Korean/etc (anything) near northern SF FiDi?

[Marc Wallace]

I'll be at Clay and Sansome for lunches for the foreseeable future, and wondered what was good -- and close, say within a six block radius -- to there. These two threads were helpful in locating some spots:

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/401623
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/505821

But Korean, Vietnamese, Mexican, Japanese, Indian.. of those I see very little via searches here, gmaps, or my brief wanderings around there (ie on the way back to BART). There did seem to be a banh mi place at Sacramento and Sansome, but $5+ for a banh mi seemed excessive.

Suggestions from just about any cuisine are welcome. Coming from downtown Oakland I am accustomed to lunch averaging about $8 or so; that may not be feasible, but places requiring a lot of time or that run over $15 for average lunches are not going to make my list for at least a few months.

Thanks!

[david kaplan]

I work right near your office. My regular rotation of restaurants and favorite dishes:

Mixt Greens (Sansome near Clay)

Wildflower salad bar (Sansome near Sacramento)

Golden Flower (Jackson near Grant) for Vietnamese, esp. bun, pho and 5-spice chicken. Sai's (Washington and Sansome) is closer but Golden Flower is fresher and tastier.

Sam Lok / Z&Y (Jackson near Grant) for Sichuan, esp. dan dan mien, Chongqing chicken, cumin beef/lamb

Great Eastern (Jackson near Grant) for dim sum

a Cantonese roast meats place on Washington just west of Kearny

Boccadillo's (Montgomery at Washington) for Iberian sandwiches

Henry's (Sansome near Broadway) for Hunan, esp. smoked ham and harvest pork

I think that does it for the immediate area.

There is still no Thai in my regular rotation. TonYong Noodle just isn't quite good enough. I should go back to Siam Kitchen.

No Korean at all.

For occasional Mexican, I go to Pancho Villa next to the Ferry Building rather than Tlaloc.

For Japanese, I've been to YoYo's on Pacific near Battery in a pinch for premade sushi or soba. Their teriyaki isn't good. I've also been to Hotaru, way up the hill at Washington & Powell, which I like but it's far. And Delica in the Ferry Building.

For Indian, there's Naan'n'Curry at Jackson & Kearny.

I really like banh mi at a Vietnamese place on Broadway, north side, just west of Columbus, not sure of the name.

And my favorite coffee is at Jackson Place Cafe, on the east side of Sansome down a little alleyway. They use Blue Bottle beans and have very good homemade cookies.

Report back on any new finds!

[Marc Wallace]

Very useful, thank you! A bummer about the lack of Korean, but, eh, I find the Indian food in downtown Oakland inedible, so it's a tradeoff. And I'm glad my impression of Tlaloc (based on menu, lines, and smells wafting out) was correct: there had to be better places.

[Ruth Lafler]

You've also posted favorably in the past about the banh mi at Latte Express on Kearney @ Sacramento.

[david kaplan]

Not me, I don't think, or at any rate it's no longer on my radar. The only banh mi around the FiDi I get is at the place whose name I don't know on Broadway near Columbus. I've also raved about Wrap Delight on Larkin. But no special love for Latte Express.

[Ruth Lafler]

What's weird is that I did a search yesterday and turned up a bunch of posts, and when I did a search today, I can't find them. How mysterious! Anyway:

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Latte Express
600 Kearny St, San Francisco, CA 94108

[Concetta]

I think the banh mi place you're thinking about is called "Vietnam Restaurant". On Broadway just off Columbus (going up the hill)? It's a little hole in the wall restaurant. They make killer peanut sauce too to go with their spring rolls.

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Vietnam Restaurant
620 Broadway, San Francisco, CA 94133

[david kaplan]

That sounds right. I know that the place I like is next to My Canh, which I just saw is at 626 Broadway, so the place I like is probably Vietnam Restaurant. No wonder I didn't remember the unmemorable name.

[david kaplan]

Oh, and I mean to try Muracci's soon for Japanese donburi, noodles, and curry.

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/507174

[lmarie]

John's Deli on Battery near market is a little hole in the wall that makes a few fresh Korean things, like bi bim bap, jap chae on thursdays, and some hand-rolled Korean sushi, and some bbq korean pork over rice type of things. I had the jap chae, which was ok, though fairly stingy with the meat, and the stuff there is overpriced, in my opinion. Bibimbop and jap chae are almost $10 with tax, No seating - strictly takeout.

[rworange]

The website is on the Place record link. John's lists the daily specials.

The menu mentions that John's wife and his Korean mother make the food. They have kimchee sushi.

Maybe a few more blocks than you want to walk, but there is the Korean BBQ truck - Seoul on Wheels
http://www.seoulonwheels.com/

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John's Snack and Deli
40 Battery St, San Francisco, CA 94111

[Xiao Yang]

Any thoughts on Osha Thai or Oishi (Japanese), both at Embarcadero 4? I've had some decent donburi at the latter. I don't recall what I had at Osha Thai (not that it was forgettable, I'm just having a Senior monent) but would go back (at least if the company were paying again).

[Robert Lauriston]

Osha is good (not Thai House Express good) but with tax and tip lunch is probably over $15.

[david kaplan]

Never tried Oishi.

My one experience at Osha Thai in Embarc 4 was disappointing. While I am not a fan of Osha Thai in general, I like their Osha Tom Yum Noodle Soup at the Valencia location -- when made spicy it is rich and well-balanced with heat and sweet spices. The same soup at Embarc 4, though, had a weak broth and wasn't at all hot despite my asking for "very spicy." Haven't given them a second chance.

[Robert Lauriston]

Second on Sai's for Vietnamese. By FiDi standards, the food is decent, and, by FiDi standards, cheap for a sitdown place.

[david kaplan]

I actually wasn't recommending Sai's. I mentioned it because it's close, but I think Golden Flower -- only a couple blocks farther -- is much better. Sai's is often guilty of using tired (to the point of brown) lettuce and bean sprouts.