On a Mission: day 3 and 4 of grayelf's Nov 2009 Bay area trip

[grayelf]

Saturday started with a trip to Los Pastores that lived up to the heartbreak often mentioned in connection with this restaurant – it was closed when we arrived at 10 am. Forewarned, we hopped back on the bus and headed over to Tartine which delivered on its legendary lineup as well, so we soldiered on to La Oaxaquena where we met with great success. We shared the $8.50 chilaquiles special (with both egg and a large piece of chicken breast for only a dollar extra) and a fresa licuado. These are some mighty tasty chilaquiles and I’d love to hear what other local Hounds think of them. Next time I’d probably just go for the eggs as the chicken was nice but plain. The excellent green sauce was added to the tortillas for long enough to make them go slightly “sad” which is how I prefer my chilaquiles. We would definitely return.

Next we hit Paxton Gate and 826 Valencia (what’s a trip to SF without getting mopped?) before moseying up to Dolores Park to enjoy the view on a gorgeous day. Watching the blimp cruise back and forth was an added bonus. We decided we needed another wee snack and nipped back to La Oaxaquena before heading out to Ocean Beach. I grabbed a corn husk and a banana leaf tamal plus a tinga de pollo torta and some flan and met the boys (BIL had joined us) back at his flat. The corn tortilla was very tasty but I’d take a pass on the banana one (too gelatinous) and the tinga was too chipotle-laden for either of us (not fans of smoked chiles). We drove out to Ocean Beach and reveled in the crazy surf and wind, then nipped into the Chalet for a quick look (my, that menu seems mediocre), then hightailed it back to the Mission for a brew at Monk’s Kettle. What a nifty selection of beers both on tap and bottled! PIC I had Punkin from Dogfish Head in Milton, DE. The 8 oz pour ($4) was the perfect size for a beer wuss and really did taste of pumpkin which was a good thing for me. The SO had a Bony Fingers from Moonlight Brewing in Santa Rosa ($5.75 a pint) and the BIL went for a Downtown Brown which I think was local but I can’t read my notes on it, oops ($6). This is a great little gastropub that I would be frequenting if I lived nearby as the BIL does – the plates of food going by us looked good enough to eat.

We had, however, other plates to conquer, namely our first trip to Burmese Kitchen with more than two. We met up with the BIL, Cynsa and her SO in the Tenderloin. Finally, enough tummies to justify ordering half the menu!! We had deep fried tofu, samusa soup, tealeaf salad, crispy peas salad, sauerkraut pork, lemongrass beef, tamarind egg, spicy fish, and lentil and regular rice. With a couple of Fat Tire beers, a Burmese milk tea and a Burmese hot tea, this ample repast came to a mere $15 each including tax and tip. Everything was delicious but my favourites were the two salads, the tofu and the pork. What a feast and what fun to share it with such great company!

The hospitality of the Hounds continued as Cynsa and hubs drove us out to Twin Peaks for the amazing view, followed by a stop at Marco Polo to treat us to some ice cream. I had mango and soursop, a great combo which showcased their excellent Southeast Asian flavours. Someone who shall remain nameless had the durian (argh). I can really see the appeal of this place which was very busy the whole time we were there. Thanks, guys!!

On Sunday morning we sprang out of bed with the prospect of a ferry ride to Oakland. We caught the 9:25 to scope out the Jack London Square Market. It is quite small but has a good mix of produce vs snack stands, and boasts the only mobile pizza oven I’ve ever seen (see picture) . We tried a little doughnut (still warm and quite light) plus a Braeburn apple that the vendor refused to let us pay for. Then I had to get a fish taco from Cholita Linda based on majordanby’s rec in this thread http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/646501 (see pic) which was definitely the best example of said foodstuff I have had in the SF Bay Area – it really was Baja style though made with tilapia. The proprietors are negotiating for a bricks-and-mortar stand in the vicinity, so it should soon be possible to sample their wares outside the Sunday market. The SO was craving a latte-like coffee but alas the new Blue Bottle is only open M-F and the only coffee vendor in the market had brewed, not espresso. My partner in crime susancinsf had come down with an evil virus the day before so our plan to do a foodie tour of Oakland had to be scrapped. We did a quick tour of Oakland Chinatown and opted to return by BART to the Mission to re-attempt a Pastores assault. And lo, it was open! (Apparently, she had opened at 10:30 the day before). We ordered the chilaquiles and flautas and found both good although we preferred the chilaquiles at La Oaxaquena (these were too crispy for our taste). It really is wonder how she does absolutely everything herself. PIX

Since I was at loose ends without susan (the SO went off to meet the BIL as previously arranged), I thought I had better put this time to good use with some more research in the Mission. I had become obsessed with trying the bacon maple latte at Pirate Cat (damn you Anthony Bourdain) but I should have heeded Hounds’ warnings: one sip and it went straight in the garbage, $5 wasted. There are no words, at least none that aren’t four letter. And to add injury to insult, that one sip burned my tongue!

But not enough to stop me in my chosen path which led across the street to Dona Tere’s street cart. For $1.75 each I sampled a very tasty pork tostada and tamale (neither of which, sad to say, I dared finish as I knew I had much work to do and all of it without the Auxiliary Stomach). After furtively sneaking the unfinished food into the basura, I sloped off down the street in the beaming hot sun to El Cachanilla to try a carnitas taco from the window. Luckily la senora asked me if I wanted beans (I did not, no room for legumes) and I sat down at the polite insistence of one of the locals at a streetside table. I really like that you can do that in SF – the Fun Police would be all over you in Vancouver if you tried to sit at a table when you had bought takeout). After a chat in Spanish to the two tios and their adorable niece (I think having the very tall blonde gringa break out her Mexican accented espanol kinda freaked them out but in a good way), I toddled over to Pal’s to check out the deli for future reference (looks great). I bought a doughnut at Dynamo (more on that later) and I also ducked into the new La Palma which is weirdly like the old one in terms of lack of traffic flow. Then it was on to la piece de resistance: the carnitas torta at Los Picudos. I had cut and pasted the review for this place from Bargain Bites IIRC and it was pretty effusive about this torta but for me it lived up to the hype. The carnitas were crunchy but juicy, the fillings fresh and tasty, the bread fresh and crisp. Next time I would ask for a bit more mayo (personal preference not a fault) and perhaps a bit more jalapeno or even salsa – they may gone for “white girl picante” as it could have been bit zippier. This is a seriously good sandwich, which tragically I could only eat half of as it is the size of a supertanker. PIC

I headed up toward Noe Valley, eyeing Haus wistfully (next time) as I waddled by. I thought perhaps I might give the other, untouched half of my torta to a homeless person (of which I had passed not a few) but it was summarily rejected – now that wouldn’t happen in Vancouver, so I set it where it might be found and eaten. I tried to eat that doughnut I bought earlier. Now I was full (though the Dessert Stomach as everyone knows is a separate entity so that shouldn’t have been a factor) but this was one of the worst specimens of doughnutdom I have ever encountered. Purportedly salted caramel, there was no trace of salt and the caramel was goopy and insipid. But it was the dough that killed it – if this puppy wasn’t stale, I don’t know stale. I couldn’t find a garbage can fast enough. And I was delighted to accept a taste of a very serviceable unaged Argentinian parmesan ($7.95 a pound, argh) in the 24th Street Cheese Company to get that taste out of my mouth. That is one nifty cheese store – raw milk Tallegio and gorgonzola, be still my heart. I also liked the look of the pastries and the cool selection of tea infusing travel mugs at Martha and Co. This strip is a great place to indulge your retail fantasies – jewellery, shoes, fashion, yowza – I love the boutiquey feel. Next I hit Chocolate Covered and came away with two packets of the red chile flake and hazelnut dark chocolate they were sampling. The custom made tins are pretty cool too. I finished up my day with a couple of piruetas ($1.50 each) from Noe Valley Bakery – they are wee lemon filled sugar cookies that were quite wonderful and truly banished the evil donut for good and all. I wended my way by bus/F Car/ cable back to the hotel to get ready for the Chowdown at Lers Ros that Ruth Lafler had arranged. You can check out the post on that here http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/665729 if you haven’t seen it/are interested. Standouts for us were the appetizers, especially the jerky.

[grayelf]

Pix here are the two salads and deep-fried tofu at Burmese Kitchen, plus the fish taco from Cholita Linda.
Above is the licuado and chilaquiles from La Oaxaquena and the taps at Monk's Kettle.

[grayelf]

More pix: the mobile pizza oven at Jack London Square Market (this one's for you, fmed!), chilaquiles and flautas from Los Pastores, and the torta from Los Picudos.

[grayelf]

Links to part 1 and 3:

day 1 and 2 (Thur and Fri) http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/669921
day 5, 6 and 7 (Mon, Tues, Wed) http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/669925#

[skwid]

Note that the Temescal farmers market on Sunday's is where Blue Bottle is (both espresso, lattes, caps and coffe available along with beans. There is also a mobile pizza vendor.

Btw, nice writeup.

[Windy]

Wow, thanks so much for this report. I hadn't realized La Oaxacaña had chilaquiles. I've only tried their tlayudas. I do love the version at Pastores though, but I live close enough that if Irma is closed, it's not a big deal.

This report says as much about San Francisco neighborhood boundaries as it does the food. It's so easy to get insular, even in the Mission, so an extra pleasure to have a visitor's perspective. From Dynamo Donuts to La Cachanilla (much fancier than a few years back, before they put up the awning and signs in English, when we used to sit on milk crates), and Tartine to La Oaxacaña.

Poc Chuc is head and shoulders above the generally plesant Mi Lindo Yucatan; and I agree Burma Superstar is not all that. I do like Burmese Kitchen, but haven't had a great meal there yet.

So glad to have finally met you at Inka's. It's even more impressive to read about all the adventures that preceded that feast.

[sugartoof]

Good instincts on skipping the Chalet.

You didn't miss much with Haus, unless you happen to be in the area, and crave a french press coffee using De La Paz beans. The menu board outside can be deceiving,in my experience, because they never have 4 different beans brewed at once. For the espresso using Ritual beans, you might as well detour over to Ritual itself.

Thanks for the report, by the way. You hit up a few places in the Mission especially that I always wondered about.

[majordanby]

thanks for the report and pictures. glad you liked the fish tacos!

[susancinsf]

hmm.....all this time I've been declaring the chilaquiles at Pastores to be the best in SF: but based on your pic and description, I definitely need to try the ones at La Oaxaquena and compare....I also like my chilaquiles to be slightly 'sad' so I just put them on the list for a trip back into SF soon! I am curious though: did you ask that the eggs be cooked that (over)well, or did they not ask you how you wanted the eggs and they just came that way? I'll have to remember to ask for my eggs over easy and will see what happens.....

Obviously, my first seasonal bout with a virus hit at just the wrong time....it sounds like you did quite well on your own, and glad you got to get to Pastores, but still, I am very, very sorry to have missed the fun!

[grayelf]

"Best" is such a tough call -- we definitely liked the chilaquiles at Los Pastores, but I grew up on baked chilaquiles, which are much sadder. The ones at La Oax were not baked so still different than my norm but v good we both thought. The eggs just came that way, but I expect they would do over easy if you asked. We tend to take things as they are the first time we order to get a baseline :-). FWIW we also preferred the sides at La Oax.