Gaspare's Pizza House & Italian Restaurant, San Francisco

When Gaspare left his hometown of Siculiana, Sicily to travel to the United States, he didn't go empty-handed. Along with his suitcases, he brought a head full of recipes and a palate that appreciated the subtleties of authentic Italian cuisine. He put those skills to use right away at Gaspare's Pizza House & Italian Restaurant, where he began spinning out thin-crust pizzas, including a signature pie topped with fresh tomatoes, roasted bell peppers, and a blend of mozzarella and feta. To complement these pizzas, he whips up a menu of classic Old World cuisine, topping tables with everything from veal scaloppine to gnocchi with bolognese sauce.

Stepping into Gaspare's new home is a lot like returning to his old one. Above sea-foam-green booths, personal jukeboxes play classic tunes, and grapevines hang from the ceiling, inspiring a thirst for Italian wine and reminding guests of the vines their parents plucked them from as babies.