It’sDiningTime!
San Francisco/Bay Area restaurant reviews by Chris NorrisZarzuela
Zarzuela
2000 Hyde Street, San Francisco
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!
Cha Cha Cha
Cha Cha Cha
1801 Haight St, San Francisco
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?
Restaurant Paul K
Restaurant Paul K
199 Gough, San Francisco
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.
Welcome to my restaurant reviews!
The reviews on this page are for restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area. Each review reflects the first hand experience of myself and my most excellent partner in consumption, Laura!
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
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Zafran, Santa Clara
Zafran, Santa Clara
June 2008
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.
