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Join us
on the patio
Friday, May 9
for a
Taste of Summer Wines
5:00 - 7:30pm
$15.00 Donation* per person
includes tasting of
5 Italian Regional Wines
& Appetizers

Stay for Dinner... Make Reservations Now
*Proceeds are going in whole to the
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's
Man and Woman of the Year Campaign

The Society is the world's largest national voluntary health organization dedicated to curing leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma, and to improving the quality of life of patients and families.

  The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Man & Woman of the Year campaign began here in 1990 in San Francisco to honor John Spencer, a valued employee at Hastings Clothier in San Francisco and a Society volunteer. Spencer died of leukemia at the age of 39. It was in John's memory that Hastings began supporting the Society's Northern California Chapter with the San Francisco Man & Woman of the Year event. Now, more than 40 Man & Woman of the Year campaigns occur across the nation, making this a highly visible fundraising program.

For further information please visit The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Website

is the culmination of 25 years of gastronomic exploration of Italy beginning with pastry and evolving into food and wine. Collaborating with long time friend and Chef Angelo Auriana, we have created a seasonal menu featuring innovative Italian cuisine using the freshest local ingredients as well as authentic Italian products whenever available. From house-made pastas and focaccia to hand-rolled grissini and specialty desserts, share with us an authentic Italian dining experience in San Francisco
Welcome & Enjoy your evening ~ Gary Rulli


Begin with…
salsiccia & broccoli di chico
sautéed fennel pork sausage, broccoli di chico with a red bell pepper sauce
8.00

borlotti & gamberoni
slow cooked Italian beans with pan seared, garlic shrimp
9.00

burrata & olive
Apulian style mozzarella cheese, Bella di Cerignola olives, zucchini
11.00

il piatto freddo di formaggi
a selection of imported Italian artisan cheese and condiments
15.00

il tagliere di salumi
a selection of domestic & imported cold cuts
16.00


Pizza
pizza bianca
fresh rosemary, kosher salt, olive oil
10.00

pizza margherita
mozzarella, tomato sauce, fresh basil
12.00

pizza del giorno
14.00


Salad
misticanza & calamari
mixed field greens, red wine vinaigrette with fresh, local calamari
9.00

radicchio & vegetali
radicchio leaf, carrot, zucchini, white onion, shallot dressing
9.00

lattuga & pinoli
butter lettuce and lemon dressing with pinenuts and Grana Padano
10.00


Pasta
tagliatelle & anatra
hand-cut duck meat, shallots, and marinara
15.00

pennette & pesce
spicy tomato arrabiata sauce with calamari, clams and mussels
16.00

paparadelle & piselli
english peas, prosciutto san danielle and garlic
16.00

ravioli & agnello
house-made lamb and goat cheese ravioli, cherry tomatoes, sage and pancetta
16.00

risotto & asparagi
vialone nano rice, local asparagus and shallots
18.00


Main Course
pollo & mandorle
almond breaded chicken breast-Milanese style, sage and sautéed greens
16.00

maiale & peperoncino
honey glazed pork tenderloin, chili, spiced natural jus
19.00

aquapazza
red snapper poached in a shallot, white wine, marjoram and zucchini broth
19.00

vitello & cipolle
grilled veal loin chop, sautéed spinach, white onion fondue
24.00


Sides
warm mixed olives
4.00 / 7.00

asparagi
organic local asparagus, brown butter, Grana Padano
5.00

$3.00 split charge per item split
20% service charge added for parties of 6 or larger


Every Tuesday, master chef Angelo Auriana flies up from Los Angeles to cook a surprise $45 prix fixe dinner at Emporio Rulli Gran Caffe on Chestnut Street. The ever-changing, unannounced, one-day-a-week menu is his whim and an opportunity to taste his refined, playful, swooningly luscious Northern Italian cooking at a great price. Dinner at Valentino in Santa Monica where he heads the kitchen costs twice the amount.

A lot of Italians here — restaurant owners, chefs, waiters, wine people — all seem to know about this culinary windfall. On Tuesday nights, the evocatively frescoed Rulli caffe feels like a piece of Milan.

Last Tuesday, Auriana sent out crudo, thin slices of pristine raw tuna and yellowtail in scented oils with incomparably creamy and flavorful Italian buffalo milk mozzarella. The next dish, a wild mushroom sformatino, an intensely mushroomy custard, was an example of his own unsurpassed wizardry.

He coaxes limitless flavor and texture out of pasta. Agnolotti de plin, little crescent-shaped ravioli with a miraculous texture, and a smooth, rosemary-scented meat filling, were moistened only with a spoon of natural cooking juices. I've never had anything like them.

Shaved porcini and tissue-thin San Danieli prosciutto melted into a classic risotto, each grain of rice separate yet adhering, excitingly chewy and plumped with flavor.

Then sliced duck breast arrived, velvety, rare, tender as filet mignon, with a ragout of thinly sliced black olives and zucchini and a bright green, herby salsa.

Auriana drew on the Rulli pantry of sweets to compose his dessert — a shimmering, mini-panna cotta of barely set cream, an espresso cup of rum-spiked chocolate mascarpone mousse flecked with hazelnut meringue crumbs, and a little scoop of refreshing blood orange and Campari ice.

Beyond his dazzling technical skill, Auriana understands proportion and contrast, the aesthetic of the meal as a whole. His friend Gary Rulli gives him complete freedom to create these soaring culinary flights, and the Tuesday night patrons are the lucky passengers.

Many of Auriana's dishesare on the nightly a la carte menu — and they are spectacular, but the portions are gigantic. A spring inspired risotto captures the sweet, grassy nature of asparagus ($18). Light, tender gnocchi topped with a sprightly ragout of tender squashes, roasted cipollini and cherry tomatoes, sink into an extravagant bed of pureed fresh peas ($13).

The duck dish on the regular menu happens to be delicious, showered with fava beans, sweetened by dried mission figs, enriched by a velvety sunchoke puree ($22).

The building blocks of a great meal are there, so craft your own. Start with a fire-licked grilled artichoke ($11). Ask if the kitchen would split the pasta course. Choose one of the nicely constructed main dishes. Finish with Italian cheese, or a Rulli dessert. The reasonably priced, all Italian wine list with many excellent glasses at $7 to $9, works hand in glove with the food.

But — treat yourself to a Tuesday night meal. You won't find a better Northern Italian experience here, or there.

Featured in The San Francisco Chronicle

The flying chef: Italian baker extraordinaire-restaurateur Gary Rulli of Emporio Rulli (464 Magnolia Ave., Larkspur; and 2300 Chestnut St., San Francisco) has snagged one of the most recognized Italian chefs in the United States on a one-day-a-week basis. Angelo Auriana, executive chef at Valentino's in Santa Monica, spends every Tuesday at Rulli's Marina district restaurant, working on a menu of rustic Italian fare.