1. Health department
2. Business license
3. Resale license (for collecting sales tax)
4. Liquor license (if you plan to sell liquor)
5. Beer & wine license (if you plan to sell beer & wine)

Then, you have the issues of hiring staff, which subjects you to the Department of Labor, and all of the OSHA regulations.

You will need to find a suitable place to run your restaurant, so you will need to verify with the zoning department of your town that the place you’ve selected is proper.

You will need to get the Fire Marshall to okay your place is safe.

Once you’ve done all of this, you will need to find:

1. A supplier (or suppliers) of your food products.
2. A supplier of cooking materials (pots, pans, knives, etc.)
3. A supplier of serving materials (glasses, plates, cutlery, etc.)

You will need a HUGE bankroll of cash, just to get your restaurant off the ground. You will need to personally guarantee the rent to your landlord for the duration of the lease (which will likely be for several years).

I could go on and on and on …

Happy trails.

I’m going out to dinner with my family in a couple of days to an Italian restaurant and I want to eat some what healthy. I know I shouldn’t get pizza, is pasta healthy? What are some other options besides salad?

Healthiest pasta dish I know of is ‘pasta al oglio’, dressed with olive oil, garlic & parmesan to sprinkle…no red sauce & fatty meatballs, just tasty with lots of garlic & gooooood for you [olive oil is basically a magic potion in that regard]. Most good Italian restaurants have this dish if you ask for it… you might try veal piccata – skinny little filets of veal sauteed in olive oil or a little butter with a few capers and a spritz of lemon juice. You can probably have them fix it withOUT the breading crumbs. Veal is a low-fat meat, BTW.

We are opening an italian restaurant soon and i can do with some ideas of what is the best music to play. We are trying to move away from the cliched 80′s stuff! any recommendations?
thanks in advance

Funny thing is, most restaurants in Italy don’t HAVE music…
I could suggest a number of contemporary Italian singers but I’m afraid that pop music in a restaurant might sound cheesy.

If I were you, I would get some Paolo Conte (with songs such as "via con me").

I know that you can’t go wrong in the North End, but could anyone recommend a good Italian restaurant with a unique decor? Maybe contemporary? Either that or lots of windows, with a good people-watching location? Thanks!

great decor and food at prezza on fleet st, great window watching at florentines or bricco on hanover, cant go wrong with either.