If you’re ever in North Beach, in “Little Italy,” you have got to go to Molinari’s. It’s got a classic, Old World feel – a long, narrow shop with a good selection of cheeses and a well-stocked deli counter. While you wait to order, you stand amongst shelves of wine, delicate-looking packages of savoidari (lady fngers), tins of tuna that look like they could survive an air strike, “the good stuff” olive oil, amaretti cookies, an eclectic assortment of imported Italian products.
If you’re having a cold sandwich, you can select your piece of bread from a bin, the way you select lobsters from a tank, only you get to help yourself. I like to have the panini, and it’s what I recommend to everyone. My favorite is I think the Luciano Special; you don’t have to remember the name because it’s easy to spot on the big black board with white plastic lettering. It’s a grilled focaccia with prosciutto, mozarella, red peppers and sundried tomotoes. It is a-mazing!
Every time I get my sandwich, I almost want to recite a poem. In fact, I think I will.
Ode to my panini
Ode to my panini How golden brown and warm and havey Your bountiful layers of freshly-carved prosciutto Perfect saltiness, delicately thin and buttery Your heavenly-textured cheese and succulent peppers Topped with sundried tomatoes – a red chewy piece of summer As I unwrap you I think I could not be happier Until I take my first bite
Bay Area Mija 