Restaurants

The crouton makes it magic!

El Toreador in one sentence: Bright, cheery, always busy “sit down Mexican” place in West Portal, with bottomless bowls of chips, generous pitchers of Margaritas and big platters of comfort food.

Who you’ll see there: College students, families, couples before going to the movies.

Make sure to try: the sopa, the tasty tomato broth soup with one giant, yummy crouton floating in it. Also, the enchiladas will warm you up on the coldest, foggiest San Francisco night. Definitely go for the pitcher over the individual glasses of margaritas.

It’s okay to skip: the crispy taco plate. It’s a lot of fried, and they heat up the plate with the lettuce on it — not my favorite.

Service: The place is always busy, so they keep things moving. You’ll never have an empty plate sitting in front of you, and your water or soda will be refilled without you asking.

Average meal price:  Two people are in and out for $30 without booze, $45 if you get a pitcher.

Logistics:

• Be prepared for a line, you put your name on a list and wait
• No reservations
• It will be loud – it will not be romantic
• Kinda cramped, but in a friendly way
• Yes to credit cards

Parking:

On the street, can be tough to find, the smart move is to drop someone off to put your name on the list while you look for a spot

Location:

West Portal
50 W Portal Ave
(between Claremont Blvd & Portola Dr)
San Francisco, CA 94127
(415) 566-8104

Photos: Cat Lincoln

Bill's Place, an SF Institution

Burgers at Bill’s Place in one sentence: Legendary, landmark, local burger dinner joint that’s been an institution in the Outer Richmond for almost 40 years.

Who you’ll see there: Serious locals, working men sitting at the counter, families and neighborhood teens at the tables. If you don’t know about it, you’ll walk right by it.

Make sure to try: One of the celebrity burgers, like the Carol Doda (a famous SF topless dancer), which is two burgers, topless, side by side topped with an olive, or the Herb Caen, a burger topped with Monterey Jack cheese. The Paul Kantner comes with Thousand Island dressing. Also, you need a shake, which comes in a huge glass, plus the overflow, served in the stainless steel mixing cup.

Does anyone really bother with the garnish?

It’s okay to skip: The diet plate. You know you want the fries, they’re made on-site from actual potatoes and fried to practiced perfection.

Best dessert: Banana split or hot fudge sundae, if you inexplicably have any room left after the burger and fries.

Service: The same people have been working there for 40 years. They are friendly, efficient fixtures. You might get called “Hon”. Or they might be busy watching the Giants on the TV in the corner. Have some priorities, they do.

Average meal price: Starts at $6.50 for the Famous Bill’s Burger, Carol Doda is $9.00, Herb Caen is $7.50. Milk shake is $4.25, and you get free refills on your Coke.

Bill’s Place Logistics:

• Burger come med rare unless you specify something else
• You can pick potato salad or coleslaw, if you’re crazy enough to skip the fries
• In typical San Francisco fashion, there is a Japanese koi pond out on the back patio. Because every diner needs a koi pond.

Parking:

Street parking, meters, you might have to walk a block or two. There’s a lot a block away, but it hardly ever comes to that.

Location: Outer Richmond

2315 Clement Street
San Francisco, CA 94121
Phone: (415) 221-5262
Fax: (707) 824-0295

Hours:

Sunday to Thursday 11 a.m. -10 p.m.
Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. – 11 p.m.

Photos: Cat Lincoln

Artichoke Panzanella salad

Amici’s East Coast Pizzeria in one sentence: Thin crust pizza and pasta chain that is cheery enough but not too loud or prefab, plus it’s toasty warm on cold foggy evenings because of the brick ovens.

Who you’ll see there: Families, volleyball team, tourists, solo travelers

Make sure to try: Panzanella salad with artichokes, onions, capers, tomatoes and some crisp lettuce. The small is big enough to share when you pair it with one of Amici’s super crispy thin crust pizzas.

It’s okay to skip: The breadsticks with ranch dressing appetizer — seriously, eating breadsticks and ranch dressing before your pizza is why America is fat. If you need a ranch dressing fix, put it on a house salad.

Best dessert: Cheesecake with two forks to share — simple, light and lemony

Service: Friendly, relatively inexperienced young people, maybe even a first job for a lot of kids. Absolutely no upsell, but they can  answer questions if you ask them. Read More »

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Chicken Parm, Pizza and a glass of red - the perfect combo at Giorgio's!

Giorgio’s Pizzeria in one sentence: East coast-style pizzeria where everyone is “from the neighborhood” and the jukebox plays classic rock.

Who you’ll see there: The high school drill team after practice, hipsters on dates, parents with crying toddlers, older couples … seriously the whole neighborhood.

Make sure to try: Perfect classic cheese pizza, the chicken parm with a side of spaghetti, the antipasto salad.

It’s okay to skip: Any flavor of calzone – for a place that does thin crust pizza so well, the calzone is a disappointing dough bomb.

Best dessert: Another slice of pizza

Service: Nice local girls in matching t-shirts who you can trust to tell you the truth about portion sizes, refill your Coke without asking, and will leave you in peace to eat your meal.

Average meal price: $22.10 for a large Giorgio’s Special (salami, pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms) pizza, $14.25 for a chicken parm that can feed you for two-three meals.

Best time of day/meal to visit: It’s always busy, sometimes your best bet is to call and order take out.

Giorgio’s Pizzeria Logistics:

• No reservations
• No delivery
• Credit cards accepted
• Street parking

Location:
151 Clement St.
3rd Ave. and Clement Street
Phone: 415-668-1266
Richmond District

Hours:
Monday – Thursday: 11:00 am 10:00 pm
Friday – Saturday: 11:00 am 11:00 pm
Sunday – 11:00 am 9:00 pm

Kosher Goodness @ David's Delicatessen in SF

Touring around Union Square like a tourist is a favorite pastime of mine. I try to do this regularly for a nice review of what is happening in my lovely city, and to take trips down memory lane. My family has been a part of the city for generations and I am the current standard bearer.

One place special for me to walk past, and sometimes eat at, is David’s Delicatessen on the border of the Tenderloin, Nob Hill and the Theater District of San Francisco. It is across the street from the Clift Hotel, so you will see many locals and visitors alike at the deli’s famous counter. Read More »

Seafood Combo Lunch @ Yet Wah

Looking for some seventies kitsch with your meal? Do you know that old saying “never go grocery shopping when you’re hungry”? If you like tasty Chinese food with a view, Yet Wah is just the place for you!

High on a hill, just below Twin Peaks in the Diamond Heights Shopping Center of San Francisco is where you will find this delicious dining artifact. This particular Yet Wah Chinese Restaurant is for those willing to walk up two flights of cinder block stairs, to enter a world that time hasn’t touched for decades, just look at the old linoleum. Read More »

Millie's Kitchen is THE place for breakfast in the East Bay

We are out of our element, driving in Lafayette, California. This sleepy, suburban town across the Bay Bridge is a world away from San Francisco but only about 30 minutes driving time.

However we discovered that Lafayette might be sleepy but it has one of the most happening places for breakfast called Millie’s Kitchen. They are close to the Highway 24 but you won’t see them unless you are already on Oak Road.

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Love Izzy's Steaks and Chops in SF!!!

I’ll just say up front that I love this place. They opened their doors in 1987 on Izzy’s birthday and we showed up soon after. We have had date nights here and business dinners over the past two decades.  Izzy’s Restaurant can be found in two other cities in the Bay Area but the only location for me has been in the Marina neighborhood of San Francisco. I’ve been coming to this cool spot for steaks and chops forever.

Izzy’s in San Francisco, which was their first location, is a great date night restaurant. It isn’t cheap but you will get incredible food, like their enormous bone-in ribeye steak which melts in your mouth!

This restaurant serves great filet mignon and prime rib dinners and for me, love their side dish of creamed spinach.  This old fashioned veg dish is something my dad would always share with me as a kid when we went out to dinner.  Izzy’s menu always have their famous potato side and equally amazing shoe-string potatoes.  Yum! My husband loves getting the New York Sirloin Au Poivre, with Pepper Cream Sauce for $28 along with a martini.

I’ve been here for company dinners but larger parties are a bit hit or miss with the service. Sometimes they don’t get the orders right or served on a timely basis. I’ve sent stuff back that was cold or just wrong. They were also slow with getting us the bill. On the upside I found out that they started validating your parking at the garage on Webster Street, a block away.  Izzy’s has been around a long time and I think it is still a nice place for a steak dinner whenever you are in the Marina neighborhood.

3345 Steiner Street
San Francisco, CA 94123
(415) 563-0487
www.izzyssteaks.com

Sun-Th 5:00pm – 10:00pm
Fri-Sat 5:30pm – 10:30pm

Pre-Happy Hour @ Two in SF

San Francisco has its share of restaurants that like to “go casual” with the atmosphere and food. Hawthorne Lane was a restaurant that could not have been further from casual. It was beautifully elegant and quite the special occasion destination. It was also perfect for important business dinners. The restaurant has now been replaced, reflecting the tough economic times, with a more casual version – still owned and run by the same folks but now called Two.

Two is located on Hawthorne Lane, a quiet side street used mostly to cut quickly through traffic during commute hours. We recently checked out this new cozy restaurant and over all, it turned out to be a pleasant experience. Read More »