A wine cafe where bruschetta takes center stage (By Deanna Sandoval)
Little Italy, Restaurant

Culinary Newcomers in Little Italy

By Frank Sabatini Jr.

An art wall of 5,500 mechanic name tags confirms you’ve arrived at the new Postino, which beckons back to the days when this Kettner Street address operated as a British Motors dealership. Gone are the oil pits and imported car parts. They’ve given way to a hefty selection of seasonal wines made exclusively for the indoor-outdoor wine bar.

Postino was founded in Arizona about 20 years ago and has since branched into several states. It is also famous for its crafty selection of bruschetta that incorporates a variety of ingredients such as artichokes, Mexican street corn, figs, smoked salmon and more. Even better, the place runs a generous happy hour from 11:00a to 5:00p daily.

Coming soon to the same mixed-use building is the San Francisco-based Slice House, a pizzeria founded in 2010 by 13-time world pizza champion Tony Gemignani. The menu will feature pizzas with an array of toppings, not to mention a choice of four different types of house-made crust, including the one used for making those square crunchy-edged Detroit-style pies.

The rapidly growing chain has nearly a dozen locations in the West and nearly 100 more in the pipeline. It plans on opening a few more spots in San Diego County after the Little Italy launch later this year.