Here's something you might be interested in.
New discovery! Isola Pizza Bar (1526 India Street, Little Italy, 619-255-4230).
Was walking down India Street with my friend Matt when we passed what had been a tanning salon with a website biz behind.
Suddenly, it's a restaurant...
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/26/25004/
...crammed with a BP (Beautiful People) crowd.
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/26/25006/
Inside's all black and white décor, kinda Italian Moderne.
And, woo-hoo! Turns out it's still happy hour, just. Closes at six.
I abandon Matt and head inside.
Whitney the welcomer says we still have five minutes.
Bar's full, so I sit down at a white-cushioned bench. Waiter named Alex brings me the happy hour menu real quick so I can get the order in at HH prices. Says the "salame misto" ($4) is great, and the Pizza Margherita, with tomato, mozzarella, and basil ($5) is the fillingest item on the happy hour list.
So, no time to fool around, I take them both, plus a glass of red wine. Merlot and Barbera grapes, mixed. Italian and Californian wines. The glass is $5.
Doesn't take long for the wine and the salami to arrive.
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/26/25008/
Yes, just half a glass and razor-thin slices of salami, but the wine's delicious and the small sausage specially has a great sweet tang to it.
Place is abuzz, with women lining the bar and couples at the tables. And out of the crowd comes this guy in white chef's gear, checking on the customers.
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/26/25005/
Turns out he's Massimo Tenino, the owner-chef. From San Remo, Liguria, northern Italy. "I named this after my grandma, Isolina. She taught me everything she knew about cooking. How is the wine? Would you like some bread with the salami?"
I say yes, and he himself goes and brings me basically a small pizza with no toppings and cut up. Delish.
The wine? Actually it's warm and good. "The Merlot's Rosso Piemonte, from the vineyard of my brother, Paolo, in Piedmont," says Massimo. "He was a dentist. Gave it all up for wine."
Massimo says he also has an eatery in Tucson. "But I wanted to keep this simple. Pizzas. No slices, no chicken, no lasagna. The brick oven is from Naples. We use oak. It burns dense and slow and hot. We haven't done any marketing but so far we're doing pretty well."
This is when Ulises the waiter brings me the Margherita pizza.
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/26/25010/
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/26/25007/
It's about a 10-inch and tasty, deal for five bucks.
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/26/25009/
But actually the best thing about all the food is the pickled veggies that come with the salami. They are sweetish and delicious. And tang everything up.
I come out fifteen buckeroos poorer. Not bad for what I had and where I am. No way can I do this every night, but good to spend a moment mixing with the BP crowd on a Friday HH.
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/26/25011/
And, next week, Little Italy being Little Italy, I'm betting there'll be a couple more new places opening up to go to.
They'd better be good, because I reckon Massimo's setting the bar pretty high.
So, where's the new island?
Right here. "Isola" means "island."
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/26/25012/
New discovery! Isola Pizza Bar (1526 India Street, Little Italy, 619-255-4230).
Was walking down India Street with my friend Matt when we passed what had been a tanning salon with a website biz behind.
Suddenly, it's a restaurant...
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/26/25004/
...crammed with a BP (Beautiful People) crowd.
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/26/25006/
Inside's all black and white décor, kinda Italian Moderne.
And, woo-hoo! Turns out it's still happy hour, just. Closes at six.
I abandon Matt and head inside.
Whitney the welcomer says we still have five minutes.
Bar's full, so I sit down at a white-cushioned bench. Waiter named Alex brings me the happy hour menu real quick so I can get the order in at HH prices. Says the "salame misto" ($4) is great, and the Pizza Margherita, with tomato, mozzarella, and basil ($5) is the fillingest item on the happy hour list.
So, no time to fool around, I take them both, plus a glass of red wine. Merlot and Barbera grapes, mixed. Italian and Californian wines. The glass is $5.
Doesn't take long for the wine and the salami to arrive.
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/26/25008/
Yes, just half a glass and razor-thin slices of salami, but the wine's delicious and the small sausage specially has a great sweet tang to it.
Place is abuzz, with women lining the bar and couples at the tables. And out of the crowd comes this guy in white chef's gear, checking on the customers.
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/26/25005/
Turns out he's Massimo Tenino, the owner-chef. From San Remo, Liguria, northern Italy. "I named this after my grandma, Isolina. She taught me everything she knew about cooking. How is the wine? Would you like some bread with the salami?"
I say yes, and he himself goes and brings me basically a small pizza with no toppings and cut up. Delish.
The wine? Actually it's warm and good. "The Merlot's Rosso Piemonte, from the vineyard of my brother, Paolo, in Piedmont," says Massimo. "He was a dentist. Gave it all up for wine."
Massimo says he also has an eatery in Tucson. "But I wanted to keep this simple. Pizzas. No slices, no chicken, no lasagna. The brick oven is from Naples. We use oak. It burns dense and slow and hot. We haven't done any marketing but so far we're doing pretty well."
This is when Ulises the waiter brings me the Margherita pizza.
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/26/25010/
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/26/25007/
It's about a 10-inch and tasty, deal for five bucks.
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/26/25009/
But actually the best thing about all the food is the pickled veggies that come with the salami. They are sweetish and delicious. And tang everything up.
I come out fifteen buckeroos poorer. Not bad for what I had and where I am. No way can I do this every night, but good to spend a moment mixing with the BP crowd on a Friday HH.
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/26/25011/
And, next week, Little Italy being Little Italy, I'm betting there'll be a couple more new places opening up to go to.
They'd better be good, because I reckon Massimo's setting the bar pretty high.
So, where's the new island?
Right here. "Isola" means "island."
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/26/25012/