Rate-A-Restaurant, #67 in a series

Restaurant: A16

Location: 2355 Chestnut St., San Francisco (Marina District)

Type of restaurant: Southern Italian

We stipulated: For our first evening in San Francisco, we needed to find a place that would let us bring Evan -- but we still wanted to try a great place in town. A Franklin Avenue reader suggested A16. They only had reservations at 5:30 -- which was fine, given Evan's early bedtime.

What we ordered: Starter: House-marinated olives ($3); Mike: Orecchiette with octopus, fresh borlotti beans, chiles and mint ($13); Maria: Roasted hangar steak with rosemary oil, black pepper and mosto ($20); side: Romano green beans with garlic and anchovy ($4)



High point: Ahh, the hanger steak. Like butter. So flavorful, tender and aromatic. I stole plenty off of Maria's plate. The olives were also a nice, economical way to start the evening.



Low point: Unfortunately, the orecchiette didn't quite live up to its description -- I was looking for a bit more spice and a bit more mint. Still good, but the hanger steak was so impressive, it just match.

Overall impression: Named after an Italian autostrada outside Naples, A16 was a quick trip back to the country. It rivaled the best meals we had on our Italy trip two years ago. The joint was indeed kid friendly; the maitre'd helped park Blogger Baby's stroller as we dined. And it was the perfect neighborhood to stoll around after, just around the corner from the magnificent Palace of Fine Arts.

Chance we will go back: If we're in SF, we'd ponder making a return visit. I'm also dying to try their pizzas, which looked incredible.

For a complete archive of our Rate-A-Restaurant reviews, check out our newly revised companion ratearestaurant.blogspot.com website.