Panta Rei

I've been to 3 really nice places in the past week... not bad, after the 2 week lull.

This first one, I'm not sure would have even got a review from me otherwise, but this sweet little boy I know, can't stop raving about it. So... I guess I owe it a review.

Panta Rei is an Italian restaurant, on Columbus Ave. - one among many, many Italian restaurants in North Beach. As with most restaurants in the area, it's open late, so that's a plus. We got there pretty late, around 11pm, and Columbus was bustling as usual. It was a really nice night, so we got a seat outside next to the heat lamp, ordered some Chardonnay, and settled down to enjoy a nice, late dinner.

Which brings me to the food.... So, the one thing to die for, for any vegetarian diner here is the Spinach gnocchi (or at least that's what the sweet little boy claims). So, that's what we had... and a margherita pizza. Now, in my experience you really can't go wrong with a margherita pizza - tomato sauce, cheese, and basil. How much simpler can it get? But... this pizza, it just didn't do it for me... too much cheese, too little flavor. I was full with just one slice. The gnocchi on the other hand was pretty darn good... it had a nice cream sauce, lots of garlic, and lots of flavor. And it went well with the Chardonnay.

So there... that's my kind of blah review of Panta Rei. Did I loooove it? Probably not. Would I recommend it? Probably yes.... if you sit outside, with a nice glass of wine, and good company.

http://www.pantareirestaurant.com/