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Busalacchi's Restaurant Review

3683 Fifth Ave. (Pennsylvania Ave.) Send to Phone
San DiegoCA 92103
619-298-0119 | Make Restaurant Reservations | Menu
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This family-run eatery offers authentic Sicilian cuisine in Hillcrest.

Cuisine

Open

Dinner nightly

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This is not your typical kicked-back Hillcrest hangout, but it's hard to call Busalacchi's formal, as it’s set in an old house and run by a family so it has a warm, homey feel. Proprietors Joe and Lisa Busalacchi offer a menu slanted towards Sicily, with chef Salvador Torres helming the kitchen for over 15 years. A nice beginning arrives as thin pesto and romano cheese-filled crêpes or lightly breaded calamari. A good range of veal, fish and chicken dishes dominate the entrée selections with the saltimbocca as a standout. Tender veal medallions are topped with prosciutto and mozzarella and rest over spinach with a lemon-white wine sauce marrying it all together. Vegetarians will enjoy the eggplant layered with vegetables, mozzarella and marinara sauce while scallop fans must try them alla Romana, a tasty plate with the scallops wrapped in pancetta and nestled in cream sauce. Myriad satisfying pastas round out the menu. We also recommend the cannoli and pastries, and in all but the coldest weather we like to enjoy them on the sheltered terrace that abuts the sidewalk.

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