Nicolosi's

For St. Patty’s Day I took the train down to San Diego for the weekend to see my mom.  I hadn’t seen her or my friend Fuzzy since Christmas, and I had a free weekend, so a trip was in order.   While we did have lunch at an Irish pub (of sorts) yesterday for the holiday, that’s not what I am blogging about today.  (For the records:  we did lunch at Hooley’s [www.hooleys.com] at the Rancho San Diego location.  They had a limited holiday menu, and I had the Shepherd’s Pie, which was delicious.)

Today,  I want to talk about the Italian restaurant my mother took me to for lunch today:  NIcolosi’s (www.nicolosis.com).  It’s been around for 60 years this year, and my mom and dad used to go there before my brother and I were born, and then my brother and sister-in-law used to dine there before they were married.  I, however, had never been in all my years in San Diego.  They used to invite me all the time, but I guess when I was younger, it just never appealed to me.

But since I am up for dining adventures, and it would give me something to blog about, to Nicolosi’s we went.  They’ve moved a few times over the years and are now located on the edge of the city of San Diego, near the borders of El Cajon and Santee.  The interior reminds you of a family style Italian restaurant (which is what type of place it is), is very clean and neat, and even warm and inviting.  We were sat quickly and the server, Pam, took our drink order rather quickly. 

They had a special lunch menu, but you could order from the regular menu as well.  For an appetizer, we ordered the Bruschetta.  I find that you can tell much about an Italian restaurant by how their Bruschetta tastes.  They were very generous with the tomato, and onion, but held back on the garlic, which I find unfortunate.  It was otherwise very tasty, but I would prefer it if they dialed up the garlic (but I am a garlic fiend anyway).

My mother and I both took advantage of the lunch special menu as it included a salad or soup, and a drink.  Mom ordered the Baked Mac & Cheese, and I the Baked Ravioli (with meat filling).  We also opted for soup:  I the Italian Wedding Soup, and mom the Minestrone.  I didn’t try Mom’s soup, but she enjoyed it, and my Wedding Soup was very, very well done.  The stock they used was quite rich.  Other Wedding soups I have had before have been more watered down, so this was a treat.

I should also note that Pam was very attentive and on top of things.  She kept refilling my Arnold Palmer unasked.  I like that- so few servers are that attentive and work to make sure you’re enjoying your meal completely.  My hat off to Pam for the excellent service.

When my entrée arrived, it was steaming hot, so I let it sit for a little bit to cool.  Mom dug into her Mac & Cheese immediate, and found the cheese to be molten lava hot!  I always try to give it a few minutes as I know the cheese holds its heat.  Once I dug in, the first thing I noticed was the tomato sauce.  Usually, I find them to be sweetened too much and that was kind of what I was expecting.  But surprisingly, the sauce was what it’s meant to be:  tomato.  They relied on the natural sweetness of the tomato and didn’t appear to have added any sugar.  That to me is genuine.  The ravioli itself was also delicious.  Their raviolis are handmade and they don’t hold back on the filling.  For a half order, with five ravioli, I was stuff with just four.  Mom tried the last one. 

I also got a taste of the Mac & Cheese.  I love mac & cheese, but rarely find one I like.  They tend to be too salty, too bland, not enough cheese, overkill, etc.  This mac & cheese was very balanced.  It had a nice blend of cheeses (which I couldn’t quite put my finger on what all they used, but my best guess is parmesan, fontina, maybe white cheddar, pecorino romano…and I don’t know what else).  Since it was baked, it had a nice crusty top.  They also used some good heavy cream to blend it all together.  The only thing I would add as maybe an add-on is some crispy pancetta. 

To finish out the meal, we ordered some Cannelloni for dessert.  The shell was extra crispy, verging on hard (but not badly).  The filling was dense, but fluffy at the same time.  I wouldn’t call it light, but it wasn’t heavy.  It had the right amount of sweetness, a little tang, and some spice from the cinnamon.  If I hadn’t been so full, I would have ordered my own!

I am happy to recommend Nicolosi’s to anyone in the San Diego area or visiting.  I’m sure most locals are well aware of it, and if you haven’t tried it, you should!