GrubGirl.

I wrote about my experience at Hard Knox Cafe last Fall. But I’m from California. Northern California, to boot. What the hell would I really know about true Soul (or Southern) food?

After some agreement with the Grumpy Glutton about the sad state of BBQ affairs in San Francisco, I visited the original Dogpatch Hard Knox digs for another round. This time I brought with me Missie L., a native from Kentucky, foodie, cook, and oh, at one point in her life she worked on the Kingsford Charcoal brand. (This means that she got to go to “conferences” that I would interpret more as “state fair barbecues.”) Yeah, keeping one’s finger on the pulse of the American barbecue diet is such a pain, but someone’s gotta do it, right?

Hard Knox Cafe
2526 3rd St.
San Francisco, CA
415-648-3770
M-Sat 11 am – 9 pm
Sun 11 am – 5 pm

Located out in the boonies, I mean, Dogpatch district near Portrero Hill, lies a tasty soul food restaurant. It’s apparently known by a lot of locals as when Mr. Sanchez took me there for dinner, we narrowly beat the rush.

I can’t tell if this place is really a dive or a contrived dive, with the corrugated metal roofing used for wall paneling, and the various random signs nailed to that wall. Patrons are pretty diverse here, too. Clean cut yuppies, fashionably scruffy hipsters, and local residents all mix together among the vinyl-seated red booths and counter.

Dear readers – I’m back after a few weeks of R&R after a knee surgery where I had friends delivering *gasp* healthy non-grub food for my bed-ridden self. I’ve now received clearance from my physical therapist to venture back out into the world, though checking out Mariposa Cafeteria may not have been her first suggestion.

Mariposa Cafeteria
1599 Tennessee Street
Corner of 26th St. & Tennessee St.
San Francisco, CA 94107
415-285-5105
Hours: M-F 8:00 am – 3:00 pm, Sat. 10:00 am – 2:00 pm