AJ A.'s Profile

Gitane happens to be home of the ultimate date night in SF.

Ya start with the infamous bacon-wrapped bonbons, then some sardine crostini, and follow it up wit a goat-cheese flatbread. Get your girl the hibiscus drink (aw she can even eat the cute lil flower) and get yourself the sinsemilla.

And try to request the upstairs corner-seat table overlooking the bar. This is so you can enjoy the upscale brothel-esque ambience while cuddling/groping/etc.

That's it -an astounding combination of three cheap appetizers that'll fill two small to medium-sized lovebirds and lead immediately to freaky sex in the quaint alley outside.

As an aspiring diabetic, I can assure you I know my desserts. And this sticky toffee pudding w/ ginger ice-cream is the best dessert in San Francisco.

Skip the over-priced stuff (like that 28-dollar burger) and go to Wayfare directly for a dessert-date. The rest of the dessert menu rotates, but if the steamed lime pudding cake is on it, you best order that shit too. It comes w/ buttermilk ice-cream & blueberry compote & nomnomnom...

All desserts are ~$10ish.

When I first dropped into Kevin's shop a few weeks ago, I was stuck in snow without chains, and was expecting to shell out a ton of cash to save my ski trip.

The guy spent a lot of effort on finding a way to save me a couple hundred bucks...most of which would've been going to him.

Since then I've stopped in several times, and even called a few times about random info. And on each occasion, he's managed to save me mad bills. I'm wearing these bad-ass ski socks right now that I got fo like 5 dolla.

If I had Kevin's job I'd be a non-stop asshole -- constantly hustlin tourists out of their money. Cuz I'm a gangsta like that. But Kevin is the coolest, most honest dude around. I'm pretty sure I got a man-crush on him. (If you're reading this Kev, let's have a bro-date some time at Tahoe Pizza Co.)

BTW, Kevin and his wife just bought this place last summer...So the bad reviews are from previous owners. And it's been the slowest season ever, so please try to support such a great family business, boost up their Yelp rating, and make sure I can shop there for years to come :)

Oh and it's also the closest shop in South Tahoe to Sierra & Kirkwood, and close to Heavenly as well. So a really awesome way to save time & money if you were planning to rent from those slopes.

The supreme late-night-eats king of The CIty. My bromo Goose and I come here religiously, and it never fails.

I go for the Cali-cheesesteak, Goose gets the Chiladelphia Cheesesteak (yup, chili on a philly), and we split a large garlic-fry (extra garlic). Then we go home and cry...but we always wake up hangover-free!

So when you've had an epic night, hit up Busters. You deserve it.

Gouda good on sourdough. Add pesto sauce. Nuf said.

Open 'til 1:30 but often run outta ingredients well before that. Did I mention the Gouda Good is made from their fresh rotisserie chicken? Did I mention the Gouda Good?

Oh and their sister-spot -- eleven-o-one on polk -- is open 30 mins later and has seating (but the sammies are priced $1-2 more).

This place is basically a scam.

I recently called in and tried placing a takeout order. They asked me if I'd be using a Groupon, and I said yes. They replied that they do not allow customers using Groupons to get takeout, even though it says nowhere in the terms that this is the case.

If you glance through these reviews, you'll see that many other customers attempting to use Groupons have had a variety of problems here.

Upon digging in a little further, you can find that Maharani repeatedly offers dozens of "deals" on Groupon-like sites at any time, including on LivingSocial, HomeRun, Pinchit, Travelzoo, KGB Deals, TownHog, DealOn, VOICE, and even currently right here on their Yelp page.

The deals either do not mention policies on dining options or contain highly confusing fine print that makes it extremely difficult for buyers to redeem them. Essentially, they are counting on people to buy these for $15 - $30, and pocket the revenue without ever having to do anything. And for the buyers that do manage to get food at the restaurant, they've begun to gouge their prices to create a ridiculous margin.

I've eaten here once before, found the food to be halfway decent (and far overpriced), and would've called this place worthy of 2-3 stars but never bothered to write a review. But the practices above are simply unethical, and honestly pathetic for a restaurant to be engaging in. The deals sites should also stop working with this business, as the buyer experience is horrible in nearly all cases.

Yats rocks. You walk in and they've got 4-6 cauldrons full of your choices...which are written in sidewalk chalk on a blackboard. There's always something vegetarian, and a plate full of any of it costs five fitty. Add a buck and you can get a split plate of 2 delectable cajun creations with rice. But the best part is the ridiculously awesome garlic bread...which you can get a bowl of for like a buck.

Not only is the food awesome, but the owner (Joe Vuskovich) is a local celebrity. He's a famed restaurateur from New Orleans that sells his secret spice to restaurants everywhere. Everybody in town knows him (despite the fact that there are two other locations) and he's highly supportive of local bands and kids that most older people stay away from.

Enrico's is the perfect (and my favorite) Italian restaurant. it appears to be a tiny, sketchy dive from the outside...which makes the experience even better when you first walk in. It's the only place outside Italy where the Chef is the owner (and humbly comes to meet you whenever possible), the house chianti is always already on the table, and the lacquered brick creates a romantic ambiance with the feel of a wine cellar of an old palazzo.

The most famous dish is a baked cannelloni stuffed with chicken and sausage, smothered in a creamy tomato sauce, and topped with melted cheeses. Even the bread tastes miraculous and an unexpected sorbet course cleanses the palate for what's next.

If you go during busy hours you'll need a reservation and may have to park down the street...but I've always been luck enough to have the place almost entirely to myself.