There is a glow to Shelley Lindgren when she works the floor of her San Francisco restaurant, A16 – the kind of glow only seen in those who deeply and unreservedly love what they do. In fact, Lindgren’s restaurant – founded in 2004 with her husband and named after the famous stretch of Italian highway from Naples to Bari – is truly an ode to who she is, what she believes and what she loves.
A Bay Area native, Lindgren is a certified sommelier and an influential champion of the lesser-known Italian wines. She has written two books on the subject and is working on her third. Lindgren’s work has been recognized by the James Beard Foundation. “The opening of the restaurant timed perfectly with a renaissance of Italian wine,” she says, referring to a time when the world began to take notice of Italian wine – beyond the regions of Piedmont, Veneto, and Tuscany. What she doesn’t mention is just how pivotal her involvement with that renaissance truly was. In her wine-focused travels through Italy, she developed a taste for “the natural hospitality of the Italian table and its respect for food and wine.” This pushed her further toward the not-so-famous winemaking regions. There, she found a new generation of passionate vintners, who were making extraordinary wines created with food pairings in mind. To her delight, many of these winemakers were women. It was the intersection of these long-established and newly-emerging cultural elements that, she says, “translated into A16.”
Nicolette Manescalchi and Shelley Lindgren (ph IG)
Lindgren came back determined to increase the awareness of Italian wine in the U.S. – beyond the usual borders, while also showcasing the work of female vintners and chefs at the same time. The restaurant debuted with a daring selection focused on food-friendly wines, mostly from the Italian South. From day one, she offered a flight of wines made exclusively by women. The open kitchen’s focus is a wood-fired oven and produced the very first authentic pizza napoletana San Francisco had ever seen. And despite the restaurant opening under a male chef in 2004, chef Nicolette Manescalchi has been at the kitchen’s helm since 2016.
Despite the skepticism her wine choices drew from industry peers, Lindgren’s bets and the personally curated, warm hospitality with its uncompromising quality have paid off. Not only did she open another Oakland location in 2013, but A16 in San Francisco continues to be one of the hottest tickets in town. Reservations are never as hard to come by as they are every March 8th for the annual “Festa della Donna” event for International Women’s Day.
Mostaccioli with eggplant, smoked tomato, guanciale, sheep milk ricotta salata (ph IG)
The idea for the event was conceived just a year after opening – when an Italian friend mentioned missing the way Italians celebrate International Women’s Day. That’s when Shelley knew she had found the perfect way to celebrate the true spirit of A16. In 2005, Lindgren launched the first edition of “Festa della Donna” with Cecilia Naldoni Piccin of the Grifalcovini winery in Basilicata as the event’s featured winemaker. As time went on, female guest chefs were also included in the lineup. Last year, the event featured Donne di Pizza Donne di Cuore, a group of seven of the top female Italian pizzaiole.
This year, every female chef currently working at A16 has created one of the menu’s seven dishes for International Women’s Day. For this year’s featured winemaker, Lindgren has returned to the region of Piedmont – for exclusive pairing selections by Elisa Semino of La Colombera, most often hailed as the “Queen of Timorasso” by industry peers and fans alike.
Fresh anchovy pizza: smoked mozzarella, grana padano, heirloom tomatoes, red onion, calabrian chiles, oregano, garlic. Anchovies are fresh out of the SF bay! (ph FB)
Curious what’s going to be on the menu this year? Well, we were lucky enough to get the scoop from Lindgren herself. As befits the very essence of such a generous restaurateur and symbol of women’s leadership, Lindgren shared this year’s very special once-a-year “Festa della Donna” menu with us. This is an exclusive Italian dining experience you do not want to miss (book here!).
A16 Festa della Donna Menu for 2020
Antipasti
Chicory salad – date vinaigrette, almond, pickled onions, ricotta salata,
Borage crespelle – ricotta, fennel pollen, chive, preserved lemon, pecorino
Pizza
Burrata – carrot top pesto, carrot, walnut, green garlic, olive oil
Pasta
Green garlic pasta alla chitarra – ricotta di bufala, asparagus, preserved egg yolk, lemon agrumato, fried breadcrumbs
Secondo
McFarland Springs trout – almond, parsley, citrus
Contorno
Corona bean salad – thyme vinaigrette, red onion
Dolce
Lemon torta – ricotta buttercream, pistachio crumble