Adam "National Treasure" G.'s Profile

Pretty damn good. We wanted to get out of our burrito rut of ALWAYS going to Papalote or El Farolito. So we pinged Yelp and found this place.

Wifey got 2 soft tacos. I had a chicken quesadilla, and our friend had a burrito. All of it was amazing (we passed it all around). We also ordered some chips and guacamole. The guac was awesome, as good as I've had from a restaurant recently. The chips were thick and crispy too. All of that plus an orchata for like $24!

There's not much seating, but if you wait you can sit outside on a nice night. No beer, but you can BYOB and the corner store just down the block has super super SUPER cheap beer.

One problem, keeping this from 5 stars - the salsa sucked. I mean, it was like ketchup and water. It's almost worth it to steal some salsa verde from El Farolito and bring it here.

Good, not great. Here's why...

Wifey and I had gone to Firefly the previous night for our anniversary. Firefly's fried chicken impressed as always, and the rib eye was quite possibly the best steak I've ever had. We also had the heirloom tomatoes to open - delicious, with olive oil, basil, and salt, and some croutons - just perfect.

The next night we went to Town Hall with my pops who was in town. Same deal, fried chicken and rib eye for us. We thought it'd be fun to compare. Also the heirlooms again to open.

The tomatoes were okay, but they were covered in a buttermilk dressing which drowned out the flavor. They're heirloom friggin' tomatoes... NO DRESSING NEEDED!

Fried chicken? Good, I thought as good as Firefly's. Wifey thought the other way. So that's a wash.

But the ribeye? Boring boring boring. Bland sauce, and they also overcooked my medium-rare requested steak to a medium (maybe more).

Keep in mind, too, that Town Hall charges $5 more per appetizer and $10 more per entree than Firefly.

To recap, Firefly had better food (and better service btw), and the prices are like 75% of what Town Hall charges. In short, Town Hall is a bit overpriced for what it offers. They're also very lean on the vegetarian options, which is a must in this town.

Liked it, but it's not a value option. For the money I expected the best meal ever, and that ain't it.

You know, this place is legendary for its BBQ. I'm not sure why.

The brisket is bland, the beans taste like they were from a can, and the joint is smaller than my old apartment. And believe me, you don't want to sit outside in the hot Houston sun eating BBQ. (Ice cream maybe.) The pecan pie isn't bad, but again, nothing special here.

Goode Company strikes me as a place with a name and a location and a reputation that's riding all three to the bank. I doubt I'll ever go back. I get better BBQ in San Francisco, and that's just sad.

I miss my Amy's! Living in San Francisco now, I have Bi-Rite, which is frankly better. But not by much. And Amy's is cheaper. And not frequented by a long line of hipsters. And in my favorite "neighborhood" in Houston. And was the home to many stoned-outta-my-mind-must-eat-ice-cream-now runs. Oh college and Amy's - how I miss you. You mixed so well.

No one serves you more food in one package than Freebirds. Once when I was visiting town on a limited budget, I could get through the day nursing a single monster burrito. I love the giant bar laying out all of your options, which abound (including veggies). And they taste great. If you go the meat route, it actually tastes like chicken or steak, instead of the mystery meat you'll find at most taquerias. Freebirds isn't exactly an authentic burrito place, but then again, neither is Chipotle (which is owned by McDonalds - gross). Unless I'm going to a taqueria, Freebirds is the place to be.

Our office used to be a block away. And when we were a company of 10 (instead of our current total of 40ish), we'd often head over for lunch. Usually for someone's birthday, but sometimes for an informal meeting or sometimes just to slap it up. I loved this place.

Very California menu, but in a good way. Hearty, delicious cooking with great service. The menu is seasonal, so ask your waiter what she's liking at the time.

The decor could use some work, however. It's darker than a coffin inside and it's loud as hell during lunchtime. They're also not shy about sitting 2 tables 6 inches apart. It's all a bit claustrophobic, but the food makes up for it.

Oh Zuni. You're so quintessentially San Francisco. It's no wonder I give you 5 stars.

Enough has been said about this place, so I'll just tell a story:

Once a dear friend was visiting Wifey and me. Dinner for three after 10 PM, and of course we got burgers. It's not the best thing on the menu, but oh what a burger. He told us that night that if we were ever having a bad night, ever upset with each other, ever down on life, to come here after 10 PM and have a burger and some wine and forget about it all. Sage advice, though we've never had to use it.

The whole night a man at a nearby table was making eyes at our friend. We debated if he was gay, like our friend. I went to the bathroom and returned to see him sitting at our table, very close to our friend. Long story short, Wifey and I went home alone that night. That's San Francisco for you.

Can't believe I forgot to review this one. :)

This was, as per usual, a wonderfully organized event. The staff at Cossu is great. Sweet bartenders and servers, great food and cocktails (pomegranate and vodka... yum!), and the entertainment was top notch. I mean, belly dancers and sword swallowers? What more can you ask for?

Wifey and I also cut a rug on the dance floor. It was great to see Jessica T and Wifey dancing together. One of the many perks of being Elite are events like these. LOVE IT.

What I find interesting is that there are 2 car share services in town, City CarShare and Zip Car. And both serve different needs.

Wifey and I are City members. We don't need to drive out of town very often. 95% of the time we use it to go grocery shopping. We do the regular Rainbow to TJs to maybe Safeway. Occasionally we go on In -n- Out runs, b/c it's a long bus ride from Noe Valley to the Wharf for a burger. City charges only $5/hour and $0.40/mile, so we meter our driving and keep everything in the 3-4 hour range.

ZipCar charges something like $9/hour, but with unlimited milage. Much better if you need to drive longer distances on a regular basis. It's your individual needs that will determine what you go with here.

We love City. The shared bags in the trunk are awesome too, if we forget to bring our own to Rainbow. Now we sound like hippies. Oy.

Not bad, but nothing special here. The best part about this place is the backyard, a wide open area in the sun (or under umbrellas) that you can enjoy your meal in. They even let you bring a dog back there.

But the food is just ok. I've had their crepes. Frankly, Squat and Gobble does it better, as does Crepevine. I've had their salads. And frankly, the lettuce was a little watery and the chicken was too dry. Once we were sat and no one came to our table for 15 minutes to give us menus, water, anything. Hostess error, they said. But then our food took 45 minutes to come out. Slow kitchen, they said. They did offer us 20% off our meal, which was very nice of them, but 20% off of mediocre food when we were famished for an hour just doesn't cut it. Go for the ambiance outside, not the food or service.