Spork

Something about the Spork (the spoon fork), makes me feel all nostalgic, reminding me of the school cafeteria days of eating comfort foods - it's Americana. Spork the restaurant has the same feeling. The modern day comfort food menu, a local restaurant with an interesting twist. This classy yet comfy place with it's classic clean interior is a new favorite of mine.

I came here with friends who know this place well, so I let them order away and we had: (Check out all the pictures attached)

*Original pull apart rolls with honey butter: Delicious, hot out of the oven. The butter melts on the fluffy dough faster than you can reach for a bite.
*Goat Cheese Croquette: Warm and Crispy Goat Cheese served with greens for the perfect crispy yet cheesy melty appetizer.
*Cherry Tomatoes and Mozzerella Salad - fresh, flavorful and very good.
*Deviled Egg Salad Crostini: Holy Cow, I love deviled eggs - but on warm crispy toasts, it's so sinful it earns its name. I would like more please.
*Hamachi Appetizer: Sushi is also a comfort food of mine, so I ordered this dish as a main course. It was perfect with all the bites we had before.
*Inside out Burger: Very yummy, you can taste the quality of the burger. Next time I'm at Spork - this is MINE.
*Daily Pasta Dish: Flat Fresh Pasta Noodles, tasty red sauce and flavorful sausage.

For Dessert we all split the:
* Pudding is your friend: So yummy, cute presentation - looked like an ashtray with pretzel cigarettes. I know sounds bad, but its adorable.
* Humphrey Slocombe Ice cream: Vanilla Ice cream with chocolate covered ruffles. Makes me want to scream for Ice Cream! Truly original - this flavor is made for Spork and quite unique.

When our bill came, I was so delighted to see these baby burger cookie bites, so cute and delicious.

I feel like I got to try a little of everything, which made me a huge fan of Spork. I'd love to come back in the very near future to try some of the other items that Yelpers are talking about.

Watching a recent Check Please episode, my friend was intrigued by the positive comments and interesting menu choices, prompting a dinner visit on a recent Friday night. I had the following:

Appetizers
1) Corn Puree (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/WtPoz96mlLLaUWN2cVnFdw?select=Yjh5TABO7SJciqzgjNVxlg) - Great starter for a SF misty evening with its sweet flavors. Can you make that bowl a little deeper?! : )

2) Ahi Poke (shared) (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/WtPoz96mlLLaUWN2cVnFdw?select=-pJau05CrIsB5IjWfQyNDg) - Just okay and probably the weakest dish tonight. Lightly flavored Ahi cubes on a bed of shrimp chips.

Entree
3) Beef Stroganoff (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/WtPoz96mlLLaUWN2cVnFdw?select=e0mWH697dpbMwWrTU4sGdA) - A very welcome surprise and cooked to perfection, temperature(medium rare) and flavor wise (love the mushrooms and onions in the wine sauce). Gnocchi was just okay. Would have enjoyed it a bit more with egg noodles, but the creamy horseradish REALLY gave this dish a kick! I used my second brioche piece to clean the sauce from my plate... yes, that good!

Dessert
4) Elvis Has Left the House (shared) (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/WtPoz96mlLLaUWN2cVnFdw?select=1e2UiGJndLTS_8iyix_kew) - Sliced fresh bananas with Humphrey Slocumbe ice cream, caramel sauce, and sprinkling of cashew nuts... who ate that Reese's cup?!

Overall, a very enjoyable meal as we were the first party to arrive when they opened. Got to try my friends' scallops (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/WtPoz96mlLLaUWN2cVnFdw?select=UdHeI3jCw3MxLdQ5Du2hpA) (well seared) and mussels and pork (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/WtPoz96mlLLaUWN2cVnFdw?select=GomXf9TWtJ5YATQL3C8-uA) (hearty/tasty, but pork a bit on the dry side). The dining room was full by the time we left. With a variety of share tables, counter seating, booths, and small tables, the vibe is relaxing and unpretentious; comfortable setting for GOOD sustainable comfort food. Be sure to read the back page of the dessert menu which explains the restaurant name, history, and the interior design.

Love me tender, love me true...love that peanut butter type desert thingy cus it's so yum...

Yes, they have sporks at Spork. They even sell them. For seven dollars you can own your own spork from Spork. And leme tell ya, they are pretty fancy sporks too!

The outside out hamburger was nom, along with the brussel sprouts and calamari. Oh, little squids, you died for a good cause...me.

Only complaint? Thier malbec was young, like a young virgin in need of a firm spanking. In other words, their wine list could be seriously revisited, easily, for improvement.

Other than that? Love it! Please, Spork me, Spork me now! ;)

A bit pricey compared to its KFC predecessor, but the food is certainly better. The menu is divided between "first" and "seconds" (a kind of euphemism of appetitzers and main course). The portions are a little bit small for the price they charged, but I loved the in-side-out burger. The fries weren't fries in the fast food traditional sense, but made from actual potatoes. It gets a bit noisy when the restaurant fills and I found myself having to have raise my voice in order to be heard. The waitresses were friendly and more than willing to answer questions about the menu. The menu had only a few selections, but the friend I went with asked if there were going to be more added to the menu and the waitress happily said yes.

Just noticed they like placing little Pokemon toys on a table near their window after they close. Kinda funny in a way when I walk by it on my way to work.

BREAD: I was so curious about their famous dinner rolls. It's dense like a dinner roll. The best aspect by far is the sea salted crust with their amazing honey butter.

APPS: SO SAD they sold out of the hamachi appetizer! The cauliflower calamari was amazing even though it was fried (and I hate fried stuff, blasphemy I know =P).

ENTREES: I LOVED the fresh pasta. It was so delicious, chewy, fresh, and just perfect.

The inside out burger was good, but what was special was the side of smashed potatoes that were freakin out. of. this. world. They were so crispy, and yet not that oily. Perfect. Next time I'm ordering a side of that if they let me =)

DESSERT: I wish I had room for dessert, I can't wait to come back!

Interesting crowd, still conceptualizing the KFC turned home diner theme. It is a little sad that they don't serve you with a spork, too many people must have stolen them. Although, they do offer it on the menu as a take home souvenir. I like the decor, it had very warm lighting which was inviting. Service was very good, waitstaff was well trained.
Hmm, food. Yes, rolls were tasty. Ahi tuna poke, can't go wrong, right? It was delicious, although someone went a little overboard with the soy sauce and doused it so much that the subtle hints of mint, cool citrus blood orange, toasted pinenuts and crispy rice wafer were all overwhelmed. Sea bass was disappointingly dry. Just a touch too overdone and the veggies were lackluster. Pasta pork and peas had a good taste, but pretty salty. The blob-like pasta was very interesting.
My malbec and the pinot noir were both tasty.

Coming into an appropriately dimly lit restaurant with a pleasant hostess must be a good sign that the place is a great dinner spot.

As a belated birthday dinner, my friend took me to Spork (it was our first time). After reading multiple reviews mentioning the inside out burger, it was at the top of my list to order. AND I am sure glad I did because I saw many of the other entree dishes and the portion size was too small for the prices and for my appetite :).

My brother from another mother settled on the ahi tuna and definitely regretted his choice. I tasted a bit of it and was not impressed by the lack of flavor and size of the dish. This was part of the reason I docked a star off. The other reason was because our waitress was freakishly perky...this seems like an odd reason to dock a star and normally I wouldn't, but she creeped me out. One moment she would be talking normally to her co-workers and the next moment she would scrunch up her face as if she ate too much sugar and talk like a cheerleader from L.A., but she was very nice and attentive...it was just putting off.

Back to the inside out burger...absolutely a-m-a-z-i-n-g. I appreciate a fork-and-knife burger because I hate eating with my hands. They made it perfectly medium-well and the meat, special sauce, and bun were incredibly flavorful. I highly recommend ordering the smashed potatoes, which come with dipping sides of aoili (YUMMY!) and ketchup.

Overall, my experience was great and I am looking forward to the next time I have the infamous inside-out burger.

Thank you Tablehopper for telling me Spork was closing and to try their inside-out burger while it's still around! Surprisingly high quality food for a spot that looks like a simple diner.

My best friend thought this was the best meal she's ever had in SF - I wouldn't give them that much credit, I still really enjoyed the meal.

MUST-HAVES: Goat cheese croquette, La pasta melanzane

* Calamari and Brussels Sprouts Unite! - 3.5 stars
(monterey bay calamari, brussels sprouts, mint, lemon aioli - $12.75)
Loved the lemon aioli with the brussels sprouts, which were toasted and crispy, the way I like them best. They were nice enough to cook the calamari separately as half our table was vegetarian. You have to really like the pure flavor of seafood to like this part, as the calamari isn't breaded and you really see every tentacle, head, etc. I still liked it!

* Goat Cheese Croquette - 4 stars
(warm and crispy goat cheese, roasted golden and red beets, arugula, almonds, port and balsamic emulsion - $10.75)
Just one croquette, but it's perfectly soft and lightly breaded on the outside. The salad surrounding it was DELICIOUS while simple, the dressing a perfect balance of tart with a slight sweet hint, and every component adding just the perfect bit of flavor & texture.

* La Pasta Melanzane - 4 stars
(breaded eggplant fritters, tomato sauce, pappardelle pasta, pine nuts, rosemary - $16.75)
Very very nicely done. Pasta was great, with a tangy sauce that still had the texture of fresh chopped tomatoes. My friend usually hates eggplant but this had just the right ratio of breading to eggplant and she loved it.

* Rustic Farro Risotto - 2.5 stars
(slow cooked farro with lentils, cauliflowers, mushrooms, dino kale, butternut squash, pumpkin seeds - $17.75)
Not quite what you'd normally think of for risotto (creamy, rich). This was in more of a broth, and had a flavor like lentil soup. While this was light and healthy, this could have used more butternut squash (a big reason I got the dish) and it was undercooked too, a little hard)

* In-Side-Out Burger - 3.5 stars
(a fork and knife burger with two beef patties, caramelized onions, tillamook cheddar, lettuce, tomato, house dressing - $14.75)
Tried a bite of my friend's - from what I could tell, the meat and bun had great buttery flavor. And I love that this was about the same cost as a regular burger but double the meat =).

Yup.

You saw those five glowing stars right.

Spork earned every one of them.

Because we (me in particular here) devoured our meal. And when I say devoured. I mean devoured.

Seriously now.

You could have literally. Literally. Counted the number of seconds food lasted on my plate - and your lips would be forming the word 100 (as in one hundred seconds) and you'd find yourself looking down at my plate confused.

"Uh Jessica - I'm counting here....where's the food. Start eating."

And I'd shoot you over a confused look.

"What are you talking about? I'm done."

"No - you're not - I don't see any food on your plate."

"Uh...yeah...exactly. I ate it....All."

Because I ate the rich goat cheese and pear salad in 2 seconds.

Because I ate the buttery lettuce, sprinkled in shreds of rich Parmesan cheese in 3 seconds.

Because I ate my "O O Ooooo No they didn't" grilled squash, mushroom, spinach, and truffle oil gnocchi dish in 45 seconds. And that's with a 15 second phone break.

Because I had a frantic spoonful of everyone else's main dishes (minus the burger, steak and pork) in 10 seconds.

And because I then proceeded to shovel in spork after spork of rich "woah" butterscotch pudding topped with creme fraiche, Humphrey Slocombe chocolate covered potato chip ice-cream, strawberry crumble pie with fresh vanilla ice-cream, pot brownie, Elvis' favorite - chocolate banana peanut-butter ice-cream concoction, and fluffy cinnamon and sugar topped doughnuts in 40 seconds. And the slowed reaction is only cause I had to share and wait my turn.

So yeah five stars for a delicious meal - that I finished before you probably even reached this point of my review.

And I loved every sporkful of it.

Trust.

I remember all too well the white plastic spork you get in the flimsy plastic package along with a mini-napkin emblazoned with Colonel Sanders' head. it was an automatic accessory when you order those styrofoam cups of mashed potatoes and gravy all schmushed together. The association is not by accident, as Spork inhabits a refurbished Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet. But being that it's in San Francisco, the new space has little trace of the Colonel other than the metal version of the spork they are willing to sell you for $7.

I was happy to be treated for dinner here last night thanks to Jamie W.'s generous boss. The company was fine and the service attentive, but the food I tried was rather disappointing in somewhat sloppy ways. The menu is classic American dishes redone as if the chef was chosen for an Iron Chef competition. A good example is the $14 In-side-Out Burger, described as a "fork and knife burger" with two grass-fed patties, Tillamook cheddar and caramelized onions. The bun is put inside the fixings, so you are eating it like a Napoleon with lots of layers. Clever, right? Perhaps, but the taste was not quite there due to overseasoning. This was especially true of the $11 Grilled Calamari and Brussel Sprouts which was overpowered by the combination of salt and lemon juice. These just struck me as errors in procedure in the kitchen.

On the upside, the complimentary Pull Apart Rolls were nice and warm - reminding me of the tray of Pepperidge Farm dinner rolls my mom used to warm up for Thankskgiving. Butter wasn't really necessary, but slathering was inevitable. I also like the smashed fries that came with the burger as they tasted like deep-fried potato pancakes. All I needed was some applesauce. I'll try Spork again since chef Bruce Binn has quite a pedigree of quality restaurants on his resume - Delfina, Slow Club, even one of Mario Batali's places in Manhattan (he must have stories to tell). But I have to say the first time for me was something of a miss given my high expectations.

FOOD - 3 stars...Hypertension, thy name is Spork
AMBIANCE - 4 stars...coolish vibe with retro touches like the pieces of a 1952 billboard on the wall - but I didn't care for the way they had to split a communal table to serve our party
SERVICE - 4 stars...very attentive and friendly...no complaints about the waiter
TOTAL - 3 stars...maybe a free spork could have made me more amenable to the oversalted food...hmmm, no