An Amateur's Adventures In Dining Out, Part II: Mission/Valencia

The problem with living in this city is the overabundance of restaurants that I could sample and write about. It's a burden.

Okay, so that statement sounds fatuous in light of the economy and issues with violence and homelessness, etc., but into each life, a little light-hearted writing must fall, because who wants to think about that negative stuff on a foggy Sunday morning, so let's just go with the premise that the big problem in this city is one of too many entrees, not enough time.

So, in that light, here are a few more of the restaurants I have enjoyed, a small slice of the whole picture of possible meals. This time, I am localizing the reviews to Mission and Valencia Streets, and even so, this can hardly be said to be a comprehensive review.

1) Speaking of slices, Valencia Street features the relatively new and brilliantly named Pi Bar. As one would expect, it opens every day at 3:14 p.m, featuring great pizzas with delicious ingredients. It features an array of interesting beers, which as we all know, is the key to a happy life. If you drink interesting beer, you must be an interesting person.

We have been to Pi Bar on a couple of occasions. Friday night was the first time it was too crowded for us to get a table right away, so we started at the broad wooden bar. There was a well-dressed man next to us who seemed to be a regular and who clearly recognized us as beer tourists, and in the grand tradition of San Franciscans, offered to let us taste his beer, that he particularly liked. (For all the complaints that San Franciscans can be rude to tourists, one of my early memories of a family trip to the city involved a bicyclist at Ghirardelli Square welcoming us to the city).

Pi Bar is convenient, just a few blocks down Valencia Street from our apartment, moderately well lit, with wooden floors and walls that hold and warm the light, giving it a cozy, neighborhood feel. You can sit at individual tables, along the bar, or at a communal table near the front window. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable about the beer available, and they make you feel welcome.

I recommend that you try it. Go later in the evening, because I like to eat earlier, and that would mean more space for me.

2) Puerto Alegre is a Mexican restaurant further down Valencia, and it has been consistently enjoyable, if consistently crowded. For me, the highlights have been the roasted prawns, the spicy hot chocolate, and the wandering Mexican musicians with their accordions.

I saw a review on Yelp that asked why locals didn't eat here if it was so good, being in the Mission and all. Well, I don't know, but I don't care. Maybe they know it gets crowded--the key, as with most SF restaurant outings, being to go early, as for many hip SF diners, it appears to be anathema to eat before 7:30 or 8. Maybe they are food vampires, I don't know, but the concept seems to be that the later you eat, the hipper you are, even if that means that you have to wait longer for a table.

3) Emmy's Spaghetti Shack is almost literally right around the corner for us, which gives us the sneaky advantage of being able to get there right when it opens at 5:30, which is crucial, because it fills up quickly, due to a combination of limited seating and insanely good cocktails, a cozy atmosphere, good wine, and a reliably strong menu, even if they have resisted our pleas to bring back the spicy prawn linguine dish that has haunted our dreams for nigh on two years.

The booths are my preference for seating as the tabletops are sparkly like Dorothy's ruby red slippers in the Wizard of Oz. Plus, booths are just fun and more relaxing than chairs in general.

It can get mildly loud when they have a DJ playing music, but it has never impeded conversation, and the desserts are as alluring as the apple was to Eve, even if eating a peanut butter cookie ice cream sandwich doesn't constitute the same symbolic rebellion against an offensively paternalistic power structure.

4) Further north on Mission Street is Specchio, an Italian place opened by the owner, Gino, after he closed another place in North Beach. Extensive wine selection, great pasta dishes, excellent desserts. The atmosphere is nice, with lamps above the tables conducive to creating pockets of solitude for conversation. We feel like regulars here, because we started going shortly after it opened.

The odd thing, though, is a feature that I've also seen at the restaurant Foreign Cinema and the bar Dalva's. Along the back wall, foreign movies are projected, but silently, just flashing images that can be distracting, because you have no idea what they are saying. Is this some avant-garde San Francisco tendency that I'm not familiar with?

In other news, I think I've talked Marina into posting on this blog occasionally, so stay tuned for her possible debut.