"I did a lot of pizza festivals over the years. I did one in New York. I was in Naples. I was in Chicago. Then I said San Francisco really has to have a pizza festival but COVID happened, so I couldn't do it. But right out of COVID, I started it. And thought, let's add a beer component. Let's add a bagel component. And here we are," Gemignani said.
But Legends, a dessert-focused cafe, by the same team behind late-night burger spot right next door, is doing its part to make sure ice cream cravings don't have a curfew. The move here is the Dubai Chocolate Sundae. A big plastic cup is layered with strawberries, milk chocolate and pistachio sauces, and crispy shredded phyllo, and topped with a bulb of vanilla ice cream and another drizzle of pistachio sauce.
At the Mona Lisa Restaurant in North Beach, Andrea Bocelli croons over the loudspeakers as diners feast on cacio e pepe, lobster ravioli and Neapolitan pizza. The 46-year-old restaurant is a sensory overload: neoclassical statues wearing motorcycle helmets, rainbow chandeliers hanging from the equally colorful ceiling and a massive mural depicting the "Creation of Adam." Every other free inch of wall space is occupied by framed photos of celebrities:
