bacon hot dogs

NY Times article on the blog namesake.

First up, a field trip to the East Bay might be in order. I loves me some tacos and I’ve been hearing about International Avenue for long time now. Taco Crawl in Fruitvale

Second, Korean noodles; who doesn’t love noodles?

Third, a list of food carts and other stuff that might be worth following on twitter:
https://twitter.com/magiccurrykart
https://twitter.com/cremebruleecart
https://twitter.com/AmuseBoucheSF
https://twitter.com/boccalone
https://twitter.com/RoliRoti
https://twitter.com/urbanectar
https://twitter.com/chezspencergo
https://twitter.com/cookiewagsf
https://twitter.com/whatthepho
https://twitter.com/LeftCoastSmoke
https://twitter.com/SexySoupCart
https://twitter.com/sfmoomoocakes
https://twitter.com/bikebasketpies
https://twitter.com/humphryslocombe
http://twitter.com/thepietruck
https://twitter.com/streetfoodsf
https://twitter.com/Missionstfood
https://twitter.com/eatrealfest

Feel free to add other ones.

121 New Montgomery at Minna looks like a newstand, but it has a Korean lunch counter in back. Prices are low, service is quick. I got the jap chae bop (ordered the jap chae and the guy asked if I wanted jap chae bop, sure!) and it was good.

On another day, I will find out about the hot dogs. Surely kimchee is involved.

Now you too can have a carne asada burrito containing french fries! Who needs rice? No word on if you can get ketchup in there as well.

Caramba, 78 2nd Street at Mission is an otherwise standard and reliable taqueria. They used to be called Si Senor. For you folks on the early shift, they open at 6:30 am and have inexpensive breakfast burritos.

If someone tries a burrito de fries, you gotta let me know.

I had lunch at Kitchenette today – it’s a lunch spot that runs out of a warehouse loading dock in the Dogpatch neighborhood. Everyday they sell a couple of sandwiches and/or salads, one drink, a cookie and those yummy chicharrones that I’d talked about before. Today’s sandwich of choice, $7.50 (my choice anyway) was slow-cooked broccoli with fromage blanc and a spring onion/olive tapenade type spread — all on a baguette. It came with a little bit of german potato salad, which was ok, but the sandwich was yummy! I also had the cookie of the day ($1) – maple bacon snickerdoodle. It had a little bacon on top for decor (and yumminess). All in all a tasty lunch. Check it out if you’re ever in the hood during weekday lunchtime – they open at 11:30 and then stay open until they sell out (or until about 1:00pm).

I’m ashamed to admit that I hadn’t bothered to try this place — at 23rd and Mission, three blocks from where live — until I read online that a Twitterer had spotted Anthony Bourdain eating a torta and filming during his visit to SF in March. In my defense, it looks from the outside like any of the other convenience stores you find in that neighborhood. Anyhow, inside you’ll find a diner counter that will seat three people, a grill behind the counter, and a full menu of tortas, tostadas, and quesadillas. Thus far, I’ve tried a carne asada torta, a pork torta, and a chicken tostada.  The tortas are a meal-and-a-half, as all the tortas I’ve tried around here tend to be. “Everything” on the torta means lettuce, tomato, avocado, refried beans, crema, mayo, and queso fresco. I liked the annatto-intensive pork torta the best. The shredded chicken tosta was good, albeit on a Guerrero shell right out of the bag). Queso fresco really hits the spot on a tostada. The tortas run $6.50 and the tostadas are $3.50. The tostada is enough for lunch, and a whole torta will make a zombie of you for the bulk of the afternoon. I haven’t tried a quesadilla yet. Huitlacoche was one of the options on the quesadilla menu, but the friendly lady who does the cooking didn’t have it the one time I asked for it.

After hearing about the pork rinds in a bag that are making the circuit in upscale markets/eateries in SF, I finally found a bag at Avedanos (the butcher in Bernal Heights). They are *so* good – and $2.75 a bag. Try them – 4505 Chicharrones. Sweet, spicy and pork fat flavored – remarkably light and not greasy. And definitely addictive. Scarily so. . .

more addictive than you realize

Paid a second visit to Beijing Restaurant a new-ish (like 6 or 8 month-old) restaurant at Alemany and Ocean that specializes in Beijing-style cuisine. They’ve got hand-pulled noodles and flour ball dishes, among many other things. Had shredded potatoes with “hot oil”, a cold noodle dish (it was a hot day), and cumin lamb. The shredded potatoes were really interesting. They were served in an attractive mound garnished with cilantro. They seemed hardly cooked if at all, and had roughly the texture of spaghetti squash. They were slightly orange from the chile oil. The cold noodle dish was garlicky, and had cucumbers, and the noodles were nice and home-y. The cumin lamb was good too. A great meal, and at about $20 for more than enough food for two people, a great deal as well. There are lots of other interesting things to check out on this menu ( I had a very nice chive pancake on my first visit, as well as a stew-y noodle dish that I thoroughly enjoyed), and I’d nominate it (along with Lers Ros and Larkin Express) for a group meal.

Sneaky’s (what a great name) will deliver gourmet BBQ to your door. Might be a good thing for the soon-to-be parents in the group. Also, tablehopper put up a list of cheap eats in case we need inspiration.

… has very good bahn mi. It’s a little off SF’s beaten bahn mi path, which is one reason I thought it was worth mentioning. At $3.95, these might be a tad more expensive than some of the ones you can get in the loin, but they are stuffed really well. I’ve tried a grilled pork and a grilled chicken with pate (you can add pate to any sandwich for $0.50). Both were really good. The pickled veggies were sliced just a bit thicker than I am used to, and I liked it like that. The baguettes are good. If you like them on the crunchy side, as I do, you might want to specify. The couple (or so they seem to be) who run the place are really nice and I’m sure they will oblige. My new favorite cheap eats by the Powell Street Bart station. In case logistics make a difference to anyone, the place is the size of a walk-in closet and has no seating.