Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Saucy Since 1967

The baked eggplant parmigiana was a very competent take on an Italian-American standard.
The baked eggplant parmigiana was a very competent take on an Italian-American standard.
Place

Paesano

3647 30th Street, San Diego

The first North Park Little League team meeting of the new season had ended at Morley Field, and we were starving.

“Mom! Tonight’s the fundraiser for my school at Paesano’s. Can we go there?”

I fumbled around in the bottom of my purse and grabbed the crumpled purple flyer I’d found in my son’s backpack announcing said fundraiser.

“Sure,” I said, then said to my husband, “It’s just up the hill on 30th in North Park.”

Entering the restaurant felt like a journey back in time to our childhoods; Paesano Fine Italian Food opened in 1967, and the decor doesn’t seem to have been altered much since. There are two dimly lit dining rooms. In the front room, brown booths line the wall opposite the open kitchen and bar; both rooms have Formica-topped tables and metal chairs. Kitschy light fixtures — such as a cluster of fading glass grapes in one corner — and the cheery red candleholders squatting on each table make for an intimate dining experience.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The place was packed, and not only with the elementary-school crowd. All sorts of folks from the neighborhood were there — grandparents sharing a glass of wine with friends; middle-aged couples all dressed up and out on a date; hipsters enjoying a Mission Brewery Shipwrecked Double IPA and plates piled with pasta. Kids ran around, visiting and laughing. Again, we felt as if we’d wandered into an Americana time warp. Paesano reminds me of a place in Los Angeles my parents used to take me to, La Barbera’s, which was loud, joyous, and friendly, the sort of place where after two visits you are a regular: we were charmed before we’d taken a bite.

In a recent issue of Saveur magazine, John Mariani writes of growing up Italian-American and eating giant portions of heavy Italian food: “We thought we were eating authentic Italian food, because the dishes were the same ones all the other Italian families we knew cooked and ate. But in reality, our cuisine was an American invention: an amalgam of hearty, rustic dishes brought here, primarily by southern Italian immigrants…then adapted and embellished upon in American kitchens.”

This hybrid cuisine took the essential ingredients of Italy and supersized them. Red sauce, mozzarella cheese, meatballs — all were transformed by importation into the land of plenty. As Mariani puts it: “It began, authentically enough, with Italian immigrants who were skilled at making the very most from the very least. The abbondanza for which Italian-American cooking is known stems from the fact that these immigrant cooks, most of whom came from dire poverty, took pride in being able to feed family and friends sumptuously on the kinds of foods they couldn’t afford back home. Ingredients like mozzarella and ricotta were no longer used as accents, or as meals in themselves: they were added to dishes with abandon.” Pizza went from being essentially a flatbread with very little cheese to the mozzarella-loaded beauties we see today. Meatballs grew; tomato-y marinara was invented. And places like Paesano sprung up all over the country.

Paesano is home to classic Italian-American fare: big portions, lots of red “gravy,” and piles of melted, gooey cheese. The food does not disappoint, especially given that for $24 we were also able to order a nicely balanced bottle of Paso Robles zinfandel to accompany our meal.

He won't eat vegetables — give him gnocchi with pesto.

The menu is standard, though it contains some surprises, like gnocchi, which you can order with one of their homemade sauces: marinara, meat, alfredo, or pesto. My son’s eyes lit up. He won’t eat vegetables, but give him gnocchi with pesto ($7 for a half order, or $12 for a full order that comes with a salad), and he can hardly contain himself. The Stuffed Bell Peppers, with sausage, basmati rice, and lots of herbs beneath a blanket of marinara and mozzarella ($8), were delicious, according to the dad of one of my son’s classmates, and it’s something on the menu that’s gluten-free. The pizzas are generously sauced and come with a dizzying array of toppings — the usual pepperoni and sausage, but also ground sirloin, gorgonzola cheese, homemade meatballs, “Tavern Ham,” and lots of different vegetables.

My husband was torn between the Baked Ravioli — homemade, and stuffed full of meat or cheese (full $11, half $7) — or the Sausages & Peppers served over spaghetti ($12). He compromised and went with the ravioli, which arrives sizzling in a baking dish, and a side order of meatball and sausage (a bargain at $3). The meats, made on site, were meltingly tender, perfectly spiced, and went well with both his dish and my Baked Eggplant Parmigiana (full $13, half $7). The eggplant was a very competent take on an Italian-American standard. A hearty casserole overflowing with mozzarella and long, thin, buttery slices of breaded eggplant, the full portion will leave you with enough food for lunch the next day.

Though the restaurant was jam-packed with patrons, the waitstaff was generous and attentive. Almost immediately after we ordered our food, the waiter plunked down a giant stack of the most delicious sourdough garlic bread. Buttered, garlic-laden, and toasted, I was again reminded of the Italian-American restaurant food I grew up with. After dinner, the waiter brought my son a dish of spumoni ice cream ($3) for dessert. I watched him take his first bite of this tri-color confection — chocolate, cherry, and almond — and it was like coming full circle.

Don’t expect a fine-dining experience here; there are plenty of “authentic” Italian restaurants in Little Italy or downtown. Instead, you’ll find a comfy neighborhood joint with good beer and wine, and lots of red sauce. Abbondanza! ■

Paesano Fine Italian Food

3647 30th Street, North Park, 619-291-4090; paesanoofnorthpark.com

Vibe: “North Park’s Original Old School Italian Restaurant Since 1967,” family-style, abbondanza kitsch

Fare: Pizza, pasta, sandwiches, salads, wine, beer

Seating: four tables and four booths in front dining room, eight tables in back room

Must Try: Baked Ravioli; Gnocchi with Pesto; Baked Lasagna; Spaghetti with Olive Oil and Garlic

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Tuna within 3-day range Back in the Counts

Mind the rockfish regulations
Next Article

Aaron Bleiweiss: has guitar, has traveled

Seattle native takes Twists and Turns to assemble local all-stars
The baked eggplant parmigiana was a very competent take on an Italian-American standard.
The baked eggplant parmigiana was a very competent take on an Italian-American standard.
Place

Paesano

3647 30th Street, San Diego

The first North Park Little League team meeting of the new season had ended at Morley Field, and we were starving.

“Mom! Tonight’s the fundraiser for my school at Paesano’s. Can we go there?”

I fumbled around in the bottom of my purse and grabbed the crumpled purple flyer I’d found in my son’s backpack announcing said fundraiser.

“Sure,” I said, then said to my husband, “It’s just up the hill on 30th in North Park.”

Entering the restaurant felt like a journey back in time to our childhoods; Paesano Fine Italian Food opened in 1967, and the decor doesn’t seem to have been altered much since. There are two dimly lit dining rooms. In the front room, brown booths line the wall opposite the open kitchen and bar; both rooms have Formica-topped tables and metal chairs. Kitschy light fixtures — such as a cluster of fading glass grapes in one corner — and the cheery red candleholders squatting on each table make for an intimate dining experience.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The place was packed, and not only with the elementary-school crowd. All sorts of folks from the neighborhood were there — grandparents sharing a glass of wine with friends; middle-aged couples all dressed up and out on a date; hipsters enjoying a Mission Brewery Shipwrecked Double IPA and plates piled with pasta. Kids ran around, visiting and laughing. Again, we felt as if we’d wandered into an Americana time warp. Paesano reminds me of a place in Los Angeles my parents used to take me to, La Barbera’s, which was loud, joyous, and friendly, the sort of place where after two visits you are a regular: we were charmed before we’d taken a bite.

In a recent issue of Saveur magazine, John Mariani writes of growing up Italian-American and eating giant portions of heavy Italian food: “We thought we were eating authentic Italian food, because the dishes were the same ones all the other Italian families we knew cooked and ate. But in reality, our cuisine was an American invention: an amalgam of hearty, rustic dishes brought here, primarily by southern Italian immigrants…then adapted and embellished upon in American kitchens.”

This hybrid cuisine took the essential ingredients of Italy and supersized them. Red sauce, mozzarella cheese, meatballs — all were transformed by importation into the land of plenty. As Mariani puts it: “It began, authentically enough, with Italian immigrants who were skilled at making the very most from the very least. The abbondanza for which Italian-American cooking is known stems from the fact that these immigrant cooks, most of whom came from dire poverty, took pride in being able to feed family and friends sumptuously on the kinds of foods they couldn’t afford back home. Ingredients like mozzarella and ricotta were no longer used as accents, or as meals in themselves: they were added to dishes with abandon.” Pizza went from being essentially a flatbread with very little cheese to the mozzarella-loaded beauties we see today. Meatballs grew; tomato-y marinara was invented. And places like Paesano sprung up all over the country.

Paesano is home to classic Italian-American fare: big portions, lots of red “gravy,” and piles of melted, gooey cheese. The food does not disappoint, especially given that for $24 we were also able to order a nicely balanced bottle of Paso Robles zinfandel to accompany our meal.

He won't eat vegetables — give him gnocchi with pesto.

The menu is standard, though it contains some surprises, like gnocchi, which you can order with one of their homemade sauces: marinara, meat, alfredo, or pesto. My son’s eyes lit up. He won’t eat vegetables, but give him gnocchi with pesto ($7 for a half order, or $12 for a full order that comes with a salad), and he can hardly contain himself. The Stuffed Bell Peppers, with sausage, basmati rice, and lots of herbs beneath a blanket of marinara and mozzarella ($8), were delicious, according to the dad of one of my son’s classmates, and it’s something on the menu that’s gluten-free. The pizzas are generously sauced and come with a dizzying array of toppings — the usual pepperoni and sausage, but also ground sirloin, gorgonzola cheese, homemade meatballs, “Tavern Ham,” and lots of different vegetables.

My husband was torn between the Baked Ravioli — homemade, and stuffed full of meat or cheese (full $11, half $7) — or the Sausages & Peppers served over spaghetti ($12). He compromised and went with the ravioli, which arrives sizzling in a baking dish, and a side order of meatball and sausage (a bargain at $3). The meats, made on site, were meltingly tender, perfectly spiced, and went well with both his dish and my Baked Eggplant Parmigiana (full $13, half $7). The eggplant was a very competent take on an Italian-American standard. A hearty casserole overflowing with mozzarella and long, thin, buttery slices of breaded eggplant, the full portion will leave you with enough food for lunch the next day.

Though the restaurant was jam-packed with patrons, the waitstaff was generous and attentive. Almost immediately after we ordered our food, the waiter plunked down a giant stack of the most delicious sourdough garlic bread. Buttered, garlic-laden, and toasted, I was again reminded of the Italian-American restaurant food I grew up with. After dinner, the waiter brought my son a dish of spumoni ice cream ($3) for dessert. I watched him take his first bite of this tri-color confection — chocolate, cherry, and almond — and it was like coming full circle.

Don’t expect a fine-dining experience here; there are plenty of “authentic” Italian restaurants in Little Italy or downtown. Instead, you’ll find a comfy neighborhood joint with good beer and wine, and lots of red sauce. Abbondanza! ■

Paesano Fine Italian Food

3647 30th Street, North Park, 619-291-4090; paesanoofnorthpark.com

Vibe: “North Park’s Original Old School Italian Restaurant Since 1967,” family-style, abbondanza kitsch

Fare: Pizza, pasta, sandwiches, salads, wine, beer

Seating: four tables and four booths in front dining room, eight tables in back room

Must Try: Baked Ravioli; Gnocchi with Pesto; Baked Lasagna; Spaghetti with Olive Oil and Garlic

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

City Lights: Journey Through Light & Sound, Hotel Holiday Tea Service

Events December 7-December 11, 2024
Next Article

Gonzo Report: Jazz jam at a private party

A couple of accidental crashes at California English
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader