Kauffman Enjoys Some Hot-Dog Nachos at Stefano; Miller Rounds Up Great Brunches; Hirsch Revisits Lalime’s
Jonathan Kauffman this week takes us on a special journey to Bernal Heights where he's discovered Stefano Café and Restaurant (59 30th Street), the city's second-of-its-kind Guatemalan restaurant that serves pizza (the first being Naples Pizzarella in the Excelsior). He says the pizza — a holdover from the restaurant's previous owner and its incarnation as an Italian restaurant — is "one step up from Boboli," and he sticks to the Guatemalan dishes. He recommends the round, tamale-like chuchitos, the enchiladas chapinas, the longanizas (grilled pork sausages), the chicken pepian (only available on Sundays), and he calls the novel mixta chapinas "the most fascinating dish on the menu, but it was the YouTube-at-midnight sort of fascination." It's a pair of fried corn tortillas topped with hot dogs, shredded lettuce, "and giant Z's of mayonnaise, mustard, and ketchup." Wow. That there'd be drunk food. [SF Weekly]
Virginia Miller sings the praises of the cinnamon and spice-dusted, pumpkin-cream-filled doughnuts they're serving at brunch at Baker & Banker. "Five to a basket, these warm rounds of autumn goodness disappeared quickly." She also likes the humbleness of Little Griddle and its massive scrambles, pancakes, and orange floor tiles. "[It] keeps the gourmet, local approach from feeling hipster or put-on." Also she's taken with the Pastry Cupboard, and she's "sold" on the Irish breakfast sandwich at Beachside Café in the Outer Sunset. [SFBG]
And over the East Bay Express, where writer Jesse Hirsch recently assumed duties from John Birdsall, we have a review of Berkeley stalwart Lalime's — which Michael Bauer downgraded to two stars last year after not having been back in years. Hirsch is similarly disappointed, saying the 25-year-old restaurant "exudes musty whiffs of a restaurant long before our time, with little anchoring it in the here-and-now" where the "entrÊes ranged from forgettable to bad." But he also notes that the age-60+ clientele doesn't seem to mind, and the place was packed even on a Monday. [EBX]
