Tucked away in the heart of San Francisco’s Russian Hill, Amarena is a cozy Italian restaurant that exudes charm and authenticity. With its warm ambiance, lively vibes and classic dishes, this neighborhood gem stands out as a romantic restaurant worth experiencing more than once. Owned and ran by Milano native Paolo Galli, who also is Executive Chef, Amarena was opened in 2002, just two years after he moved to the city.

Galli grew up being spoiled by his mother’s cooking, and after decades of asking her for cooking advise and learning her recipes, she suddenly passed. This was the catalyst in opening Amarena, meaning sour cherry.

“I am a happy person,” explains Chef/ Owner, Galli. “What I love, and what I am good at too, is making people happy around me. Having a restaurant where I can enjoy feeding guests everyday and putting a smile on their faces with my cuisine couldn’t be a better fit.”

When you walk into Amarena, the welcoming energy is palpable. Whether sitting at the wine bar or at a table, of which you’ll also be surrounded by wine bottles lining the walls, people are are right at home. The wine list is extensive, with most hailing from Italy or California. During happy hour guests can enjoy a 30% off any drink and 30% off any pasta dish from the menu from 5:00 pm to 6:00pm.

The menu itself also features quite a selection of Italian dishes, some being Galli’s mother’s recipes and others traditional Italian recipes.

“When I test a new dish, the flavor needs to open up my memories in order to be approved,” continues Galli, who takes pride in keeping his mother’s memory alive through his dishes and restaurant. “For example, with the Polenta Consada, a signature dish featuring polenta with parmigiano, sage and cream sauce, this was a dish that, if I was sad, eating it would cheer me up and my mother knew this.”

The menu offers starters like the Pulpo alla Griglia which is octopus with olives and capers; the Tortino di Melanzane which are baked eggplants with fresh tomato sauce and smoked mozzarella; and the Frittura Mista with lightly battered seafood including calamari and prawns.

The pastas truly standout at this restaurant. Galli and his culinary team makes the pasta fresh everyday with the best quality of flower and eggs.

“Everything from the ravioli, pappardelle and tagliolini to the gnocchi and lasagna — all made from scratch,” he continues. “You can taste and feel the difference.”

The pasta selection includes highlights like the Ravioli di Zucca with butternut squash topped with salty ricotta cheese in a brown butter and sage sauce; the Paccheri dell Alpino, which is made from tube pasta, smoked prosciutto, sundried tomatoes in a creamy Madeira wine sauce; and the Tagliolini Ai Funghi E Tartufo, made with homemade tagliolini noodle with mushrooms and truffle sauce.

Of course they also have the classic red sauce pastas like the rich Pappardelle al Cinghiale made with a wild boar ragu and traditional meat lasagna. The pastas’ texture is perfectly soft, yet chewy, making way for the perfect vessels for the sauces.

“I have families, neighbors and friends continuing to dine with us for over 20 years,” explains Galli who’s been running Amarena for over 22 years. “I’ve seen families forming since the first date, to the kids and then them becoming adults and still coming. I really believe that the consistency of our cuisine and making sure that each dish tastes as delicious as the last time they visited, keep people coming back.”

The restaurant also features a selection of heartier entrees like the fall-off-the-bone Osso Buco with cross-cut veal shanks slowly cooked and braised with vegetables served over a bed of polenta; the Agnello ai Mirtilli, which is grilled racks of lamb served with blueberry sauce and mashed potatos and the Salmone alla Griglia, a roasted wild salmon with tomatoes, olives and capers.

Save room for desserts that include the Salame al Cioccolato, a decadent regional dessert with nuts from northern Italy made for chocolate lovers; classic tiramisu; vanilla gelato with succulent wild Italian cherries; and panna cotta.

The restaurant recently launched lunch service on the weekends from 11:30-2pm, Saturdays and Sundays. Lunch special’s include 30%off all pasta dishes from the menu.

Whether you’re a longtime fan or discovering Amarena for the first time, this cozy gem in Russian Hill promises a memorable night out. From the lovingly homemade pastas to the heartfelt recipes rooted in family tradition, every dish tells a story of passion and authenticity. It’s a piece of Italy in San Francisco, waiting to be experienced.

The Denver Broncos are riding a three-game win streak going into their bye week. Though it hasn’t been an easy path the past three weeks, they’ve done what good teams do, and that’s find ways to overcome mistakes and win games.

And now the Broncos, who entered the 2024 season as a team many projected to win five or six games, are in the hunt for a playoff spot, something they haven’t accomplished since 2015.

Early in the season, the Broncos defense proved to be better than many expected. In more recent weeks, though, the offense has come around. Per one advanced metric, the Broncos offense has improved greatly from the first six weeks of the season to the past seven weeks.

DVOA, the advanced metric by Aaron Schatz that measures how efficient teams are overall and in each phase of the game (offense, defense, special teams), shows that the Broncos are among five teams that have made the biggest improvement on offense from Weeks 1-6 to Weeks 7-13.

In Weeks 1-6, the Broncos had an offensive DVOA of -13.7%, or 26th in the league. For Weeks 7-13, the Broncos had an offensive DVOA of 3.3% , or 14th in the league for that span.

What happens next on the Broncos beat? Don’t miss out on any news and analysis! Take a second, sign up for our free newsletter, and get breaking Broncos news delivered to your inbox daily!

Though not a large number, that the Broncos have positive DVOA on offense for the last seven weeks is a sign the offense is doing more to complement the other phases of the game. That has been important, as the other two phases of the game haven’t always executed.

As for the season thus far, the Broncos are ninth in overall DVOA at 11.7%. They are 19th in offensive DVOA at -4.0% (keep in mind that’s for all 13 weeks), fifth in defensive DVOA at -11.5% and fourth in special teams DVOA at 4.2%.

While the Broncos are still in the bottom half of the league in overall DVOA, keep in mind that’s because it takes a lot to overcome the first six weeks in which the Broncos offense often struggled. Better play on offense after the bye could put the Broncos into the top half of the league overall.

The Broncos still have a long way to go to become a Super Bowl contender, though. The Lions still top the field in DVOA at 43.2%, while the Ravens are second at 35% (but thanks largely to the offense), the Bills are third at 26.1% and the Eagles are fourth at 25%.

Still, it’s good to see the improvement on offense and the defense playing better this season than some may have thought. And no doubt fans are happy to see the Broncos in position to make the playoffs.

Follow Mile High Huddle on X/Twitter and Facebook.

Subscribe to Mile High Huddle on YouTube for daily Broncos live-stream podcasts!

What a year it has been. It’s impossible to adequately summarize the highs and lows of 2024, but there’s something cathartic about re-engaging with the stories that really grabbed our readers and captured the mood of the last 12 months in Seattle. From the saddest closures to the triumphs of a solo deliveryman stickin’ it to the apps, these were the biggest moments in Seattle food news this year.

Shame on us for thinking the Barbie bump was over post-Barbenheimer Summer 2023. Seattle’s decorated restaurant institution Canlis proved that odes to the Mattel brand continue to capture attention even a year later, when in July the whole restaurant was repainted Barbie pink to transform into “Kenlis” for a a doll-themed two-day party in August. Naturally, it sold out.

There’s nothing more wholesome in the face of late-stage capitalism than watching a guy like Tony Illes rise in the delivery wars against the likes of DoorDash and Uber Eats. Illes made a name for himself by charging a flat delivery fee, competing with the high costs of competitors that hiked rates in response to Seattle standards for minimum wage workers on the app. We salute you, Tony Delivers.

This story’s outsized impact merely scrapes the surface of what Howdy Bagel co-owner Jake Carter meant to the wider community. Carter was tragically killed while traveling in New Orleans in January. The Tacoma restaurant, which is known to draw long lines, reopened in February with friends and fans of the shop paying tribute to Carter in the form of hand-written notes.

In August, Eater Seattle editor Harry Cheadle reported on the exception to Seattle’s minimum wage law that allowed small businesses to give tipped workers a lower base pay rate than non-tipped workers. Allowing the exemption to expire will likely put a squeeze on many restaurants in the city next year and perhaps lead to broader changes such as increased use of service fees. In October, elected officials confirmed that they would allow the tipped credit exemption to expire as planned. Hourly workers in all businesses, tipped or not, will be paid $20.76 come 2025.

Seattle celebrated its 2024 crop of James Beard Award semifinalists in January. Included among the ranks were Quynh-Vy and Yenvy Pham of Pho Bac, the Boat, and Phocific Standard Time; Aaron Verzosa of Archipelago; the Walrus and the Carpenter; Jenet Becerra of Pancita; Ben Campbell of Ben’s Bread Co.; and Eight Row. They were joined by Kristi Brown of Communion, Grayson Corrales of MariPili Tapas Bar, Evan Leichtling of Off Alley, Melissa Miranda of Musang, Avery Adams of Orcas Island’s Matia Kitchen, and Derek Bray at the Table in Tacoma — all of whom were under consideration for the Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific category. Ultimately, the region walked away empty-handed.

Build-your-own pizza chain Mod Pizza got its start in Seattle and has expanded to hundreds of locations since then, but lately, it’s fallen on hard times. In what’s been characterized as a move to avert bankruptcy, Mod sold to Elite Restaurant Group in July.

The early aughts trend in cupcake shops managed to sustain in Seattle for decades under Cupcake Royale. The brand founded by Jody Hall opened in 2003 on the leading edge of the cupcake craze in the PNW. But, like so many things harmed by the pandemic, Hall announced that Cupcake Royale would be shutting down its cafes to focus on delivery and pickup service.

Seattle lost more than a few great restaurants and bars this year — we’re looking at you ʔálʔal Cafe, Two Doors Down, Coastal Kitchen, that one weird Taco Time — but some hurt more than others and for Eater Seattle readers, dry-aged burger favorite 49th Street Beast was deeply mourned. The restaurant closed on July 28 inside Fair Island Brewing.

In brighter burger news, Familyfriend absolutely captivated diners this year with its smash-hit Kewpie burger — a dish so good it earned an Eater Award. Eater Seattle’s piece on the dramatic rise of Familyfriend on TikTok revealed even more about this Guamian gamechanger, which (by the way) has way more than burgers to offer.

Word of Andrew Rubinstein’s forthcoming bagel shop delighted fans throughout the Seattle area after he sold his namesake shop Rubinstein Bagels to restaurateur Ethan Stowell. Rubinstein’s new venture, Hey Bagel, is slated to open any day now in University Village and you could cut the anticipation with a bread knife.