California, Day Three: San Francisco

Ahhh... the third day. It was interesting. We left our hotel on a mission to get "the best burrito ever" at El Metate. We were heading in the right direction but we realized we had no idea what the address was. Or the cross streets. So we asked random people. They had no idea. A nice mailman recommended his special spot...

El Toro

I got the Super Carnitas Burrito... aka everything (pulled pork, guac, sour cream, salsa, lettuce, rice, beans, and tomatoes)

Tiny got the Deluxe Chicken Burrito which was just rice, beans, salsa, and cheese.

The burritos were good. HUGE! Like the ingredients were fresh and tasty, but I think the fact that El Toro was not El Metate threw me off... Their chips were good tho! Oh, and they had a free toppings/salsa bar! So all in all, 'twas a good burrito experience!

But the real "good" part of the day came later. After running a bajillion blocks of San Francisco to catch our boat for Alcatraz, realizing we missed it, and then sneaking onto the next one, we made it back to the hotel in one piece. We were right out the door to get to another destination place (at least for me)...

Poc-Chuc
I was intrigued by the Spanish-Mayan fusion description of their food. Apparently Poc-Chuc is a traditional Mayan dish. Here is how it's decribed on the menu:
"Grilled citrus marinated pork, served with vegetable-bouillon rice, topped with grilled tomatoes and red onions and a side of black bean puree"... Ok sounds good to me.

This restaurant was a little bit of a surprise. We walked through what Tiny referred to as the "South Bronx" or was it "Spanish Harlem"... the neighborhood was quite, unappealing. And Poc-Chuc was right in the midst of this "let-me-hold-onto-my-purse-a-little-tighter" area.

But upon entering the place, we were awakened by the brightly painted walls and comfortable-chic feel.

Everything served here was delicious and served by the friendliest people ever.
Lemonade! Literally just water, lemon, lime and a little bit of sweetner...


Fried Plantains... almost better than the super fresh ones we were served at Latin American Cafe!


Tiny's Estofado de Borrego (Lamb simmered with onions, carrots and celery, served with rice and a side of black bean pure)...


My Poc Chuc!


Omg, it was more.. way more, than what I expected. It was delicious! This meal was sooooooooo tied with Zuni. Check out these fresh tortillas....

It was so good. Everything from the grilled tomatoes to the pork itself was perfect. Smokey, refreshing, tangy, meaty... it was alllllll there! And how HUGE was the portion... unreal! It was only $12.00!!!

We passed on dessert because we were about to bust open. But guess what?
We never pass on dessert.
So we stopped at Mel's Drive-in (ewww) just for ice cream! He got cheesecake!

El Toro
598 Valencia Street (corner of 17th and Valencia)
San Francisco, CA 94103
Phone: (415)-431-3351

Poc-Chuc
2886 16th St
San Francisco, CA 94103
Phone: (415)-558-1583

Mel's Drive-in
3355 Geary Blvd
San Francisco, CA 94103
Phone: (415)-387-2255