Spicy Eats SF

In the mood for something new & different, we drove to Sausalito one night and headed towards a Thai restaurant that had fairly good online reviews. However, when we pulled up we could not resist the tempting smells coming out the half-door of the Indian restaurant next door. Sartaj is a really tiny and unassuming family-run restaurant. The ambiance is a bit lackluster and a crumply laminated menu hangs on the wall; however, the service is friendly, and endearing family photos, reminiscent of the family's time in India, cover the walls. It all works together and feels right.

One of the main reasons I don't eat ethnic food as much as I'd like are the huge portion sizes (ie. I want some rice but I don't need four servings of it, or, I'm craving samosas but I can't eat six on my own). Sartaj serves up plates (all under $10, and pay after you eat) of your favorite Indian combinations. The chicken tikka masala plate comes with a side of rice, some lentil dal & special sauces, and a side of naan, and the chicken curry plate comes with the same combination except a samosa swapped out for naan bread. All goes down well with a cold Maharaja Indian lager. Not only do you get your money's worth, but you can taste the care that goes into each dish. It hits the spot, every time. 

I still want to try the Thai place, but we've gone back a couple times and have not been able to resist Sartaj. (I think they're closed Mondays... which might be the only day Thai has a chance).

Another great Ethiopian place. This time in the lower haight.

http://www.axumcafe.com/

Highly recommend it. Great with groups of 3-5. How can you not love a cuisine where you eat the plate the rest of the food is served on. Genius. This place is also great because it's located near the toronado on Haight St. The beer is great, but the heavy metal music isn't.

Hyde Street lies at the heart of San Francisco's Russian Hill neighborhood. Hop off the historic Hyde Street cable car and wander up-and-down to find quaint sidewalk cafes, mouth-watering bistros, and even a throwback Swenson's Ice Creamery. It's just adorable. In a moment, it feels like you've stepped out of the hustle and bustle of the city and into a modern-day fairytale. U-Lee, a Cantonese & Mandarin restaurant, does not belong here if you're going on looks alone. Although the setting is unimposing, the service is friendly and the quarters are tight -- so for more than one reason, you feel welcomed & comfortable pretty quickly. The food is amazing, the portions are plentiful and you can't beat the prices. We started out with the best Pork pot stickers I've ever had. They're the size of my fist, stuffed with ground pork that's seasoned to perfection, and cooked to just the right amount of golden crispy on the outside.We moved onto a smorgasbord pot of soup filled with everything from shrimp to tofu and mushrooms to spinach. It was good, especially with a half tablespoon of hot sauce, and especially if you're looking for something warm your belly. Our main dishes were great, too -- broccoli & beef served with fluffy white rice and Chicken chow mein -- and between the four of us hungry ladies, we did not even get through half of each plate. Perhaps the most surprising part of our meal came at the end when our server presented the check. A whopping $33.25 for an appetizer, pot of soup, two huge entrees and a pot of tea. After adding a fair tip, we walked away having had a delicious, filling and out-of-the-ordinary lunch for $10 each. Success!

My younger brother and his best friend recently visited me here in San Francisco. The two of them are bottomless pits to begin with, but factor in all the hill climbing and city walking they were doing and it was virtually impossible to keep them fueled. Now if there’s one thing 23 year-old boys love, it's cheap, spicy food they can eat with their hands. So Cafe Ethiopia in the Mission seemed like a no-brainer. The décor is more office park than exotic, but the food at Café Ethiopia is memorable, affordable and more importantly – spicy! Meals are served extreme family style, as a tribute to "the bonds of loyalty and friendship." This means that everyone eats off of the same giant tray, sharing one stack of Injera (giant Ethiopian pancakes). The idea is to use pieces of Injera in lieu of utensils, and folks really get all up in there... So you want to be sure everyone at the table washes up before dinner is served. For the main course, you have your pick of a variety of Tsebhi (Wat), hearty stew type dishes. I sampled some Tejj wine, made from fermented honey, and went for the "Zigni (Kay Wat)," one of the tamer looking stews on the menu, made from lean-beef. But the two boys were more adventurous, ordering several stew varieties with “extra Berbere” (hot pepper) and the Kitfo (Ethiopian steak tartar) served with homemade cottage cheese. Thank god they had their Ethiopian lagers to wash it all down, because they were looking pretty sweaty after all that Berbere and raw meat! Meanwhile, my vegan boyfriend tried to hide his queasy expression behind a bowl of potato/carrot stew, graciously served separately.

SPICY-METER: 2.5 Glasses of Milk

Entrees ranged $9.50-$12.75

I must admit, I’m lazy.  We’ve started the blog, but for our first post, I mined my memory bank for the best non-california-cuisine, non-mexican I’ve had since moving to the bay area over two years ago.  My journey to Zeni went something like this:

Several (many) Sundays ago, during a serious bout of procrastination, I surfed by KQED on my way to a Celebrity Rehab marathon, and discovered Check, Please!  I tuned in just long enough to be introduced to Zeni, an Ethiopian restaurant in San Jose.  Having only tried Ethiopian once before in New York a decade earlier — and not liking it much — I log this suggestion as “probably never ever going to find myself hungry for Ethiopian in San Jose” and cruise on over to Vh1.

Several weeks later, on a trip home from Santa Cruz, Andre and I decide to swing by Zeni to check out the ridiculous line.  There is none!  Recommendation:  try to hit this place on your way back from Bonny Doon on a Sunday around 5pm.  We swing in for a dose of raw, red meat and are delightfully surprised.  When we found ourselves back in San Jose several weeks later, we ate here again.  And again, it was amazing.  

We loved the beef kifto — but we’re not afraid to go rare — tibs firfir, for the lamb lover, and a mixed plate of vegetarian dishes.  We haven’t had anything we haven’t fully enjoyed yet.