Dinner @ Ducca

Ducca
50 Third Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
Website

After searching around the Union Square area (Friday, 3.20.09) for a good Italian restaurant, we decided to go to Ducca, the place Mina tried earlier. *Expensive, but we got a free appetizer, dessert, and coffee*


Bread + olive oil + sweet balsamic vinegar (YUM!):

We wanted to get the Arancini appetizer ("Crispy Risotto Fritter, Sottocenere"), but the waiter gave it to us before we even had a chance to tell him that we wanted an appetizer. It was basically like a koroke/croquette but made of risotto instead of potato:


The inside of those yummy risotto balls (well, and a piece of bread):

I ordered my first alcoholic beverage at a restaurant (they didn't card us though). This was the Hangar One Pear-Cosmo ("Hangar One Spiced Pear Vodka, Cranberry Juice, Fresh Lime Juice"). I didn't like it, but I drank it. I didn't taste the spiced pear or the cranberry or lime juices. It tasted like some kind of sweet medicine, which I normally wouldn't mind, but this just didn't taste good. It was strong though, which I liked (not that I like all strong drinks). I usually don't buy expensive drinks (actually, I usually just order water every time), but this was going to be my $11 Spring Break gift to myself. Haha. Sorry the picture is crooked.

We ordered another appetizer (I really don't know which one this was...but the appetizers are listed here):

W/o flash:



I ordered the Risotto Ai Carciofi ("Aged-Organic Carnaroli Rice, Artichoke Trifolati, Mascarpone:

My Risotto Ai Carciofi (those are fried artichoke bits on top of whole artichokes and risotto...rich flavor but not too salty...sooo good):


I think Yuya got the Mine strone Veneto ("Parmigiano-Pork Consomme, Acini di Pepe Pasta,
Borlotti Beans"), which he didn't know was a soup (oops):


Mina ordered the Pappardelle in Sugo ("House-made Egg-rich Pasta, Slow Braised Lamb Ragu"), which I tried and liked:

The waiter started giving us dessert menus, but I told him that we were "unfortunately" going to skip dessert (we had planned on going to Ghirardelli down the street--not the big one in Ghirardelli Square), but he asked us if we liked chocolate, we said that we love it, and then said that he'd give us a chocolate dessert for free (daang!). It was a chocolate souffle with hazelnut ice cream (topped with sea salt and hazelnuts...wonderful):

Inside view (this souffle was to die for...sorry the flash ruined it):

AND THEN the waiter gave us free coffee, which was delicious as well:


MMMm...