By Manali Karmarkar
It’s a Friday night. You want to eat something new and tasty, but you’re watching your purse strings these days and don’t want to blow it all on one dinner. You, my friend, are in luck by virtue of being in San Francisco! Sure, your rent might be ridiculously high, you just got another parking ticket, and you are living paycheck to paycheck. Fortunately, SF has a plethora of affordable, delicious eating options. Here are a few you should check out now:
771 O’Farrell
Kor Moo Yang ($8.95)
Don’t be put off by the neighborhood. Sai Jai Thai is located on the edge of the Tenderloin on a slightly seedy block, but it offers some of the most authentic Thai food in the city. I can vouch for this as someone who has visited Thailand multiple times. Lers Ros may get all the press, but Sai Jai is the real deal. The not-to-miss dish here is the Kor Moo Yang or, as I like to call it, Pork Crack on Fried Rice. Glistening, juicy, fatty slices of pork shoulder lie delicately on top of a bowl of flavorful fried rice, with a side of chili sauce for some extra zing. The salty/fatty/chewy combination of the pork shoulder with the delicately flavored rice will put you in heaven in no time.
2337 Market
Carnitas Tacos ($4 per taco)
This restaurant popped up in the Castro a few months ago and is one of the few restaurants in San Francisco to bring truly authentic Yucatan cuisine to the masses. The décor is offbeat and fun — lots of skulls and mini murals. They also make their tortillas from scratch, which is a rare find and adds to the complex flavor of the tacos. As a one-time LA resident, I’ve often been disappointed by the quality of the tortillas in Mission taquerias, but Tacorgasmico does it right. Do try the carnitas tacos — each fresh tortilla is loaded with meat — or, alternatively, the Gordita with Cochinita Pibil ($5).
2339 Noriega
Roast Duck on Rice ($7.50)
Take your bike or ride the N for a little jaunt to the Sunset, where you can get one of the best-value dinners in town. Prepare to wait in line, even at off times like 3:00 p.m. on a Saturday afternoon. This is where Chinese families line up to order whole roast ducks or BBQ pork ribs in bulk. My dining companion and I both ordered the Roast Duck on Rice, a generous serving of crispy roast-duck pieces served on top of a bed of seasoned rice, made even more delicious by the duck fat soaking into it. The skin is perfectly crispy, well salted, and juicy on the inside. I felt my arteries clogging afterward, but hey — it’s duck, and it’s supposed to be fatty! Just go for a jog to Ocean Beach afterward to run it off.
1728 Buchanan
Tonkotsu Kotteri Ramen ($9.75)
Ramen Yamadaya is a cult favorite in LA and opened up their SF location in Japantown about a year and a half ago. Their claim to fame is their rich, fatty, flavorful broth, which is created by boiling pork bones for over 20 hours and then filtering the broth for any sediment to get the perfect mouth feel and flavor. The Tonkotsu Kotteri Ramen dish boasts another layer of complexity — black garlic oil in the broth — taking the sensory experience to another level. The noodles are of a thinner, chewier consistency than those of many other ramen shops, and the slices of pork on the ramen literally melt in your mouth.
705 Divisadero
Best Damn Grass Fed Burger ($8.75)
This is hands down one of the best burgers you can find in the city. 4505 Burgers & BBQ uses a 100% grass-fed patty (for those of you who haven’t had grass-fed beef, you have not lived!) sandwiched between a buttery, fluffy sesame bun with Gruyère cheese, grilled onions, lettuce, and “secret sauce.” If you are feeling especially gluttonous, order a side of fries for $4. They’re cooked in tallow (commonly known as beef fat) and are salty, crispy, and delicious to the last morsel. It’s a heart attack on a plate, but most of the ingredients are locally sourced and organic, so you will die happy.
