GrubGirl.

Bodega Bistro
607 Larkin St.
(between Eddy St & Willow St)
(415) 921-1218

I usually just associated San Francisco’s strip of Little Saigon (Larkin Street near Hastings Law School) as the place to go for dirt cheap and delicious banh mi (Vietnamese sandwiches). The Sunset was for actual Vietnamese restaurants, and those were usually Chinese/Vietnamese BBQ hybrids, or so I thought.

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Filed under: Tenderloin, Vietnam, Meals from $5-15 per main course | No Comments »

Brenda’s French Soul Food
652 Polk St. (@ Eddy)
Closed Sundays

Beignets, grits, grillades…what is all that? Knowing a few share of southerners and one New Orleans native, I decided to take TBJ to check out what all the fuss was about with Brenda’s. I needed someone along who could do an authenticity check on this grub. What intrigued me about Brenda’s was that they say no entree is more than $10 there. Better not be for breakfast, ok??

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A La Turca
869 Geary Street
San Francisco
(415) 345-1011

This place is listed on the Chronicle’s Bargain Bites list, so for our quarterly catch-up session, Andrea and I went to the Tenderloin to check it out.

Though I would not classify the meal as a Grubgirl bargain, I AM highlighting this as a very solid return on value.

One appetizer, two entrees, a beer, and a soda later, we were set back $52. For Grubgirl to be ok with this is huge (of course, she had a nice stash of leftovers to bring back, too.)

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Filed under: Mediterranean, Tenderloin, Meals from $5-15 per main course | No Comments »

For those of you meat-eaters looking for a more unique menu item to order at your local Indian/Pakistani restaurant in the Tandoor-loin, make sure you get the Haleem ($6.00) at Shalimar.

Haleem is a Pakistani-based, porridge-like blend of lentils, barley, kick-in-the-pants spices, and crock-pot tenderized roast beef. Believe me, this takes hours to prepare (been to Pakistan, ate it, tried it at home, won’t ever again…well maybe…). Once the meat has been crockpotted to tenderness, it’s then pulled apart (like shredded chicken). Some of the meat is blended with the lentils and the fresh beef stock, which creates that porridge-like texture and the rich taste. The remainder of the shredded beef is left as is, so you vegetarians can tell that some beast comprises the ingredients. Give it a try, let us know what you think!

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Filed under: Tenderloin, South Asian, Meals from $5-15 per main course | No Comments »