Best Cheap Lunch in San Francisco?

I used to tell myself back in 1980 (when I worked in downtown Nevada City for Crittenden Publishing) that what what my town needed more than anything was a good $3.00 lunch. Whudda guessed I'd find it 27 years later in San Francisco?

Zapata's at the northwest corner of 18th and Collingwood is a modest taqueria (a redundancy, I know, but a useful one) offering the usual fare, which no one needs me to list. Very rarely, the cook tapes a handwritten special on the spit guard separating the mostly illegal, no doubt, immigrant servers from their customers. This isn't the world's best taqueria, though I'd rate it above average. A weakness: its slim selection of salsas and no cut limes.

A major strength: The fish taco. These are much more generous and flavorful than the standard San Francisco specimen. Can't tell you what it is, but the main ingredient, cooked to order right in front of you on the always-sizzling griddle, is white, fresh, firm-fleshed but somewhat flaky, and remarkably flavorful. Your choice, natch, of black, pinto, or refried beans and either mild or spicy salsa. You can also choose between regular and super, which adds -- unnecessarily in my opinion -- guacamole, sour cream, and maybe cheese. I always order black, spicy, reg. The unusual and impressively successful ingredient Zapata adds to its signature fish taco is fresh mushrooms, a lot of them, griddled along with the fish.

A single regular fish taco comes with a little rectangular paper box of fresh corn chips. You can load up with roasted tomato salsa, a raw radish or two, and easily call this lunch. Or at least I can. With free water, the midday meal comes in at $3.10.

I'm always satisfied, never tempted to have more, and go back regularly, as does Dan. There's no reason for this to be a secret. Tell everybody!

Your turn: Any other nominations for San Francisco's best cheap lunch?

El Bala$o

If it’s a Tuesday at about 8 and you’re in the Upper Haight, where the heck do you get a decent bite?

Three of us checked out a couple of places, including Citrus Club, which a little crowded, and we weren’t patient. (I’ve been there once, and can’t say I’m keen on another visit. Funky Thai, big whoop.) We settled on El Balazo, which was nearly empty, and I think I know why.

The cheapest burritos, for example, can be had for more than $7 with the tax. They’ve got pretty basic plates (two tacos with rice, beans and tortillas) for about $10. I even remember some dinners going for more. Or maybe I just remember being ticked.

I ended up getting two tacos (shredded beef, chicken en mole) for $6 -- no beans, because those cost extra here. The tacos were good, and the signature side of cabbage salad is always nice. But $6?

The rents on Haight must skyrocket every year; one look at the food board at Balazo and you know they’ve been jacking up prices with some regularity.

I can get two friggin’ huge, knockout, fresh-grilled tacos on the Embarcadero for Christ’s sake for less than $5, stuffed with meats and beans and very hot pico de gallo, which is usually called salsa. The salsa bar is also better at Pancho Villa at Pier 1, with roasted jalapeños, not just the pickled ones.

I’ve no real beef with ripping off tourists or kids who don’t know any better. If the only reasonably priced foods a business district can offer are pizza slices, though, let me be among those who say gracias, pero no gracias.

Review: Papalote

May I suggest a tag line: "The Taqueria for People Who Don't Like Taquerias."

Alternately: "We Should Have Gone to La Corneta."

The homemade salsa was as good as advertised. Everything else was crap, from the one-tortilla tacos (two per taco is standard to prevent disintegration), to my dull chile verde, to Fanch's grilled chicken plate (dry rice, dry tough chicken, only two tortillas on the side), to the absence of a DIY salsa and chip bar (though there was a help-yourself jar of jalapenos by the register).

Here's the ultimate insult: I wasn't allowed to order two tacos with a different meat in each. Two tacos per order, and only one meat choice. "But I want to try two different meats," I said. "Then you have to order four tacos," was the reply. Complete, utter, unprecedented bullshit.

I should have known. Always be suspicious of a taqueria with no Latinos at the tables. Skinny white girls with $200 jeans who eat taqueria food with a knife and fork do not generally make for knowledgeable patrons. Call me judgmental.

¡Fuñeta! Qué Tacos!

Y’all may recall that I’ve been visiting the taco truck that parks next to the old Standard brick building on Pacific near Sansome. I’d be happy to supply a new review, but time and other constraints are impinging -- like the fact that they raised their taco prices 33% just yesterday.

Yes, I was one of those price-sensitive affluents (a mind-blowing marketing term that explains why there are BMWs in Wal-Mart parking lots) that loaded up on three kinds of tacos for $4.50, with some pickled jalapeños and fresh radishes and cut lime to boot. The quality is still pretty excellent; my grilled chicken was toothsome without being way too dry, and the spice is right. But now these puppies are $2 each. (Burrito prices stayed the same. How izzat?)

Is it rising corn and produce prices? Gas, cooking fuel or tolls? Doth I complain too much? For now, I’m lumping it.

Review: Taco Del Mar

I needed a quick hit before the Giants game. Instead of a sandwich, I stopped at Taco Del Mar on 2nd near Folsom. The meat selection was wanting: stewed chicken, stewed beef, carne asada, and ground beef. Chicken mole. Maybe some pork. No chile verde, no pollo asado. Weak. The chips were stale.

On the plus side: chopped cabbage was available in addition to lettuce. The homemade salsa was extra hot. Spinach and other tortilla flavors were available. The people were friendly. Could've been worse, especially since it's a chain that started in Seattle, according to this site. At least they're keeping it clean.

Review: San Jose in San Rafael

A quick note this morning on a longstanding taqueria favorita, San Jose, under the freeway in San Rafael. It's the best in town, although Taqueria Maria across from City Hall on 4th St. is a worthy competitor.

I stopped in with a teammate after our game in Marin yesterday (White Sox beat the SFPD Blues 5-4 with a run in the bottom of the ninth). As usual, the free chips and homemade salsa were excellent and abundant, the fresh-squeezed juices were flying out the door, and the meat selection was varied. I opted for two tacos, one chile verde, one lengua, and Bill went for the veggie burrito. His order had a small, unexpected mishap: the burrito fell apart after two bites. Could've been faulty construction, could've been a stale tortilla. Either way, it was the first blip on San Jose's perfect record.

Taquerias in San Rafael to avoid: Las Calandrias (on Lincoln), Puentez (in the Trader Joe's mall).

¡Camarones!

Mi amigo el Elbo picks me up and shows me how he rolls in Oaktown: First stop is Fruitvale's International Blvd. for Taquería San José, then a quick run for tall boys and finally greeting Susan the ticket taker at the parking lot for the Mac -- also known as McAfee Coliseum, home of the Oakland Athletics, who were hosting las Medias Rojas de Boston.

It sure would have been fun to have Manny and Big Papi over to San José, which is next to the pawn shop that's next to the Puerto Rican restaurant. (Sofrito: That place is a little too starchy and way too salty, and adding a Guinness on top of all that nearly put me over the edge once. A couple of burps later I was fine.) In the nearly 10 minutes I was in the taco place, I learned the following: Burritos are $3.50, supers with the works a buck more. Shrimp burritos are a splurge at $4.50. The staff is friendly and attentive. The salsa verde is the *best in the Bay Area.*

Wanting to see what the griddleman could do, I went with the shrimp tube. Minutes later, with our chips and salsa on the hood of the Honda, I dug in. Unbelievable crunch and spice explosion. The G-man threw a mix of sautéed red and green peppers and onions with seasoned shrimp. Spoonfuls of the salsa verde added (help me out here, Elbo) tomatillo, jalapeño and creamy avocado.

I finished that pup in a heartbeat, while the tortilla was still warm. My Tecate was not as cold as I would have liked, but I have to say, this was almost as good as the pregame eats for my last ball game. If only International Blvd. weren't in the East Bay.

From Perbacco to Taco

Readers of this space, all three of us, will note that I tend to scour my work environs pretty well for all sorts to eat, since by nature I'm easily bored and restive. A couple of things have been hitting it right on the nose recently, and the first of course is the newest and hottest place on the megaexpensive restaurant row of the Financial district, Perbacco.

Suffice it to say that my wife, on unpaid book leave, is on Perbacco watch, and in her own nice way has conveyed that it's a sometimes treat, like foie gras or mofongo. I understand and agree; adding appetizers to your assortment of drinks means the tab's going to hit three digits in short order, so it's hard to eat while enjoying hard-to-find Carpano Antica and other alcohols in a swank but impressively laid-back scene. The booths there at the bar are up for the taking, and even though it's sometimes just my art director and myself, we're never asked to make room or even leave when we're just gabbing.

I love Perbacco, though I've never had an formal meal there. It will become one of those things I'll eventually get around to one of these years.

Years ago, dear readers, when the Industry Standard was produced out of its Pacific Street office, we could have used a taco truck. I've been prowling around the area pretty frequently since, but it seems sometime in the last year or so, a couple of guys pulled into the parking lot at Sansome and Pacific and have never left.

This is the real L.A. thing, with the couple of tables and chairs under the awning, at L.A. prices -- at $1.50 for your old-school taco (meat, beans, hot sauce). They even throw in free jalapeños. I totally stumbled into it on the way to El Zorro on Columbus and am a bit beside myself. I'll have a further review forthwith.