Enrico's Sidewalk Café

By GraceAnn Walden

504 Broadway
San Francisco
(415) 982-6223
Cuisine : Contemporary cuisine with a Mediterranean bent.

Don't miss : The lovely oysters, the duck liver pate with cranberry, the
pear and Gorgonzola pizza and the steak
Prices: Appetizers $8-13; pizzas $11-14 and entrees $19-23  next Cuisine: Contemporary cuisine with a Mediterranean bent. Pluses: the new look is inviting; comfy lounge, live music and good food. Minuses: Not open of lunch. Overview: I have been going to Enrico's since the late Enrico Banducci owned it. It was the first sidewalk café in San Francisco. In the early seventies, Enrico's had lots of drama, good drinks and mediocre food. Rick and Meredith Hackett bought it after a long closure and presented great food and jazz every night. Eventually they also closed and a new generation, remodeled it, giving it a new hip vibe. The outdoor café is still there, but couches have been added for the chocolate martini set. The food is terrific. You have to get the fig, Gorgonzola, arugula pizza. For those pasta spinners, try the fettucine with a tomato-pork ragu. Can life get better than a cool jazz quartet and a hot braised veal shank over fried polenta? Yes, it can. Order the hot fudge cake with dulce de leche and bananas.

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