Esperpento

Eastside Road, January 6, 2010—

WE WERE DOWN IN San Francisco today, and it was lunchtime, and Foreign Cinema turned out not to be open for lunch, and we'd already parked so needed a place within walking distance. I remembered that I have Yelp on my iPhone, consulted it, and showed Lindsey the first 40 ideas it came up within walking distance.
She recognized Esperpento; she'd read about it somewhere; it was just around the corner. Nice place! Spanish food — tapas, but also combination plates, and lunch and dinner menus. I ordered

rabo de toro, oxtail stew: three nice meaty sections in a delicious broth with carrots, chile pepper, cabbage, and spices. Before it arrived I had a nice small bowl of zucchini soup, and on the side a platter with big helpings of patatas ali-oli and spinach in bechamel sauce. This lunch cost $8.50!

Lindsey had a plate of patatas bravas, nicely flavored, and a platter of deliciously sautéed Portobello mushrooms. As she remarked, the potatoes were particularly delicious: fresh, clean, flavorful. We like this place, and will return. (Oh: esperpento is Spanish for "eyesore." The place is attractive, though, and quite comfortable.

House wine: red, Spanish, cheap

Esperpento, 3295 22nd Street, San Francisco; tel. (415) 282-8867