I work in downtown San Francisco, in an office with a crammed (and sometimes smelly) refrigerator in a small kitchen on a floor that can only be reached by elevator. I don't like microwaved leftovers, and let's face it, I'm somewhat lazy.
So I end up buying lunch a lot.
At first, I kept going to the same old places in the two nearby food courts, and the noodle place next door. But many of those places were just O.K. One of my favorite salad places went out of business. Two lunch places gave me food poisoning. Is this how they repay me for my patronage?
Thank goodness, my options have increased lately. Here's some of the places I've been to.
Arabi's (Rincon Center). Middle Eastern/Mediterranean food — hummus, falafel, etc. They also have this great combo salad plate that I order a lot. If I feel like I haven't been getting enough veggies lately, I go here. They're very friendly, too, and the prices are pretty good.
Yank Sing 2 Go (Rincon Center). This one is kind of a mixed bag. They are run by the main Yank Sing restaurant, whose dim sum is so fabulous, but the quality is just not as good. The exception is the won ton soup, which they serve on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Fluffy shrimp won tons in a clear broth with a few scallions. So simple, and so good. But not as cheap as it should be. I also sometimes get the Yank Sing Light, which consists of not-bad chicken salad and four plump potstickers. (One time I got there too late, and they'd run out of potstickers. They had to substitute some siu mai and one of those peanut-and-pork dumplings. Made me want to eat lunch late more often.)
So... you can only eat at the same two places for so long. Luckily, the Ferry Building came along! Unluckily, the places there are not cheap...
But they are good.
Lulu's. Sandwiches aren't bad, house-made potato chips are wonderful. I also like the beet salad.
Taylor's Refresher. They have good fries and I'd be addicted to their Ahi tuna burger... but at $12 a pop (which does not include fries), I can resist. Really good place but way, way overpriced. Especially when the San Francisco Seafood Company is just down the way in the same building. (Is it soft-shell crab sandwich season again yet?)
Delica-RF1. Weird name, great place. It's a Japanese deli. I got hooked on their Bento box lunches, which consist of a fried item (shrimp or scallop cakes usually) and three salads. They also had a wonderful squash soup for a while with little bits of fried taro on top. Again, not cheap.
Mistral. They have a "meat-and-two-sides" deal. I've gotten some good fish and brussel sprouts there. A friend tells me you can get a bunch of sides on their own for really cheap. Haven't tried that yet.
Out The Door. My new addiction, this place is the take-out division of Slanted Door. Very high-end Vietnamese food with prices to match, but I got addicted to their won-ton soup with noodles... they also have tasty daikon cake and spring rolls, but everything is much more expensive than it would be in Chinatown. I haven't even gotten to try their rice porridge yet, partly because I got stuck on the won-ton soup, and partly because I found porridge at...
Tomo's Cafe (50 First Street). An ex-coworker just turned me on to this place. They have sushi with brown rice, which is a rarity. They have enormous noodle bowls. They have fresh and tasty spring rolls (the non-fried kind) with lots of mint in them. And they have chicken-and-ginger rice porridge — for less than half the price of Out The Door. And boy, was it good.
Other places...
I used to go to Sushi GoGo at Montgomery BART a lot, when Michael worked near there. I haven't gone there much lately, but it's good, cheap, and the people that work there are really nice.Teriyaki House (I think?) on Spear. Not as cheap as GoGo, but still reasonable, and tasty. Lots of interesting rolls and veggie options.
Bocadillo's
(on Montgomery near Columbus). A bit of a walk, but worth it. Tapas and
the eponymous Spanish sandwiches that should be widely available here,
but aren't. Cute place, excellent food.
This concludes this installment of food pr0n. You may now go about
your business. Is it dinnertime yet?
