Tuesday, June 15, 2010

San Francisco

I'm doing such a terrible job of updating this blog on this road trip. You may all hate me as much as you like because of it, I won't blame you. Anywho, it's about that time to talk about the note-worthy places that Cam and I came across in the beautiful city of San Francisco, CA! We were staying at the Green Tortoise Hostel on Broadway, so we were surrounded by a tonne of food joints (and strip clubs, apparently!).

Buster's


Located on the corner of Columbus Avenue and Vallejo Street (366 Columbus Ave), Buster's Cheesesteaks was the first thing to catch our eyes. For one, it just looked like a place we'd enjoy, and secondly, Cam had never had a cheesesteak in his life. Meanwhile, I just felt a strange hankering for a chili cheese dog, which is a tough find in Vancouver, at least a decent one. Amongst other menu items were chili fries, various sandwiches and the like. I ordered myself just a plain old chili cheese dog with pepper jack cheese, while Cam went with a beef cheesesteak. (Yes, why you'd call something with chicken a cheesesteak is lost on me too, but whatever!) Anywho, it took about 5 minutes for our orders to be ready, and we weren't disappointed. Both filling and delicious, our food was exactly what we expected. I can surely agree with the statement that they have the best Philly steaks, at least, from the Philly Steaks I've tried. They don't boast "the best chili dogs", but I wouldn't be surprised if they did. 4 Bacons across the board for them!
ABC Chinese Restaurant

I had a hankering for Chinese for pretty much the entire time we'd been on the road, and we were staying mere blocks from Chinatown, so my craving was sure to be taken care of eventually! Basically, Cam and I walked around Chinatown (which, for the record, is a REAL one, as opposed to the Chinatown in Vancouver), looking at menus until we found one with cheap prices and writing that we could read. Finally, we came upon the ABC Chinese Restaurant, and to be honest, I don't actually remember the address, nor can I find it on Google Maps, which is annoying. Regardless, we saw a combination dinner for 2 people, so it was a given that we'd eat here. As we entered the restaurant, all that we could hear was the chatter of what I'm sure was Mandarin and the clinks of chopsticks on plates. The server seated us and immediately brought us each a fork because, let's face it, white people can't use chopsticks, right? We ordered the combination dinner, which involved sweet & sour pork, chicken fried rice, spring rolls, and beef & snow peas. For $9 each, we couldn't complain at all about the food that we got. The portions were big, the food was tasty and the service was actually really good. The server also warmed up to us, as we used the chopsticks and were generally nice, being Canadians and all. haha. So, in the end, I'd have to give ABC Chinese Restaurant a solid 3.5 Bacons across the board, service, food quality, affordability-wise! If you can find it, try it!

King Cha-Cha Tsai
On yet another day, we were in search of cheap beer and some cheap food. Mere steps from our hostel, we found a little Thai place on the corner of Grant Avenue and Vallejo Street (1268 Grant Avenue) that had no dishes for over $5 and $2 pints of beer, so we knew that we had found the right place. Of course, it was quite busy, since there were big screen TV's with World Cup games on, so the service was a bit slow. Cam and I ordered a pint of beer each and checked out the menu. Cam's all about Thai curry, so of course he ordered some green curry, meanwhile I went with some beef on broad noodles. (Sorry, I didn't remember the camera this day!) Regardless, the food came fairly quickly and it looked good! The taste was to match, as well, being full of flavours that I hadn't experienced since I lived in Thailand years ago. The portions were also a good size, especially for the price. Once again, I'd have to give a solid 3.5 Bacons for food quality, affordability and portion sizes. I have to put a 3.5 Bacon-rating for the service, but once again, World Cup... so yeah, give them a break!

Chipotle

On our last day in San Francisco, Cam and I set forth with our new friend, Crystal in search of fun times. After hitting a toy store and some random shops, we all agreed that we were hungry. As we searched around, Crystal stopped and started freaking out. She yelled out "Chipotle! Have you ever had it?!"

We both answered, "no."

She swore that it was the greatest thing ever, and who were we to disagree with a girl from Minnesota? So, we went into the place, and it was packed. (There are multiple locations in San Francisco, so look up the closest one to you!) Set up much like a Subway, in that you ordered what you wanted (burritos, tacos, plates, etc) and they put in the ingredients as you requested them. Cam and I went with burritos (beef for me, chicken for Cam), while Crystal went with a plate, which was basically the fillings of a burrito, minus the wrap. The burritos were HUGE! Check it out!

Choice of pinto or black beans, veggies, etc, you name it! For 7 bucks, how could we go wrong? I must say that we were right not to argue with Crystal. I couldn't even finish my burrito! Regardless, even though it's a restaurant chain, Chipotle gets 3 Bacons out of me!



And that's the noteworthy places that we hit in San Fran!

Stay sharp, kids
Jesse

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