Michael Bauer: Three stars for a Hayes Valley newcomer.
By his impressive portfolio, we’ve come to expect good things from Adriano Paganini. He’s given San Francisco many popular restaurants, including Belga, Flores, Super Duper and Lolinda.
What I didn’t expect is that his new restaurant, A Mano, would be better than his other Italian concepts — Beretta, Delarosa and Starbelly.
Of course, he has Freedom Rains in the kitchen, who broke into the spotlight at the Belgian-inspired Belga and spent nearly a year concocting the Italian menu centered on pasta made fresh daily along with pizza and some excellent antipasti.
All that forethought paid off. The restaurant is already struggling to seat people within an hour at peak times, and no reservations are accepted.
Unlike some other restaurants in the area, such as the pioneering Hayes Street Grill, which opened in 1979, A Mano isn’t as dependent on the crowds from the opera, symphony, ballet and other entertainment venues to pack the house. On a Sunday night while many places were nearly empty, A Mano had a halfhour wait.
It’s a telling example of how the population of Hayes Valley has changed in the last couple of years, and how new restaurants are catering to the influx of residents and visitors.
Fortunately, the wait at A Mano is worth it. And diners can always stroll the shops and restaurants along Hayes Street, with one of the best collections of independent boutiques in the city.
Prices are reasonable here, a sure lure to those who fill the growing number of apartments being built in the area. Generous plates of pasta range from $13 to $16. Pizza is $12 to $16, and salads and appetizers are $13 or less.
The restaurant, on the bottom of a newly constructed 41-unit luxury condominium building, has a modern feel. Black metal shelves run from floor to ceiling to hold wine, both in and out of boxes. Small, round bright green cafe tables are positioned in front of the windows overlooking the street, and most tables in the center of the space are communal, or are so close together they might as well be. The restaurant packs in 91 diners, but because of the high ceilings and windows it still feels open. In the next few weeks the restaurant will install tables outside, which will increase seating by about 40. There are plans to open for lunch and brunch later this summer.
In the open kitchen opposite the windows, diners can witness the crew shaping and cutting pasta or weighing the noodles into portions, while others make the salads and work the pizza oven.
The pastas are better than Flour + Water and other places that charge practically twice as much. An example is the rigatoni, with a deeply flavored pork sugo, which is $14; at Flour + Water, pastas are $20 or more.
The classic bucatini all’ amatriciana ($14) really shows off the kitchen skills; the combination of tomato and pancetta is about as good as any I’ve had recently. The agnolotti dal plin ($16), with its tender packets of chicken and pork, is equally as good.
Another surprise was the pizza; I like it better than Beretta’s. It’s made in the Marsal pizza oven, which is different from the ovens at Beretta and Delarosa, and it produces a golden crust perfected by Rains. His recipe produces a thinner and chewier crust than the more popular Neapolitan style. It has enough salt and flavor that it forms a bridge to what’s on top, whether it’s a seasonal combination of green garlic, spring onion, asparagus, lemon and caciocavallo cheese ($16); or the simple margherita ($12) with a slick of bright red tomato sauce and puddles of fior di latte cheese. Each bite sets off a crackling explosion in the head, and gives a good workout to the jaw.
I can also vouch for the antipasti and salads. Instead of the typical beef, pork or lamb meatballs, Rains uses chicken ($13). Cut into them and you can see the flecks of green herbs that allow the meat to stand up to the spicy tomato sauce. Grilled squid ($13) is displayed on a base of summer corn and shishito peppers. The best of the summer bounty also shines in yellow wax and Romano beans ($8) wrapped in a puffy, deep-fried batter and piled around a ramekin of caper aioli.
Each ingredient in the summer vegetable salad ($10) is carefully thought out: ribbons of carrots, crunchy snap peas, peppery arugula, creamy avocado and whole toasted pistachios.
Rains also offers one nightly main course special, such as red wine-braised short ribs ($23), which are about as good as you find, served on polenta with cavolo nero and polenta
that tastes as if it were lightened with cream. The crowning achievement is fresh horseradish shaved over the top. It may look like Parmesan cheese, but it delivers an unexpected jolt that wakes up the palate. This is a kitchen that knows what it’s doing.
That expertise also shows in the buttermilk panna cotta ($9) that barely holds together because of its creamy rich texture.
The bar at A Mano is distinguished by its collection of classic Italian spirits, including amaro. These good digestifs find their way into the nicely crafted cocktails such as the Godfather ($12), a spirituous combination of bourbon, scotch, Amaro Meletti and almond, served on a large cube of ice.
The final surprise was the service (once you get past the door that always seems to be understaffed and in crisis mode). The staff subtly keeps tabs on diners, pouring water from the carafe on the table if they see glasses are low. When they say the food is meant to be shared, they follow through by bringing utensils to portion out the dishes.
Paganini has outdone himself in creating a restaurant that has neighborhood-friendly prices, backed with great food and a winning, casual esprit de corps that also makes it a prime destination for visitors.