San Francisco - Alison Bing [130]
Mexico City’s signature street food reinvented to satisfy famished Potrero del Sol skateboarders: sandwiches ($6 to $8) stuffed with farm-fresh veggies and healthy poached chicken or tangy marinated pulled pork, with optional pickled jalapeños. Wash it down with a strawberry smoothie or fresh-squeezed OJ, and you can skip dinner.
MISSION PIE Map American, Bakery $
415-282-1500; www.missionpie.com; 2901 Mission St; 7am-9pm Mon-Thu, 7am-10pm Fri, 8am-10pm Sat, 9am-9pm Sun; 14, 26, 48; 24th St Mission
Like mom used to make, only better: from savory quiche to all-American apple, all pie purchases here support a nonprofit sustainable farm where city kids find out where their food comes from, and learn about nutrition and cooking.
LA TAQUERIA Map Mexican $
415-285-7117; 2889 Mission St; 11am-9pm Mon-Sat, to 8pm Sun; 14, 26, 48, 49; 24th St Mission;
Rabble-rouser, are you? Ask a group of San Franciscans where to get the best burrito in town, then as voices rise, quietly slip off to La Taqueria. There’s no debatable saffron rice, spinach tortilla or mango salsa here – just perfectly grilled meats, flavorful beans and classic tomatillo or mesquite salsa wrapped in a flour tortilla. Add spicy pickled vegetables and crema (Mexican crème fraîche), and you’ll discover true burrito bliss.
PANCHO VILLA Map Mexican $
415-864-8840; www.panchovillasf.com; 3071 16th St; 10am-noon; 14, 26, 33, 49; 16th St Mission
The hero of the downtrodden and burrito-deprived, delivering a worthy condiments bar and tinfoil-wrapped meals the girth of your forearm. The line moves fast going in, and as you leave, the door is held open for you and your newly acquired Pancho’s paunch.
MITCHELL’S ICE CREAM Map Ice Cream $
415-648-2300; www.mitchellsicecream.com; 688 San Jose Ave; 11am-11pm; 14, 24, 26, 49
An otherwise nondescript Mission block is thronged with grinning grown-ups and kids doing happy dances as they make their Mitchell’s selections: will it be a classic like Kahlua mocha cream or the toasted almond-peanut-butter indulgence, or a tropical flavor like macapuno (a coconut variation) or mango? The avocado and purple yam are acquired tastes, but aficionados claim they’re hard to shake – and hard to find anywhere but here.
BALOMPIE CAFé Map Salvadoran $
415-648-9199; 3349 18th St; 8am-9:30pm; 14, 26, 33, 49; 16th St Mission;
Loyal taco lovers, prepare to be tempted by papusas, Salvadoran pockets of corn masa (aka taco dough) filled with cheese and beans or meat and topped with ’slaw and hot sauce. Papusas run $2.50 to $3.50 if you eat them here (minimum order of two per person) or $1.99 if you get them to go for a Dolores Park picnic.
EL TONAYENSE TACO TRUCK Map Mexican $
415-550-9192; parked near 16th St & S Van Ness Ave; from 10am; 14, 22, 33; 16th St Mission
The best meal on wheels in SF. Burritos and quesadillas are generous to a fault, but the $2 tacos are an easy gourmet meal on the go – especially the al pastor (marinated roast pork) and lengua (beef tongue).
LA PALMA MEXICA-TESSEN Map Mexican, Groceries $
415-647-1500; 2884 24th St; 8am-6pm Mon-Sat, to 5pm Sun; 14, 48; 24th St Mission
Follow the hand-slapping sound of tortilla-making in progress to La Palma, and hit the take-out counter for still-hot tortillas, handmade tamales, hunks of carnitas (slow-roasted pulled pork) by the pound, queso fresco (Mexican cheese) and La Palma’s own tangy tomatillo sauce. Now all you need is a small army to finish off that meal you’ve assembled…
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THE CASTRO & NOE VALLEY
The stretch of Market St between Church and Castro Sts is notoriously tough on restaurants; the trick to passing the test of time here seems to be good value and late hours, not thumping club music or lavish decor (though many still try). Noe Valley along 24th St and on Church St from 24th to 30th is more forgiving – maybe too forgiving, since the restaurants in the area tend to be just nice enough to visit once and not again. But the Mission culinary powerhouse is too close by for Noe Valley and