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!

Barney's Gourmet Hamburgers

location: 3344 steiner street (at fillmore), the marina

j treated me to a sunny sunday evening at barney's and it was such a pleasant dinner surprise. we wandered into barney's when the cheap mexican restaurant we wandered to chestnut for was closed. from the outside it looks like a small, overpriced hamburger joint, but it is so much better than that. the outside patio is bright and airy and this weekend was covered with blackbirds, but i enjoyed them more than i was annoyed by them. the extensive menu of burgers (beef, chicken, turkey and veggie) is overwhelming with options and they all made my mouth water. j and i were like kids in a candy store with all of the appealing options. i started with a root beer float and we shared a basket of the garlic skinny fries. most of the menu items are a la carte but the portions are so big it's worth it to have to order them separately! the basket would have been enough for 3 or 4 people and my burger was the size of my head.

i went with the baja burger which had the juiciest chicken and crispiest bacon i've found out in a long time. and i'm always looking/trying. the burger also had melted jack and avocado with the toppings on the side. along with what i can only guess was thousand island dressing as the sauce option, whatever it was, i liked it. the portions were well priced, less than i was expecting for a marina restaurant with "gourmet" in the name. barney's is comparable to the burger bar, but with half of the pretentiousness.

our waiter was a different person every time they came out and we had to wait a while between seating and ordering and finishing and getting our check. and had to ask for water, which is always a little annoying. especially in a restaurant that's not bustling, but they were all very friendly. bonus points for having lemon water waiting in cute carafes.

testimonials:

"simply amazing" - j referring to his blackberry chocolate shake

recommendation: get over there for a cute date but don't make it a first date, you'll eat everything in sight.

tastiness: yay!

food vs. price: yay!

service: okay!

Kasa

location: 3115 fillmore st. (at filbert), the marina

i haven't had indian food many times so it's always a brand new experience for me. i get nervous about ordering the wrong thing and i'm intimidated to eat indian out. or in for that matter. kasa makes trying indian so easy! kasa's menu is simple and easy to follow and the two guys working at the fillmore location the night i went were happy to help with the ordering by answering menu questions and offering taste samples. the menu is easy, either you order kati rolls and pick your meat choice or your order the thali plate and pick your meat choice. from the their everything else is standard. kasa is perfectly priced and absolutely fantastic. i had the plate with the chicken tikka masala and turkey kebabs. the kebabs were so flavorful and the tikka masala sauce was so good i ended up dipping everything on my plate in it! the food portions are very generous and the price is very reasonable. my plate of food pictured above was $12 and probably could have fed an entire family, but instead, i alone ate most of it in one sitting.

kasa has two locations, the one in the marina and another location in the castro. the marina spot is vibrant with a large front open window that we were lucky enough to sit in. the restaurant offers beer and wine and imported indian sodas, similar to the sodas you'll find at a mexican taqueria. all of the food is freshly prepared and the staff were extremely pleasant and warm. it's the perfect quick casual dining experience.

recommendation: get over there asap.

tastiness: yay!

food vs. price: yay!

service: yay!

Lunch Geek

location: 1400 market st. (between polk & fell), civic center

civic center is somewhat lacking in it's awesome lunch spots so i was extremely pleased to read that a new sandwich shop was opening up a couple blocks from work. lunch geek has a set menu of sandwich options and also a daily specials menu for new concoctions that they're trying out. all of the sandwiches have cute and clever names, such as 'i flunked gym class' and 'teacher's pet," the latter of which i enjoyed on my trip. and the atmosphere is just as cute and clever with science classroom themed decor and sandwich served on cafeteria style food trays, just like middle school! as far as lunch goes they offer a few different acme bread selections which always make for a wonderful lunch. everything is really cheap for how tasty it is (or sounds, i've only been in once but definitely want to go again). my sandwich was $7.95 and a decent size. this is no subway footlong, thank god, but it will definitely fill you up. my sandwich had free range chicken breast, melted swiss cheese, avocado, mayo, geek sauce (not certain what exactly this is, but it was good), and veggies.

we strolled in around 12:05pm and the line was out the door by 12:15. they only take cash. no beer/wine/booze, but a nice selection of specialty soda's and eco-friendly bottled waters (ironic, no?).

recommendation: take an early lunch, they're not open on the weekends.

tastiness: yay!

food vs. price: yay!

service: yay!

The Buena Vista

location: 2765 hyde st. at beach, fisherman's wharf

the buena vista is quite possibly one of the most famous attractions in san francisco, and for good reason. they invented and perfected the irish coffee there in 1952 and they are still using the same recipe today that they made over 50 years ago. growing up my parents would tell stories of afternoons and nights spent sippin' irish coffees (bailey's for lw) so it seemed fitting to take mom there for mother's day. the buena vista has a small interior with a long bar for seating and several window tables overlooking the hyde st. cable car turnaround and aquatic park.

we promptly ordered our coffees and i have to say, they were perfect. i have attempted to make an irish coffee or two and they always taste more irish than coffee. being that the buena vista is in fisherman's wharf and that it's so famous, the prices are on the expensive side, although our bill wasn't too crazy for 3 people, a few drinks and an appetizer, it seemed like some menu items were a little overpriced. i had the crab melt sandwich offered on the daily special menu, which was a delicious crab concoction with melted swiss, open face on an english muffin. it was savory, filling and had to be eaten with a fork (read: messy). we had the calamari which was pretty standard but accompanied by a perfect cocktail sauce, possible the best i've ever had. we shared the clam chowder which is wasn't very impressed by due to the presence of corn in the soup. i believe that clam chowder should not have corn, it has very few ingredients and corn should not be one, that being said, it was pretty good but bland. our waitress was lively, attentive and shouted every time an irish coffee was ordered, which i enjoyed. on a nearly perfect spring day, the buena vista is the best place to start out your afternoon.

recommendation: get over there and call me before you go (i live around the corner!)

tastiness: yay!

food vs. price: yay!

service: yay!

The Republic

location: 3213 scott st. at chestnut, the marina

the republic wants to be an upscale restaurant/bar/lounge like most places in the marina. it has the restaurant thing down, great food, decent prices, but the bar/lounge aspect of it is a little lame to me. i definitely don't see myself going in there to throw back drinks on a friday or saturday night, but i would eat here again. the drink i had was fantastic, the bulleit car chase which had bourbon, soda water, lime and mint leaves was refreshing and a great accompaniment to my grilled chicken sandwich. which had melted swiss on it. something i rarely enjoy but mixed with honey mustard and warm bread, it was great. i really enjoyed the atmosphere of the restaurant until a big party showed up to celebrate the presidio 10 race which was happening a few days later. the service at our table was awful. our waiter (daniel) was unattentive, having never asked if we wanted another drink. he basically took our order, brought our food and about 40 minutes later, brought our check. while the table next to us enjoyed wonderful service from their waitress. i did enjoy the atmosphere of the restaurant and i loved the little fryer basket that my onion rings were served in. i wanted to steal it, i resisted. i was glad we left right as the presidio 10 party was picking up, it was body to body crammed and started to feel like a thursday night at riley's.

recommendation: get over there after you've tried other spots in the marina

tastiness: yay!

food/drink vs. price: okay!

service: nay!

Osha Thai

location: 4 embarcadero center, financial district (6 other locations around san francisco)

d took me to osha thai for a roommate celebration and we had the pleasure of sitting in the lounge and getting star service from her friend, andrew, the bartender. while there are several other locations in the city, i like this one, it's along the embarcadero, quiet at night, great service and easy to catch a cab right after if you need to (it's next to the hyatt). because we were friends with the bartender he hooked us up with a couple of really delicious cocktails based on what we said we like. my favorite thing in the world is a bartender who will ask you what you like and offer something they think you'll like even more. this happened with not 1 but both drinks i had. a french 75 made with elderflower and a russian mule made scottish with hendrick's gin. and at a decent price for a fidi bar. the menu offers a few pages of thai treats with an emphasis on noodles, rice and seafood. i had the crab fried rice which was proven fresh by the actual crab claws that the dish was served with, i always find it fun to play with my food and this was no exception. while i felt that the drinks were a great price, i think the food is a little over priced. some of the dishes on the menu seem reasonable, but others seem like they're priced that way simply because they can get away with it. which is a bummer. the other great thing about osha is that some of the locations are open pretty late, the tenderloin location is open until 1am, so if you get a craving, they're there!

recommendation: get to one of their locations at your leisure!

tastiness: yay!

food/drink vs. price: okay!

service: yay!