this is the personal blog of brandon quintana.

It’s been about two weeks since I’ve been living in SF. I’ve decided I’m going to try to eat at a different restaurant for each meal I have out there. I figured I’m only there a few days a week and I don’t see myself going grocery shopping and cooking meals. I’m mostly living out of a suitcase so it makes more sense to eat out. There’s a variety of different restaurants within walking distance to where I’m staying and have received some good recommendations so far.

Eats (50 Clement St)
Eats is a small breakfast place on Clement St. I had a bacon and cheddar omelette that was pretty tasty. I’ve had bad breakfast before, but for the most part it’s hard to ruin bacon and eggs. I don’t eat breakfast too much. I get caught up in my work and by the time I go eat, it’s already time for lunch. Eats was good though and I’d probably go back.

NakedFish (2084 Chestnut Street) – Website
We found ourselves in North Beach for St Patrick’s Day weekend and decided to have sushi at NakedFish.  The restaurant has a sushi bar in front and a small seating area in the back.  I started with the Tuna Tataki Salad which was pretty good.  The tuna was fresh and flavorful and made for a good starter.  I also had one of the house special rolls, but forgot the name of it.  The fish was fresh and that’s all you can really ask for when eating at a sushi restaurant.

Burma Superstar Restaurant (309 Clement St) - Website
The following week, a friend recommended I try Burma Superstar. She had heard good things about it, so I headed over there for lunch. The place was packed with people waiting outside, but the wait was pretty short. I heard people talking to each other saying how great the place was and what their favorite dishes were. This got my hopes up and it didn’t disappoint. I had a Burma Cooler at lunch which was just a beer with lemon and ginger. I ordered the Burmese Style Chicken Salad and it was probably one of the best chicken salads I’ve ever had. The chicken was crispy and the dressing over the lettuce was very tasty. I probably should have ordered something else though because I left feeling hungry still. It was a good experience though and a place I would recommend to others.

Sushi Bistro (431 Balboa St) – Website
I was told that there was a sushi restaurant that only opens when the owner feels like it. He puts a flag or a sheet up on the window and then you know he will be open for the night. I think you need to get on a guest list or something like that because the house fills up fast. It’s supposedly the best sushi in the area. I walked by and saw people in line and a sign on the door saying to come back at 9:00 – 9:30PM. It’s too much work and I just want to eat. I decided I wasn’t going to get in there that night, but I’m going to try to find my way in there someday. Down the block this brought me to Sushi Bistro.

The restaurant is very hip from the crowd to the music and everything around it.  I guess that’s what you get when the restaurant is featured in an iPhone commercial.  It was just too busy for my tastes.  I don’t really like the feeling where I’m eating in a dance club.  There were too many people around me and people bumping my table and I was getting claustrophobic in there.  The food didn’t disappoint though. I ordered the Ahi Tuna Poke special of course, which is a bed of baby greens with ahi tuna on top.  The dressing was very flavorful and the tuna was very fresh.  The avocado and crispy noodles were a nice touch and it made for a great salad.  The waitress said the dish was one of their most popular items and it was definitely one of the better ahi tuna salads I’ve had.  I also had the Y.T. Jalepeno which was also good.

Nizario’s Pizza (3840 Geary Blvd) – Website
Lately I’ve found myself eating pizza by the slice late night. This brought me to Nizario’s Pizza late Friday night. Pizza always seems better late at night. I picked up a couple of slices and ate them back at the apartment. The pizza was good, but not the best I’ve had. It was good for a late night eat, but there’s a lot of pizza places around there and I’ll have to try some of the others to find the best.

Five Happiness (4142 Geary Blvd)
I had a craving for Italian food so I ended up eating Chinese food. It was more of a matter of being really hungry and seeing a restaurant and eating there. The Five Happiness restaurant is a pretty typical chinese restaurant. I started off with the Hot and Sour soup which was pretty good. Most have pork, but this one didn’t and I want to say it could be vegetarian, but not sure. I had the salt and pepper chicken wings and shrimp chow fun gravy style. Both dishes were tasty and the restaurant was very reasonably priced.

I found some pretty good restaurants over the last couple of weeks, but out of this list if I had to pick a place to recommend it would be Burma Superstar hands down. When people recommend it and you leave a place feeling good about what just happened, it’s a good thing to remember. I had that feeling eating there and that’s why I’m recommending it. The other places were good as well and I think everyone should try them also. There wasn’t a bad place in this list at all. I’ll be back out there in a few days looking for more places to eat. Until then it’s back to work like always.