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We thought Trattoria Contadina was going to be special. A couple of blocks off the strip and always packed, we heard that this was the gem of  North Beach.  Uh… not the case.  Unfortunately, Trattoria Contadina is just another typical Italian red sauce joint kept alive by travel books and concierges that counsel tourists seeking an authentic North Beach experience.

While the service was excellent, the food was uninspired and lazy. The bar tender down the street suggested that we start with the pepperoni arrostiti, a bell pepper cut in half, filled with cheese and drenched in the house specialty, a tomato cream sauce. The dish, while reasonably tasty, was sloppy, unimaginative and not memorable.

After a couple of salads, our server promptly delivered our main courses.  KU order a seafood soup that ended up being almost  inedible.  Even after a couple of cocktails, I wouldn’t even finish it.  An unbalanced broth without even a hint  of white wine, garlic or lemon was topped with overcooked bi-valves and tasteless, rubbery squid.  The dish was a huge miss.  I ordered the polpettine, linguini in tomato sauce (I’m not much for cream sauce) with  ”Rocky’s” homemade meatballs.  It was fine.  The meatballs, dry and bland, had been previously frozen.  Needless to say, we skipped the dolci. Neither one of us wanted anymore of this delusione.