Posts Tagged ‘restaurants’

Food trucks officially jump the shark

May 17th, 2012

The Whole Foods food truck was embarrassing enough. But now that Burger King has entered the game, the game is officially over.

The items sold by Burger King do not qualify as “food” by any normal standard, and their attempt to disguise this fact by placing them inside of an imitation food truck seems eerily reminiscent of a cargo cult.

So next time you’re hungry, don’t check Twitter, don’t go to Off the Grid, and stay away from the sOmA sTR3@t f00D pArK. You’ll have to go to a restaurant instead — thanks to Burger King, food trucks are over and done.

Posted in Misc

Tags: burgerking foodtruck offthegrid photo restaurants

West of Pecos opens Monday, May 14th

May 10th, 2012

West of Pecos, the new restaurant from the Woodhouse Fish Company folks, is slated to open this Monday, May 14th.

As you may recall, this newly built-out restaurant replaces the old Valencia St location of beloved Indian ice cream joint, Bombay Bazar.

For more on West of Pecos, check Eater’s coverage here.

Posted in Local

Tags: 16thmission photos restaurants westofpecos woodhousefishcompany

Tonight: Kitchen Nightmares visits the Bay Area

February 10th, 2012

Tonight’s episode of Kitchen Nightmares takes place in the Bay Area! Gordon Ramsay visits Fremont’s Spin A Yarn, a strangely named restaurant where apparently all the food comes from cans.

The food looks pretty sad. In fact, this is the only episode I’ve seen where someone other than Ramsay throws up. That said the focus here is on the dramatic tension between the husband and “I’m not a trophy” wife. The rift between them seems to have started when the husband let his wife renovate Spin A Yarn without putting any limit on cost; you can imagine how that turns out. At one point during the episode the wife goes so far as to duck behind a curtain to avoid her husband.

I don’t want to say too much, but San Jose Sharks fans won’t want to miss this one.

The episode airs at 8pm on KTVU.

Posted in Local

Tags: gordonramsay kitchennightmares restaurants spinayarn

House 530 opening soon

September 25th, 2011

The perpetually vacant spot on Valencia between Blondie’s and Limon finally removed their plywood to reveal… yet another Thai restaurant! If at this point you’re wondering whether there’s more Thai restaurants or Thai people in San Francisco, I think it’s safe to bet on the restaurants.

As Grub Street reported several months ago, this spot was previously a punk venue with a strange history.

Posted in Local

Tags: 16thmission deafclub photos punk restaurants thai

Puerto Confuso

August 26th, 2011

This ad for Puerto Alegre in the SF Weekly has me very, very confused.

Here’s why:

What does the “and” mean? Can they sell me just a pitcher, or just a margarita without anything to pour it into? Or is the pitcher collectable and included in the price?
Why “by the glass”? What is that referring to? How can it be both in a pitcher and by the glass at the same time?
Besides, isn’t $20 the normal, non Happy Hour price?

Posted in Local

Tags: 16thmission photos puertoalegre restaurants sfweekly

16th and Guerrero restaurant update

July 30th, 2011

Two empty restaurant spaces are about to get less empty. Today a new sign went up at the former Bangkok 16 space for Krua Thai:

And further down the street at the former Il Cantuccio space is an alcohol permit for (what else?) a new Italian pizza joint called Mozzeria:

Posted in Local

Tags: 16thmission photos restaurants

Maharaja to become Taj Express

July 19th, 2011

The defunct Maharaja on Valencia at 16th now has a liquor license on the window for a new Indian eatery to be called Taj Express.

We can only hope this will be a step up from the previous tenant, notorious for empty seats, bland food and poor service. With only Pakwan in the immediate area, a second good (or even decent) Indian joint would be a welcome sight.

Posted in Local

Tags: 16thmission indian Maharaja photos restaurants tajexpress

Sharpie owners upset about closing of Hong Kong Express Cafe

June 13th, 2011

Hong Kong Express Cafe, also known as the absurdly cheap restaurant filled with hobos and pigeons, finally closed its doors to make room for Southpaw BBQ.

However, not everyone is pleased with this change, as indicated with the above photos of protests from Sharpie owners. And while it’s easy to discount their protests as the price of a Sharpie is greater than the cost of a plate of food at Hong Kong Express, it’s true that the number of affordable dining options around 16th and Mission has decreased dramatically in recent years.

Posted in Local

Tags: 16thmission hongkongexpresscafe photos restaurants southpawbbq

Venga Empanadas

May 26th, 2011

A new empanadas joint is opening soon on Valencia. Well that’s not entirely true; it’s not really new. See, Venga Empanadas didn’t have a place to call home until now. The Valencia location will be their first real storefront.

The location may prove fiercely competitive. Many other places nearby are selling empanadas: the well-established Chile Lindo on 16th, and Pica Pica is only steps away on 15th and Valencia.

Posted in Local

Tags: empanadas photos restaurants