The Steps of Rome Lead to North Beach

The best late-night dessert place in the city of San Francisco is the Steps of Rome Cafe in North Beach. Even if you're a confused tourist aimlessly wandering the neon-lit streets of North Beach (San Francisco's equivalent of Little Italy), you can't miss the quirky Steps of Rome. You'll hear and see the rowdy, belligerent restaurant crowd over a mile away. The best and most "quirky" part of the restaurant, is that if you come in the restaurant with a bridal veil (even if your not a bachelorette), you'll get star treatment--treatment even better than those commercials promoting Celebrity Cruise Lines. The waiters will eagerly flick the restaurant's light switches on and off, slap their muscled thighs while belting out unintelligible Italian ballads, and increase the deafening volume on the music blaring through their eardrum-piercing speaker system.

The twenty-something, fobby, cocky, and energetic Italian waiters are Italy's equivalent of state university frat guys and they look like European soccer players who are in the midst of a heated, sweaty soccer game, frenetically trying to balance trays of food and drinks in their mottled, grass-stained jerseys. Their heavy accents and inherent Italian flirtatiousness are addictive to anyone with an iota of estrogen pumping through her (or his) bloodstream.

Best of all, the heart stopping desserts are titillating to even the most staid of taste buds.

Their tiramisu is the one of best I've had at any restaurant. The Italian "pick-me-up" is carpeted with a luxurious dusting of cocoa powder, and is made with a soft spongy cake saturated with a rich and pungent-flavored espresso. The "icing on the cake" is literally a milky, creamy, thick, and cloud-like mascarpone cheese and whipped egg mixture.

If you come only for dessert, ask for their "special dessert menu," and wink at the waiter if you want something extra special!