Delarosa

Once again, great plans didn't really pan out due to the fact we were tired and really didn't want to walk another 30 minutes to grab dinner.  Not mentioned in the House of Prime Rib post, we actually hiked it up the hill from SoMa to Van Ness!  So instead of visiting Una Pizza Napoletana, we stayed close to the Marriott Marquis and hit up Delarosa instead.  Therefore, we stuck with the pizza theme close to home.  The place seemed to be fairly highly-rated and judging by the continual lineup, it appeared to be more than a consolation prize.

After a half an hour wait, we got right down to the food starting with the Meatballs in a spicy marinara sauce.  Tender with the right density, the meatball was just loose enough without being crumbly.  Hence, they were succulent while still meaty.  They were mildly seasoned and peppery while the tangy spicy sauce added plenty of punch.  That was good, but the Dungeness Crab Arancini were even better.  These crispy little balls of aborio rice, cheese and crab were on point.  Outside, they were lightly crispy while on the inside, the rice was not too soft and completely cheesy.  The noticeable chunks of crab were fluffy and plentiful.  On the side, the calabrese ailoi provided a creamy tartness. 

Adding veggies to our meal, we resorted with the Fried Asparagus with lemon aioli.  You see, my son loves veggies as much as Instagrammers love dark restaurants.  Since he doesn't mind asparagus, especially fried asparagus, it was a no-brainer.  These were a bit greasy, but nicely crunchy while keeping the veggie firm.  The side of lemon ailoi was creamy and definitely tangy.  For our pasta, we went with the Linguine with prawns.  This was flavorful without being too salty.  Instead, the garlic and chilis provided the punch while the olive oil and aromatics from the prawns added another layer of flavor.  The pasta was on point being al dente.

Lastly, we had the Margherita and Burrata Pizza which was loaded with cheese.  Unfortunately, it was also the beneficiary of too much sauce which made parts of the crust soggy.  Despite this, the sauce was tangy and bright with a mild spice.  The creamy cheese was stringy and definitely apparent.  The crust was still nutty and crispy where it hadn't softened up.  For dessert, we had the Donuts with 3 dips.  They were yeasty and soft being almost fluffy.  The chocolate dip was dark and bitter while not being too sweet.  As you can probably guess, we enjoyed our meal at Delarosa and can definitely see why it is so busy, even on a weekday night.

The Good:
- Reasonably-priced
- Solid eats from the dishes we had
- Decent service

The Bad:
- Busy, there is a wait most-of-the-time
- Pizza crust was good, but soggy in spots due to the amount of sauce