Have you eaten anything particularly good or bad lately, or seen a good scene while you were munching? Send in your short bites to missionlocal@gmail.com. Full names only.
Chicken tikka masala and ground beef naan at Pakwan. I’m a little embarrassed to say I’ve lived in the Mission for more than a year and a half and had never been to Pakwan until this weekend. The chicken tikka masala was really good, but I wasn’t a fan of the beef naan at all. I’ve heard others complain about the long wait, but we didn’t have that problem. Good thing I don’t live too close to Pakwan, or I’d likely stop trying other restaurants for the price alone. — Lisette Mejia
Pot-au-feu at Bar Tartine. Pot-au-feu is usually good but not the most exciting meal and not something that I’d think about ordering in a restaurant. Well, now that I’ve had Bar Tartine’s, I’ve changed my mind. This had to be the best pot-au-feu I’ve ever had. The beef, small carrots and potatoes were so simple but very tasty. And the mustard and horseradish sauce were the perfect complement. The beef broth with chicken liver also didn’t sound exciting but was delicious. — Hélène Goupil
I wanted a burger, and the California Sensation (avocado, swiss cheese, sprouts and urbun sauce) at Urbun Burger was exactly what I was looking for. Yes, it’s heavy and yes, I probably shouldn’t have eaten it. Good thing I now know where I can get my detox meal afterwards (see below). – Hélène Goupil
Om soup at Om Sham Tea. Om Sham runs a mellow tea house with monk food (think simple ingredients like root vegetables and quinoa, for example) that’s worth trying. The Om soup had adzuki beans, celery and a lot of different spices. The bowl is filling and only $8. The tea is bit more expensive ($6 for the pot and $3 for each cup), but Om Sham treats you to a mini tea ceremony. Everything on the menu is vegan and gluten-free. — Hélène Goupil
To-die-for ricotta cake with berry compote at Charles Phan’s new Wing Ho General Store on Valencia. Perfect. I was going to take one bite and ended up eating most of it. Poor Mark, lucky me. — Lydia Chávez
To die eating: fried brussels sprouts at the Southern Pacific Brewery on Treat Avenue. Even the arteries of the 20-30-somethings that populate the new brewery will clog with all the grease in these. Picking one up reminded me of a piece in the recent Lucky Peach about cleaning out a grease trap. It wasn’t pretty, and neither were these. — Lydia Chávez