Tacolicious

location: 2031 chestnut (at fillmore), the marina
time of day: week day lunch
i ate: chicken taquitos (no longer on menu?), chili con queso ($7.50), rock shrimp taco ($3.95), carnitas taco ($3.95)

if you're lucky enough to get a seat at tacolicious without waiting an hour, you're in for a real treat. if it's busy and you're waiting, it can be super crowded and irritating and by the time you sit, who you're squeezed next to can really affect your meal. i've done my fair share of waiting for tables at tacolicious because the food really is worth the wait and the staff seem to do all they can to get in you in quickly, but that also means that often they're trying to get you out quickly. almost all of their menu items are made with fresh, local meats and veggies and you can really taste the freshness in every bite. the queso (which the menu claims is neither fresh nor local) is my favorite thing here. i contend that one of the best things you can get in sf is their $10 special (taco, tecate, tequila shot).

food vs. price: yay!
tastiness: yay!
service: okay!

Bistro Aix

 

location: 3340 steiner street (at chestnut), the marina

time of day: friday night dinner

i ate: spinach & beet salad (8.5), brussel sprouts (8), dungenesss crab pasta (22), fresh fruit sorbet (complimentary)

bistro aix is a hidden gem in the marina. it's lesser known than some of the big names on chestnut but it's just as good, if not better. the service is fantastic. the food is delicious - made with fresh and local ingredients. the ambiance is perfect for a date night, dinner with the fam (my experience) or a fun girls night out, so really, it's the perfect go to spot. they serve beer and wine only but have a great selection. 

make a reservation, the restaurant tends to fill up nightly. also, don't just this place by it's website. i can't for the life of me understand why they have such an outdated and boring site.

tastiness: yay!

food vs. price: yay!

service: yay!

Delarosa

location: 2175 chestnut (between pierce & steiner), the marina

time of day: post work cocktail and dinner

i ate: marinated olives with fennel ($5), arugula & fennel salad ($10), burrata bruschetta ($7), broccolini & pancetta pizza ($14)

delarosa is a perfect spot for lunch. i've been a handful of times, at various times of the day, and it's best at lunch. that being said, everything i've had there has been fantastic. it's a great menu for sharing. if you try to go for dinner, you're sure to wait, but if you go for lunch you'll usually get seated quickly. the other trick to avoiding the wait (which can be long) is snagging a seat at the bar. on this trip to delarosa i did end up eating at the bar and the service was just as great as a table seat, plus i had a bartender making me drinks based on my likes and dislikes, which is always awesome. if you end up getting seated, it's communal style inside and outside, so be prepared to sit in close quarters with a stranger and learn to love it.

tastiness: yay!

food vs price: yay!

serivce; yay!

Greens

location: fort mason, building a, the marina

time of day: weekday lunch

i ate: asparagus (11), mesquite grilled brochettes (15)

everything at greens is vegetarian, fresh, local and organic (including a lot of the wine!). this restaurant is also worth a trip for the beautiful view of the golden gate bridge and the fog rolling in or out (depending).

tastiness: yay!

food vs. price: yay!

service: yay!

Chilayo

location: 2150 chestnut street, the marina

time of day: weekday dinner

i ate: chips & guacamole (6), super vegetarian burrito (8.5), sangria (7)

chilayo is part of the sabor mexicano restaurant family (tlaloc in fidi, cancun in berkeley), they own their own farm in sonoma and everything is produced there for the the restaurant.

tastiness: yay!

food vs. price: okay!

service: okay!

Tacolicious

location: 2031 chestnut street (at fillmore), the marina

the first time i had dinner at tacolicious was at dinner after the giants won the playoffs and i had sat across the street in the horseshoe for about 6 hours. i vaguely remember that meal. i recently went back with a & m and realized that this restaurant, under normal circumstances, is hard to forget. we went on a saturday night so we waited for a while and the restaurant is small and almost always crowded, however, it is worth the wait.

once we were seated we promptly ordered the chili con queso ($7.25), one of the best queso dips ever (and i can say that with certainty because i tried about all of the queso in austin and that city does it right). for dinner i had a lobster taco ($4) which was a special on the menu that week. i continually try lobster in different kinds of foods and i react to it in different ways. i didn't love the taco but i think it was less that it was delicious and more than i just didn't like the taste of the lobster. the tacos come with a few different sides of salsa, all fantastic on top of a tasty taco and after one i was pretty full.

tacolicious is a fresh and modern take on a taqueria. you can watch everything being prepared in the front kitchen but they use sustainable and organic meats and vegetables whenever possible. they also have a to-go location in the ferry building during the farmer's markets and according to their site, buy produce there when possible.

on a nice day in the marina you can sit outside in their small patio area. however, good luck to you on getting a table.

tastiness: yay!

food vs. price: yay!

service: yay!

The Brixton

location: 2140 union street (between webster and fillmore), the marina

with a restaurant almost every other door on union street in the marina it can be hard to stand apart from all of the others but the vibe of the the brixton is very unique. it's dark bar, low lit chandeliers and big booths give it a style all it's own in a pretty cookie cutter neighborhood. the bright neon sign outside is inviting and the dark wood paneling inside is comfortable, makes you feel you want to stay a while.

i made a reservation to have dinner with j, as the website recommended, it seemed unnecessary when we sat down, but by 30 minutes later there wasn't an empty seat in the place. we started with the warm onion dip ($7), which was what drew me there to begin with, and it was delicious. exactly what i was expecting and when we ran out of chips, they gladly gave us more. they also offered bread as an additional side to our tasty dip treat. for my entrée i enjoyed the salmon cooked with brussel sprouts and fingerling potatoes ($20). i also stole a few fries ($5) from j, because everything was so good. by the time dessert rolled around, we couldn't stomach another bite.

from the bar i had the brixton manhattan ($10), an interesting take on an old favorite. they shake up bulleit bourbon with st. germain elderflower & fernet branca. although i was skeptical at first, i really liked it.

the friendly staff didn't rush us through our meal even though we took our time and the place was filling up. they were also accommodating of j's veggie diet and answered our questions about the menu.

recommendation: great first date spot.

tastiness: yay!

food vs. price: okay!

service: yay!

Chestnut Street Diner

location: 1312 chestnut street (between van ness & franklin), the marina

chestnut street diner is around the corner from my apartment so i checked it out for breakfast on a lazy sunday with d. we recently learned that the same family of sisters owns the diner, the market on the corner of chestnut & van ness and the small cafe across the street. they're all very nice but i wouldn't recommend paying for breakfast at this diner that you could make better and faster at home.

the service at chestnut street diner was extremely slow although it wasn't packed and our waitress seemed annoyed when we asked for things like water and more coffee. it took her about 15 minutes from the time we sat down until she took our order. i wasn't expecting much out of my two eggs, sausage, hash browns and toast ($8) and i ate most of it. i think next time i'll save my time and make breakfast for the roomies at home.

tastiness: okay!

food vs. price: okay!

service: nay!

Pacific Catch

location: 2027 chestnut street (at fillmore), the marina

there are two pacific catch locations in san francisco. the one is in my neighborhood and the original is on 9th & lincoln. the marina location is tiny. as you can maybe tell in the picture i posted it probably holds about 15 people inside and 8 outside (weather permitting). when you dine at this location you're pretty much dining with the parties on either side of you, so it's not very romantic, if that's what you're looking for. it is however, really great. the menu is asian/island influenced seafood. the options are sandwiches, salads, various types of fish & chips, and various rice bowls.

i went for a dinner with d and we started with the shrimp ceviche, the portion was smaller than i expected, admittedly, but it was full of shrimp and and avocado. for dinner i had the california salmon sandwich. the salmon was served with avocado, tomato and a really fresh tasting citrus aioli that really brought the sandwich together, the fresh baked bread is great too. it was complimented by a light coleslaw and fries.

the have a decent wine list and a small bottled beer selection. i had a couple glasses of white to compliment the fish, a glass was $8, pretty typical in the marina.

the service here is fast and friendly, everyone seems to be happy even though they're working in such close quarters. the waiter gave us really nice pours on our wine and some recommendations for ordering from the menu. i ran into someone i knew on the way in and ended up at the table next to his party. we weren't there together but it really felt like it. it's definitely not the kind of restaurant you walk into to have any kind of private conversation.

tastiness: yay!

food vs. price: okay!

service: yay!

Sushi San

location: 1434 lombard (at van ness), the marina

j and i wandered into sushi san when it was too hot to be in our apartment and we wanted to eat something cold (aside from miso soup, which i can never turn down). it was an unexpected surprise. i'm always looking for cheap, quality, fresh tasting sushi and this place really hit the spot. they had a lot of vegetarian roll options which is always something i'm mindful of since i'm often eating with a veggiesaurus. the roll selections they had were classic, nothing too over the top or zany but also not boring. and they don't cover their rolls in fish eggs which is huge plus in my book. i really hate that.

i had the meal that included soup, salad, and a couple of different rolls. the salad was a little heavy on the dressing so i didn't love it or even finish it. the soup was great. and had those cute, long japanese mushrooms floating around the top, which i had never seen before. my rolls were perfect portion, tasted very fresh and left me full and satisfied. the prices were really decent and the restaurant serves beer & wine.

the wait staff was super friendly and attentive, even letting me take a picture of the roll preparation. they also deliver!

recommendation: don't wait until it's too hot to check this place out.

tastiness: yay!

food vs. price: okay!

service: yay!

Unwind

location: 1875 union (at octavia), the marina

unwind is a new restaurant on union that is really good but seems like it has a lot of room for improvement. it's trying hard to be a certain kind of spot but i don't think it really knows what it wants to be. the inside feels really warm. big window looking out on union, wood paneled walls, bar eating right where the food is being prepared and a lot of tables. the back patio area is very open, with a glass cover so you can sit outside but not be outside. there's an outside bar and a lot of table seating and about 5 too many televisions (i think there were 7). it doesn't scream "place i want to get rowdy and watch sports" so it seems like a waste to have so many tv's up, especially in one medium sized spaced.

the menu is inventive with different categories for selecting food. the cuisine is mostly traditional american dishes, some with a new spin, but ultimately pretty classic. you can taste from the "mingle" portion of the menu where everything is served a la carte and you can select just one or many, great for sharing. the "relax" section offers salads and sandwiches and the "unwind" section is the bigger portioned entrées. it all seems a little cheesy, like they're onto something and they haven't quite figured it out.

i had the mac 'n' cheese which was absolutely wonderful. 4 kinds of cheese with bacon bits and breadcrumbs. you can't go wrong. the classic steak and caesar roll surprised me. i thought it would come on bread, like a roll, but it was literally meat wrapped around a piece of lettuce. it was ok but i don't see what is so classic about it. i've never really seen anything like it before. i had the chicken capellini pasta which was really good but a little bland. all of the flavors of the pasta worked well together (olives, tomatoes, garlic, & capers with a little olive oil) but the chicken was boring. it was just grilled and didn't have much flavor.

the bar makes signature drinks that are classic with a twist. i had the original creamsicle which was probably the best i've had when trying that drink and a new american classic cherry coke which made me wish i had ordered another original creamsicle. the prices for all of these treats were decent. i thought some things were priced better than others. the mac 'n' cheese was shared by three people and was cheap but the entrée i had seemed a little overpriced.

the wait staff is friendly but i think still they're all still trying to figure out their shtick. it just opened so i'd like to give it a little time and see what changes they make in the next few months.

recommendation: give it some time before you unwind.

tastiness: okay!

food vs. price: okay!

service: yay!

Viking's Giant Subs

location: 1418 lombard street (at van ness), the marina

everyone has their favorite san francisco sandwich shop and with so many all over the city, it's easy to oversee some of them. i've passed by viking's a few times heading home and didn't decided to go in today when i was home sick, hungry and looking for the closest food available.

it did not disappoint!

this mom and pop deli is old school on the inside with fake plant vines hanging all around, brown faux wood wall paneling, and a vintage menu board that looks like it's older than me. the deli options are pretty standard and they offer some standard pre packed deli salads like macaroni and potato. i opted for the small (6") turkey, provolone and avocado ($1 added charge). there is only one bread option, sesame sub roll, and to my surprise, they toasted it! the ingredients seemed fresh and although my turkey wasn't freshly carved it was still sliced thick.

this toasted sub was way better than i was expecting, to be honest. i took it to go so i could eat it on the couch while i rested and it was still warm when i got back. better than any other toasted sub i had previously had. this place would definitely be worth wandering back into. also good to note: they take credit cards and serve beer!

recommendation: perfect for a picnic on fort mason or a stop on a tour of the marina.

tastiness: yay!

food vs. price: okay!

service: yay!