SF Eats: The Standards — Pickle Deli Square

When people visit San Francisco, they often ask me for restaurant recommendations. While I love eating out in SF - the variety is incredible - to be honest there is only one which I actually crave regularly.

Taqueria Cancun in the Mission. This is always the place I go to as soon as I land in San Francisco.

And I always order the same thing. Carnitas super burrito with no sour cream (includes carnitas, rice, pinto beans, salsa, and the "super" add-ons of cheese and avocado). And I ask for extra "green sauce," which is the thin avocado green salsa that they include. I eat one half then, and then save the other half for another day. It's that big. And tasty.

Besides Taqueria Cancun, there really aren't any places that I must visit, but I feel happy when I do. One is Saigon Sandwich in the Tenderloin, close to the Central Library. It's basically a few Vietnamese ladies who make banh mi nonstop in a room.

I usually get the special combination, which includes steamed pork, bbq pork, roast pork, and pate. The dessert on the left always looks more appetizing in the refrigerator case than it actually turns out to be.

And then there's Blue Bottle Coffee. Now I can say "I remember when..." I went to their "cupping," or tasting in their Oakland roasting facility back before they got big and expanded internationally.

Closer to home in Potrero Hill is Front Cafe. When they first started, they said that their ice was artisanally cut. Which means that they had these blocks of ice that they had to cut in order to fit the round Ball jars that they serve the coffee in. I think they have pre-cut ice now, and charge a $1.25 deposit for the Ball jar. Times are a changin'!

In the San Francisco Centre Mall, there is Ajisen Ramen. No, it's not the best ramen ever, yes, Ajisen is a chain, yes, it's in the mall. But when one is in the Powell Street / Market Street area, it sometimes just hits the spot.

Anything from 4505 Meats is good. I also "remember when..." they just sold at farmer's markets, but now they have a brick and mortar store. I will also always remember the sausage making class that I took taught by the owner of 4505.

And then there's Super Duper burgers. I've liked the burgers at Marlowe's, Serpentine, and Slow Club a lot, but Super Duper is more accessible. Sometimes I just want an honest to goodness American burger (without strange toppings, and where you can actually taste the meat).

Occasionally I've gotten a hankering for Cantonese wonton noodle soup, and have the urge to get myself over to Chinatown. I've come to Kam Po, an old timey Cantonese barbecue place a couple times.

Wonton noodle soup with roast duck.

And another wonton noodle soup from Yin Du, also in Chinatown.

Dessert-wise, there are many good choices, but I'm partial to Mr. and Mrs. Miscellaneous. Their ice cream is rather firm, and I sometimes feel too full after eating it, but being in Dogpatch I've always regarded it as my local ice cream joint. And "I remember when" I could go there and not see a line. It's gotten a lot of press and become very popular, sometimes the line goes out the door nowadays. Here is a scoop of chocolate chip (the chips are so fine, they're crunchy!) and a scoop of salted mango.