470354 Mon Dec 17 15:31:04 -0800 2007 3 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 3216454 I walked up Turk St. to Comida Yucatan y City Pizza for lunch today; Monday's special is pochero. For $8 you get a bowl of broth with noodles, a chicken drumstick and two large chunks of delicious pork (a thick rim of fat on one side but otherwise lean); four made-to-order corn torillas, and a side plate consisting of the following, all cooked soft: a mound of cabbage, a section of a narrow zucchini, a carrot, a wedge of chayote, a soft-baked section of orange yam, and about a third of a plantain. All components were very mildly seasoned - some would probably think undersalted too, but this is just the kind of home-cooked thing I crave. The broth is not rich; there is maybe the merest hint of onion or garlic; the noodles were like soft-cooked spaghetti, and were nothing special. But I loved all the vegetables, and the tortillas. I also loved the tender, sweet pork. My favorite taste of the meal was putting some pork shreds and sweet potato in a piece of tortilla, drizzled with the table hot sauce (a very thin, green roasted habanero, I think.) I am looking forward to trying more meals here. I can't wait to try the liquid black beans that seem to come with the non-soup entrees. The Tenderloin denizens did not bother me. I routinely walk at noon (alone) from downtown up Eddy or Turk to the bahn mi places on Larkin. Most of the street people are too out of it to be harmful. Mon Dec 17 15:31:04 -0800 2007 31877 lmarie 1 3216919 Thank you for the report. This puchero seems really interesting - I immediately thought of Cocido Madridleno - with the progression of Meat in one dish, veg in another, and starch on the side. The black beans are a must! Mon Dec 17 18:09:31 -0800 2007 3216454 14086 kare_raisu 1 3216966 Thanks for giving it a whirl. The puchero was high on my list to try. I added a little salt to my food too. FWIW, the green salsa is serrano and habanero chiles Mon Dec 17 18:27:28 -0800 2007 3216454 10039 Melanie Wong 1 4034505 Looking for something else, I found this San Francisco Magazine article with a little background information http://www.sanfranmag.com/story/el-sabor-de-m%C3%A9xico-san-francisco#story_top "Pakistani owner Mohammed Nadeem poached Adelina Cham from an underground restaurant in the Mission. Now, in the heart of the Tenderloin, Cham is turning out precisely the sort of food she prepared in her hometown of Tecax" The sopa de coditos and the entomatado sound good. I'm going to have to work up some courage and get over there again. Well, good for Mr. Nadeem. Let's hope he opens more places finding talented cooks like Cham. Sun Sep 14 14:57:47 -0700 2008 3216454 10264 rworange