San Francisco Dinnergeddon!

- SAN FRANCISCO -

The San Francisco Bay area is home some damn fine eats and drinks. This is my conclusion after a recent vacation to the west coast. I'd been to SF as an angsty teen, but to come back as an angsty (and hungry!) grown man was awesome!

Let's start with the scenery. This is not a shabby backdrop. When it looks like this outside, I don't have much trouble wandering the streets aimlessly for hours, looking for delicious things to put in my mouth. We're talking nice warm days where the fog gradually lifts to reveal a sunny sky, dramatic hills, and color everywhere - color in the nature, the people, and the architecture. The nights are cool and fall-like; perfect for a good hang at a local haunt with friends.

I'll get right down to it. Mexican food done right is the stuff that can melt a man's heart. New York is a relative newbie - having experienced a dramatic increase in Mexican inhabitants over the past couple of decades, taquerias and tortillerias have been slowly sprouting up around parts of Brooklyn and beyond. It's very exciting (and often very delicious), but it just doesn't quite have the time-tested excellence, authenticity and history that Mexican foods of the west coast have. Try a fish taco or carnitas in Los Angeles and you'll understand what I mean. But what about northern California? Oh, it's most awesome too. And it's known for something in particular. Something HUGE. Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you're hungry. Let me introduce you to the SUPER BURRITO.

This is the very reason we booked our flight to arrive at lunch time. I'm serious. The plan: head directly to the Mission District of San Francisco, find ourselves a serious taqueria, and get down to business. First stop: El Farolito. They make a perfectly delicious and cheap carne asada super burrito - no frills, just amazing. It hit the spot. We left stuffed and satisfied. Here's Amey after the first bite!

After a nice afternoon of exploring, we got kinda thirsty. Lucky for us, there was Puerto Alegre on Valencia Street. I've said this before - a margarita is a delicate thing. And this place makes the perfect margarita. Perfect. Real nice folks, too.

This Mariachi band strolled in off the street and played some tunes!

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The next morning, we headed for the Ferry Building Marketplace. The historic Ferry Building boasts an impressive market on a full-time basis, but on Saturdays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, there is the added bonus of the Farmer's Market, which sets up camp directly outside.

Coffee Time. Blue Bottle Coffee makes espresso and drip coffee that will BEND YOUR MIND (and I'm serious. That's my warning to you). And they just opened a location in Brooklyn (their only east coast venture). Man, oh man.
Acme Bread Company was luring us with the smell of fresh baked sourdough...

... and for 5 bones, you can get one of their Salami and pickle sandwiches on a sourdough baguette. Deeeeeeelicious! A divine sandwich.

We met up with a buddy, who took us to dinner at a placed called Chow in the Castro District. The comfort food spin on the Thai-inspired Smiling Noodle with Chicken & Prawns was fresh and delicious. As was the local dark lager that accompanied it.

Speaking of local beer, there seems to be a lot of it in the Bay Area - and from what I sampled, it's good stuff! Our buddy took us to Toronado on Haight Street, a haven for beer geeks. Their local and rare beer selection was mindblowing.

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This tasty brunch at Boogaloos on Valencia Street helped with that hangover I may or may not have had.

...and so did this stroll back to Haight Street, where we visited the Magnolia Brew Pub. This place came highly recommended from some good pals in Brooklyn, who used to live in SF. Pictured here are our two Blue Bell Bitters. This is super good stuff.

We just HAD to come back to Puerto Alegre for the food. SUPER BURRITO strikes again. So does another Mariachi band! Luckily, we saw the sheer size of these super burritos coming out to other tables before we ordered - so we split this one. We ordered some amazing fresh guacamole one the side too. This was the biggest super burrito we found, and also the most delicious. The carne asada was perfect, and all the ingredients were super fresh.

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The next morning, we woke up early. We had some serious exploring to do. But first, COFFEE. Here's the really good croissant and really good cappuccino from Four Barrel Coffee.

We drove out of the city to nearby Berkeley, California. As soon as we got there, we found this local brewery. Heck, we were on vacation - why not grab a hefeweizen at 11:30AM?

As we strolled through Berkeley, it hit us. More Mexican food. Need more. Now. Meet Gordo.

I think this place has been in Berkeley for awhile. Needing a break from the Super Burrito, we decided to go the taco route. Wow, did we score. We ordered 2 carne asada tacos and two carnitas tacos - both with the works. Wow - these are absolutely incredible. Perfect taco experience! If I end up Berkeley again, you will find me here. Thanks, Gordo!

On the road again! This time, we met up with some pals in Los Altos, California. They took us to a place in Palo Alto called Three Seasons. While the vibe seemed a bit highbrow for my tastes (I fear the white tablecloth), the food was great. This is one of the French-Vietnamese fusion joints I'd been hearing about all over the Bay Area. It's a great combo. The flavors of the two cuisines complimented each other nicely, and all the small dishes were tasty!

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Next stop is up north. Where do poor folks eat in wine country? Perhaps Old Mexico Restaurant in Santa Rosa, California? It was getting late, we were hungry, and the Mexican food craving hit us hard - again! Old Mexico unglamourously sits in a parking lot across from a 7-Eleven convenience store. It looked like it had been there for 50 years. Two SUPER BURRITOS, please! I'll admit it was my least favorite of the Mexican cuisine we'd sampled so far. Still, not bad! Get us back to San Francisco!

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It was the last day in San Francisco. Freakin' MEXICAN FOOD is on the agenda. For lunch, we hit El Faro. This place has been in the Mission forever. It's owner claims to have invented the first Super Burrito back in 1961. But we just couldn't fit another Super Burrito in us, so we went a new route altogether. The TORTA! This classic Mexican sandwich is on the menu at a small handful of taquerias in Brooklyn, but I don't think I'd had a proper Torta until now. Just look at this thing. We washed it down with some freshly made Horchata. El Faro, you are awesome.

That night, we grabbed a beer at Zeitgeist. To our surprise, the Tamale Lady showed up, wheeling her precious goods around. By now, we knew the word on the street about the Tamale Lady. Tamales for dinner! They were the best tamales I've had! The giant friendly bouncer warned us not to take a picture there, so I leave you with this one I found online:

Man, I'm full!