WIBIA Tour: Day 1 – San Francisco
Author: WIBIA | Filed under: Food Reviews, Location: San Francisco, CA, On The RoadI usually go on an annual trip to San Francisco. If you ask anyone in this country that knows anything about food, they would say that New York and San Francisco are tied for the country’s best restaurants. I would almost tie in Las Vegas, but they are basically satellites of NY and SF restos.
So what I try to figure out, is it a must have when I go to San Francisco next year? My first meal straight off the plane:
Ike’s Place
http://ilikeikesplace.com/
What I Got: Al Bundy $9.99. Salami, Ham, French Dressing, Avocado and Smoked Gouda.
Btw, anyone that names a sandwich after the biggest G ever is awesome.
Man v. Food darling Ike’s Place was a must have for me when I was in SF. Grub Grade had a few nice segments on it as well. What makes Ike’s special is two things: 1. The garlic heavy “Dirty Sauce” and 2. The bread is baked to order. It takes a few more minutes, but who cares?
It took us about 25 minutes to order, but the line can be an hour or so on the weekend. Call ahead is available. It took around 10-15 minutes to get the sandwich after ordering.
The sandwich was excellent. Quality meats and the bread was crispy on the outside and soft and warm on the inside. The sandwich was a good size and my uncle said that I wasn’t going to be hungry for dinner, but he was wrong. This sandwich was about as good as it gets.
Would I Buy It Again? Yes, easily. It’s a must have, although probably for lunch.
Barbacco
http://www.barbaccosf.com/
My beloved Aunt said that it is like tapas, but Italian. Interior was trendy casual and packed at 5:30 on a Wednesday. We ordered about twelve items between three people and were stuffed. The total was around $110 with just food. There were some flat out misfires like the pork, olive and almond dish that was oil drenched.
However, I did enjoy the roasted pork pasta:
Otherwise, 80% of the food was a let down. A cool menu and a lot of good looking items, they just need to learn how to make them.
Would I Buy It Again? No. A bad meal and really bad for San Francisco.
This is a continuing series, so I will cover day two in a future post.
-wibia
Tags: barbacco, boccalone, Food, ike's place, Italian, red snapper, roasted pork pasta, san francisco, tapas
Al B. looks awesome…..!
Thanks for the link, by the way.
Totally agree on the Al Bundy take. I would eat anything named after that stud.
Loved the Ike’s segment on Man vs. Food. I’m not even sure how I’d pick what to get there, the menu looks so incredible, but choosing based upon the name Al Bundy is a good route to take.
Sandwich looks great- garlic sauce sounds awesome. Bonus for the name. Haven’t seen the Man V. Food segment. Looking forward to reading about day 2. SF rocks.
BTW- Closer to Indy–in St. Louis there’s an awesome bakery/sandwich shop, Amighetti’s and they’re known for their subs (with an addictive dressing.)
Hm… you should try Boulevard! It was a favorite of mine when I lived in the area.
@Brand Eating – Boulevard is great, I have been there before. Good tip for sure.
@Indianapolis Amy: Thanks for the heads up… I can;t say that St. Louis is on the travel agenda, maybe someday.
Third that on Boulevard.
I can’t wait to get back to Ike’s. The Super Mario was amazing.