Lame Teachers and Great Restaurants

I am convinced that there are less than a dozen people in this city who can teach a good beginner dance class. I just got back from a miserable salsa experience. I'm telling you, they should put me in charge of teaching everthing. Not because I'm perfect, but because anything is better than what I just took part in.

On the up side, I also ate at one of the best damned restaurants I've ever been in. It's becoming a favorite of mine. La Traviata is located in the primarily latino Mission District, but serves the best Italian food I've had in the Bay Area. It's a family business. The man who waited on us, who also could have been the owner for all we know, told us that his uncle had moved to the United States from Sicily 33 years ago and started the restaurant in their current location. Apparently, he was walking to the bakery to buy a cake, and he ended up buying the restaurant space instead. Over three decades later, they're still making amazing food! Check it out. And don't let the fact that it's not packed to the gills fool you. The food is delicious, the staff are chatty and funny, and, if you're lucky, the resident almost-3-year-old granddaughter will sing "Happy Birthday" to you, even if it's not your birthday.