Way Good.

Lalola is a neighborhood tapas bar just off Broadway on Mason in the City.  We visited Lalola as the final stop of our Tapas Crawl in the City and enjoyed it very much.  We sampled three plates seated at the bar with some sangrias, including the stuffed piquillo pepper, pork loin crostini with brie, and a most excellent bean and sausage dish.  This is a restaurant that attracts the locals and has a relaxed, friendly atmosphere.  Add that to an extensive tapas menu and Lalola is definitely worth searching out.

S’Ok.

We visited 15 Romolo as part of our Tapas Crawl in the City.   15 Romolo is a bar located in the Basque Hotel just steps away from the Condor and clearly does not belong on the list of “good Spanish restaurants in San Francisco.”  However, it turns out this place has a unique collection of sherries, they make a mean sangria, and serve up mighty fine marinated olives and a unique jambalini, which is a deep fried ball of “jambalaya” rice.  Although the menu is minimal, the staff are friendly and the drinks were good, so if you are in this part of town, it’s a good addition to your arsenal of establishments where you “can get a drink and a bite”.

Way Good.

Bocadillos is a small, comfortable Spanish restaurant with an extensive Tapas menu located in the North Beach district of San Francisco, just at the edge of the Financial District.  We visited Bocadillos as part of our Tapas Crawl in the City.  During our visit, we parked ourselves at the main bar and ordered the spicy snapper ceviche and two glasses of a Spanish red wine.  The snapper ceviche was great, if a bit overdone on presentation, and the wine and service were impeccable.  Bocadillos is definitely on our list for a return visit to more fully explore the menu.

Woo-Hoo!

Gitane is a new and very trendy Spanish restaurant located in a narrow, private alley just a few blocks off of Union Square.  We visited Gitane as part of our Tapas Crawl in the City.  Gitane has abundant outdoor seating, as well as a second floor dining area inside over the long, narrow bar.  During our visit, we perched at the bar and ordered the stuffed Monterey squid, which were seasoned and cooked perfectly.  We also ordered two of the house special cocktails, which were good, but a bit too strong for a dinner drink.  Of the five establishments we visited during the “Crawl”, Gitane was one of our favorites.

Woo Hoo!

B44 is a Spanish restaurant with an extensive Tapas menu located between Union Square and the Financial District.  We visited B44 as part of our Tapas Crawl in the City.  During our visit, we enjoyed a most excellent warm marinated octopus and some sangrias at the slate bar.  B44 has seating both inside and outdoors, as well as at the bar.  Of the five establishments we visited during the “Crawl”, we are most enthused to return to B44 for a full dinner.

Way Good!
Zarzuela is a friendly Spanish tapas restaurant in the Russian Hill neighborhood of San Francisco. This is another restaurant referred by my friend Ken (the other was Restaurant Paul K), and sure enough, the food is great, and the ambiance and friendly wait-staff make Zarzuela a truly standout experience.  Being greeted by a thickly accented waiter, who acted like I was a welcome guest in his home, kicked off our evening on a high note.  Add a carafe of Sangria, a bowl full of olives and some crusty bread and olive oil, and the evening settled to a fine hum.

The night we visited Zarzuela we ordered a skillet of fried shitake mushrooms, skewered lamb tenders, cod and potato “tots”, some beautifully done fried peppers, and the chicken and ham croquets.  What a wonderful meal!  The mushrooms were missing a bit of their natural flavor, but were cooked with a touch of lemon juice, giving them just a bit of tang.  The lamb melted in our mouths, while the cod and potato “tater tots” had me busily trying to reverse engineer the recipe so I could try it at home. The chicken and ham croquets consisted of finely minced chicken, ham, and cheese that was then deep fried. They were just ok.  The peppers, about an inch long, green, and just slightly spicy, had been fried and were most excellent.

You don’t find too many restaurants like Zarzuela.
What a great meal!

Way Good!

Cha Cha Cha is a great stop for Caribbean style tapas on Haight in San Francisco.  Laura and I were making our semi-annual trek to the John Fluevog shoe store in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, and had the opportunity to grab lunch at Cha Cha Cha, a Caribbean just a few blocks down Haight from Fluevog’s.  This restaurant turned out to be quite a find.  The red, windowless main doors are a bit intimidating, but pushing past them brings you into a small, friendly, and nearly full dining room decorated in semi-outrageous Caribbean theme, with black walls, Virgin Mary statues, tinsel, and other island paraphernalia.

We immediately ordered a couple of beers, and then starting kicking ourselves as we realized that every other table was enjoying pitchers of homemade sangria, mixed in a huge container at the bar.  After deciding NOT to order a round of sangrias anyway, we enjoyed our beers while choosing ceviche, jerk chicken and fried platanos maduros (bananas with black beans) for our lunch.  Cha cha cha specializes in small plates, but these dishes are pretty big, so three was more than we could finish.  But we tried!  The ceviche was good, not great, but good.  But the jerk chicken, that was pretty pretty pretty good! We really liked that.  But, the plate to die for?  That honor was bestowed on the bananas and black beans, a combination that was new to me.  The bananas are caramelized, and served alongside pureed black beans topped with a dollop of sour cream.  Who knew that could be such a great combination?

Way Good.

Restaurant Paul K, recommended by my friend Ken M., is a great restaurant in the Hayes Valley area of San Francisco near the Civic Center. This is one of those eclectic places, frequented by neighborhood locals, and representing the spirit of San Francisco.  Diners, ranging in age from early 20’s to late 60’s, are stylishly dressed and engaged in conversations that range from seniors discussing the latest political controversy to insiders whispering of corporate intrigue to students debating the best profs at USF.   Restaurant Paul K, named after its founder, Paul Kavouksorian and headed by executive chef Shawn Bayless, specializes in Greek and North African interpretive dishes.

The Friday evening that Laura and I visited found all but one table full, and the dining room a hum of voices and laughter. For starters, we enjoyed the yellow split peas soup, which was prepared in a thin broth with tomatoes and was perfectly seasoned.  Completing our starters was a salad of heirloom tomatoes and some of the best arugula we’ve had all season.  For entrees, Laura had a fabulous vegetarian moussaka made with large chunks of eggplant, layered over chickpeas, and topped with spinach and béchamel.  I opted for the seafood tagine, which wasn’t quite as good as the moussak, but included sea bass, mussels, clams, and perfectly cooked prawns over lemony couscous.

The rating system is simple. If you want your socks blown off, only do the Woo-Hoo’s! If you’re after good food with no fuss, you won’t go wrong with Way Good, and even S’Ok can be just right for some occasions.

Here’s the system:

1. Woo-Hoo!                          You’re gonna love this one!

2. Way good                          You can’t go wrong

3. S’Ok                                    Depends on your mood

4. Hmmmm…                         Think first, jump second

5. What was I thinking?       Don’t jump, run!; get outta there!

Oh, and if you want to know my absolutely current favorite restaurant, as of Summer 2007 it’s Pres a Vi in San Francisco!

Enjoy!

Chris

S’Ok.  Zafran is a small Indian eatery on El Camino near Scott Boulevard.  I came across this place at lunchtime after getting my car washed just down the street.  While looking for a quick bite to eat without resorting to fast food, I decided to give Zafran a try.  I opted for the all-you-can-eat buffet and loaded up on tandoori chicken, chana masala (chickpeas), curry vegetables, rice biryani, and more.  Complete with some piping hot naan from a real tandoori oven, my lunch was fast and tasted great!  On the grand scale of Indian food, as found in Bangalore or elsewhere in the Bay Area, Zafran is not especially ahead of the pack.  But the service was friendly and efficient, the food was good, and you could do lots worse for lunch.