Tag Archives: neighborhood gem

Blue Plate Redux

Blue Plate Entrance

One of my favourite restaurants in town, I’ve been going to Blue Plate since it opened in 1999 and began serving its wonderful, hearty neo-American fare with plays on old classics like Meatloaf and Fried Chicken. Today, it can still pack in a crowd, so that last-minute reservations on a Friday night yielded only a 9:15 opening, but we were able to get seated around 9 or so by arriving around 8:45 and waiting for a couple of the counter seats.

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Sushi Kazu

Sushi Kazu Omakase

Sushi Kazu has got to be one of the more underrated sushi-yas in the tightly packed and well-curated commercial area that is the best part of my neighborhood in the Inner Sunset. Restaurants and shoppes are thickest between 6th and 10th on Irving, and in that radius there are no less than five sushi restaurants, and further down on Irving and 15th, there are exactly three Japanese restaurants (not necessarily sushi, though) located within one block. Continue reading

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Outerlands

Outerlands

If ever there was a space that could inspire dreaming, it would be the inside of Outerlands.

It’s gorgeous, with walls, chairs and countertops made out of reclaimed wood. A slanting driftwood mosaic covers part of the kitchen counter. Proprietors David Muller and Lana Porcello initially started by feeding friends out of their ocean beach abode; soon the initiative blossomed into a full-fledged restaurant. And indeed, they seemed to have captured the feel of Ocean Beach perfectly. It’s moody, but warm, the grey light from typically overcast Outer Sunset filtering in via only 3 windows. There’s a sense of escaping to the end of the earth, and its distance from the rest of the city out on Judah and 45th may be both curse for some and a boon for those of us who live relatively close by. Continue reading

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Citizen’s Band

Citizen's Band Interior

I’m not sure when I would have finally gotten around to looking into Citizen’s Band had not a couple of my good friends (also enthusiastic connoisseurs of good food and drink), K plus D, checked into it recently and given it a thumbs-up.  As it happens, we would be in the neighborhood attending the Almanac Beer inaugural bottle release party of their first-ever brew: a Summer Belgian with Blackberries aged in oak.  The party was at City Beer Store, a few storefronts away from Citizen’s Band.

So after we had managed to consume one of the last few glasses of Almanac’s Summer 2007 sour brew, we trotted over to the corner of Folsom and 8th.  Narrow, dominated by a long 12-seat old-school soda fountain-like counter on one side, and a series of two-and-four tops on the other, the restaurant (CB) looked small but bright and cheery, the walls plastered with postcards, vintage photographs and old prints.

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Toyose – Outer Sunset

Toyose Chicken Sign

Toyose is way out in the Outer Sunset, Noriega and 45th to be exact.  So close is it to the beach I wonder whether folks have taken their orders of Korean Fried Chicken down to the coast, perfect for an evening picnic or twilight bonfire.  It didn’t hit my radar until the New York Times ran a story on late night eats in San Francisco, focusing on where folks from the restaurant industry tend to congregate after work.  We live in the Inner Sunset, but it still took us 10 minutes or so – even late at night on a Sunday – to make it out to the outer avenues.  It’s a Korean restaurant located in the garage of a residential building and its only distinguishing sign is the one above of a winking chicken.  Cheeky and appropriate.

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Blue Plate

Blue Light for Blue Plate

Sam of Becks & Posh recently posted on Blue Plate, one of my favourite restaurants in San Francisco. I’ve been there multiple times and have never been disappointed. It’s located in the outer Mission, near Bernal Heights, and I consider it similar to Luna Park (another favourite) and Emmy’s Spaghetti Shack close by — really great food at reasonable prices, all with a very down to earth, cozy-casual feel that I believe epitomizes the best of San Francisco dining. On all Hallow’s Eve eve Nora & I caught Spicy’s show, “Gruesome Tales of Death & Destruction” at the Odeon. We got out around 930pm, and, instead of having to grab a burrito at one of the inumerable taqueiras that surround the area, we were gratified to find a fantastic alternative just across the street.

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