Firenze by Night, San Francisco.

Caesar salad. Gnocchi with Wild Boar Bolognese. Lamb Osso Bucco. I think I’ve had this meal 3 years in a row for an annual Christmas Holiday dinner in San Francisco and it tastes and looks the same every year. The salad, packed full of anchovy. The gnocchi,  simply dressed with ragu. The lamb, tender as usual, has a light brown mushroom sauce. It’s becoming a tradition.

What made it more fun this year, I got to talk with Sergio, the owner. Sergio happens to be friends with Lucio Fanni, yes, the crazy man from Santa Cruz I’ve been talking about for years. They actually cooked together 25 years ago in San Francisco. Sergio and I shared a few stories about Lucio; the motorcycle, the move from Capitola, to Seabright, to Santa Cruz, and of course women. We’ll see what happens next Christmas for the annual dinner at Firenze, but I have a feeling it will be as consistent and memorable as the others.