James L.'s Profile

If you like Indian food, this place is pretty good. Strong, exotic flavors and very affordable prices make this a great place for you and some buddies, although I wouldn't take a date here.

When you walk into the place, the smell of spices will wash over you to reassure you that they don't skimp out on those ingredients even though the prices are so low. I like my food mild, and too many other places equate "mild" with "make it more bland," so I really appreciate that they successfully use lots of spices while still having the heat level stay mild.

The portion sizes are more than satisfactory for me, but since I'm a relatively light eater compared to most of my friends, that probably means that most people would consider the portions to be medium or medium-small. However, since the vast majority of their curries are in the $6.50-7.00 range, I still think that the price-to-amount ratio is very good.

That being said, you do need to pay extra for rice and naan bread, which will bring your total up to about $10. You can probably share rice with a friend though, or two friends if you stretch it carefully.

Also, soda drinkers, be aware that you'll be paying $1 for a can of soda, no refills. Your table will get a big pitcher of water that they'll keep full for free, but still, I'm always a little sad when places don't have free refills.

It's been a couple hours since my meal there, and even now that I'm alone in my apartment, I'm still gushing over how good it was. I had the lasagna bolognese (meat lasagna), and it was unquestionably the best lasagna I've ever had. Even half way through eating it, it was beautiful, with every layer still perfectly stacked on the plate, on my fork, and in my mouth. I was impressed by the visual of it, but don't worry, the thing you'll be most impressed with is are all the flavors. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Based on this meal alone, I think I can confidently say that Ristorante Parma is my favorite restaurant in San Francisco.

The only fault I have with the place is that my water ran out and was not replaced. Normally, I automatically knock one star for this, but the amazing quality of the food itself could not possibly be justified by anything less than an indication of perfection. I can't wait to go back and try their other pastas and desserts.

This is a pleasantly straightforward place to grab breakfast. I had the corned beef hash with two eggs, and the grand total came to $6. I was pretty satisfied, but people with bigger appetites will probably want to take advantage of the very low prices by ordering a bit more.

As far as the taste goes, I was impressed. My scrambled eggs were made just how I like them (a little fluffy but not too light, not wet/yolky but not rubbery/dry either). The corned beef tasted good too, although it wasn't the strongest I've ever had. That's probably a good thing if you're overwhelmed by the flavor of corned beef elsewhere as I occasionally am.

Even though I was very content with my order, I was watching the cook prepare dishes for other people, and I was a bit jealous of whoever ordered the french toast, bacon, and scrambled eggs. The french toast and bacon both looked thick and amazingly good, and I already said that the scrambled eggs were made just how I like them. I will definitely be returning, and when I do, this is exactly what I will be ordering.

I'm not going to knock them on their atmosphere too much, but I'm not going go give them much praise for it either. It's simple and I felt comfortable, but it's not really the most charming place on earth. So in other words, if you're a tourist or just want something a little more magical, then go elsewhere.

If you're having one of those mornings where you want to treat yourself by going out for brunch but don't really need to impress yourself or don't feel like spending more than a few bucks, than this place is what you're looking for.

I always like opening a menu at an Italian place and seeing a nice, long list of different pastas. Bella Venezia certainly offers that.

My gnocchi was tasty, filling, plentiful, and inexpensive. However, it's not going to be a meal I'm going to remember for the rest of my life or anything.

The decorations and overall atmosphere matched the prices of the food. Because of that, it's not quite suitable for a first date in my opinion. However, for a third or fourth date when it's less about being suave and impressive and more about finding a stress-free, inexpensive sit-down restaurant, I think it would work fine.

I went back again and tried a buffalo burger with swiss, bacon, tomato, lettuce, and avocado. It was a very nice size, had a good appearance, and tasted pretty good too (although the bacon was a little bit fatty in that kind of parts-of-it-get-chewy-and-stretchy-so-you-can't-bi te-through-it way).

I still wouldn't call it a landmark destination or anything, but I'm certainly willing to improve my rating of the place.

I came here for lunch, and not only was the food and atmosphere outstanding, but the service was as warm as friendly as anywhere I've ever been. The owner and his mother took care of me quickly, but made me feel like an old friend. Quite ideal. I absolutely intend to return here to try one of their breakfasts next!

Yes, you're going to have to wait about 15 minutes, but even the most impatient eaters will agree that it's absolutely worth it. As of this writing, this is my favorite place to get brunch in San Francisco.

The prices are beyond reasonable (less than $8 for chocolate chip pancakes and eggs), the presentation of the food was absolutely wonderful (you'll notice this immediately as you walk past other people's tables), the portions were very good (one pancake with a side of eggs will be good for regular-sized appetites), and the whole place has a wonderful, charming atmosphere that leaves a lasting impression.

If you have friends or family visiting from out of town, definitely take them here.

I've used this service twice and was very satisfied both times. The first time, I was lucky and accidentally ran into somebody else being picked up to go to the airport. They had room for me and I was ready to go at that exact moment, so it worked out perfectly. We picked up another person before heading over the airport, and my whole voyage took about 35 to 40 minutes.

The next time I used this service was when I was coming back from the airport to my dorm building. I was the only person, which is apparently very common for the way back. This meant that it was just as fast a taxi, not counting the ten minutes it took for them to show up. More spacious too since I had the whole van to myself.

The price ($16) is reasonable considering that taking a taxi would be about twice that in my case. If you live right near a BART station and aren't taking many bags, then that's probably the way to go. However, since the BART line to the airport is a little more than $5 from downtown, if you have to take a taxi to the BART too, then you might as well just use Airport Express. And if you have bags, then it's probably worth not having to lug them around.