El Zocalo - Mexican/El Salvadoran, South San Francisco

1633 El Camino Real, South San Francisco CA 94080
(650) 992-1482
Parking: in shopping center parking lot

Last Visited:

Food: 2 to 3 stars
Atmosphere: N/A - take out
Service: 2 to 3 stars
Price: $ to $$

I stood at the counter at El Zocalo for a few minutes before someone came to take my order.  While the place is fairly busy, it does seem strange that nobody acknowledged our arrival, especially when you see staff walking right past you.  After ordering and coming back about ten minutes later to pick up our items, we still had to wait another ten minutes for the food to be ready - it's unclear why the kitchen was so slow.


- Pupusas $1.90 each
Revuelta Original - Pork and Cheese
Queso - Cheese
Between the two flavors that I tried, I prefered the queso.  Even though it was only about five minutes from the time I received the pupusas to the time I ate them, they didn't seem to hold up particularly well.  Both were pretty greasy.  This photos shows two halves - the left is queso and the right is the pork and cheese. 

- Curtido - Curtido is cabbage that has been lightly fermented with carrots, oregano, olive oil, and lime juice.  Think of it as a slaw or light kimchi.  Since I ordered take out, the curtido came in a plastic bag.  I found it rather bland and missing the crunch that you often find with a good slaw.  It wouldn't have been missed if it was absent. 

While they might be slightly better eaten at the restaurant, these pupusas were just okay and the curtido wasn't memorable.  I've definitely had better pupusas. 

Zero Zero - Pizza, San Francisco

826 Folsom St, San Francisco CA 94107
(415) 348-8800
Parking: street parking
http://zerozerosf.com
Hours: Mon-Thurs, Sun 11:30am-10pm, Fri-Sat 11:30am-11pm

Last Visited: December 23, 2012

Food: 4 stars
Atmosphere: 4 stars
Service: 4 stars
Price: $$$ to $$$$

Fellow foodie, Yuwen, recommended Zero Zero heartily, and since a number of people I know have talked about it too with high praise, I have to admit, I had high expectations for Zero Zero.  We arrived a little before their opening time, but because it was pouring rain, the hostess was kind enough to let us in before the official opening time and we sat at the bar with another early couple to dry off.  It's an interesting setting with a bar when you enter, an open kitchen, and dining areas both upstairs and downstairs.

Zero Zero is well known for its pizza.  On weekends, they offer brunch items like Tuna Genovese (somewhat like a nicoise salad), Duck with Pancetta, and Roman Style Dumplings.

- Fillmore - Hen of the woods mushrooms, leeks, mozzarella, parmesan, pecorino, fontina, garlic, thyme - The crispy crust had a little bit of burnt crust, but not too bad compared to some of the photos I had seen before.  The mushrooms were flavorful and the blend of ingredients were very good together - not too strong and very cheesy.  The crust stayed crispy through most of the meal, and since we ordered another dish, I had leftovers. Very enjoyable - the pizza carried the four stars for Zero Zero. $16.95

- Skillet Fried Chicken Thighs with Semolina Waffle - Chestnut honey butter, bacon, and maple syrup - The chicken thighs were good - you could tell that the batter was well-seasoned, but frankly, I think I prefer the chicken at some of the fast food restaurants more.  I also liked the bacon, but wouldn't have minded it being a little more crispy.  The waffles were really crisp and golden, and the honey butter tasted really good.  The maple syrup was light and I wouldn't have minded having some more on the side.  I would have given the chicken and bacon a 3 star rating and the waffles a 4 star rating.  $12.75

- Soft Serve Caramel (Half) - The dessert menu is really enticing, offering a choice of ice cream, base (doughnuts, bread pudding, warm chocolate cake), toppings (caramel, candied coacoa nibs, hazelnut streusel), and specialty toppings (hot fudge, olive oil and sea salt, peppermint bark, bacon brittle, and more) offered separately so you can build just the perfect blend for your tastes.  You can also get plated desserts.  I was very excited to find out that they offered a half serving of soft serve (this isn't listed on the menu).  Since Yuwen highly recommended the caramel as one of the best she has enjoyed, I couldn't walk away without ordering it.  The soft serve is made with a Strauss Creamery base and definitely tastes smooth with the vanilla being ever so lovely in each bite.  I found the caramel to be a bit grainy - I don't know if this is normal, but the texture tasted a little weird.  Yuwen suggested asking for toppings on the side (you tend to get a tad more than if it's poured on for you).  Gotta love the half serving.  $3.50

San Francisco Surcharge here was $1 for two people.  Overall, I thought the pizza was very good and had great flavor.  There is room for improvement, but I was pretty happy with the experience. In 2013, it looks like prices have gone up by about $1 for the pizzas and the pizza ingredients have changed slightly (parmesan has switched out for grana padano).

While I enjoyed my meal, I had a bad experience when I left, which had nothing to do with the restaurant.  My vehicle had its hubcaps stolen from it in broad daylight.  My recommendation if you want to try this place is to park in a lot or to take public transit.  The area didn't have any signs of people whom looked like they were lingering in the area, but I know I had the hubcaps when I got there and when I got back, they were gone and I was only a few blocks away. 

Decks - Seafood/Mediterranean, Tiberias, Israel

Gdud Barak Street, Tiberias, Israel
9724-672-1538
Parking: in parking lot
http://www.tourwise.co.il/virtualTours/?tour=61_HE

Last Visited: May 2013

Food: 4 to 5 stars
Atmosphere: 4 stars
Service: 3 to 4 stars
Price: unknown

Decks is located in Tiberias along the Sea of Galilee.  Enjoy open air seating in a large space with beautiful views from its pier.  From this location, you can also take an hour long cruise (not sure how that gets arranged, but you could probably ask them). 

Our tour group came here for an enjoyable lunch featuring Peter's fish (red tilapia), available fried whole or grilled.

-  Pita bread - Giant pieces of lightly seasoned warm pita was served with plates of smooth hummus that also contained whole garbanzo beans.

- Salad - Large leaves of lettuce are lightly dressed with a vinaigrette with chopped shallots.  This was so simple, yet deliciously refreshing and of course, we had seconds.

- A huge fried onion - Like the blooming onion you get at Outback Steakhouse in the US, this onion is cut into chunks and is shared amongst the table.  These were terrific - much less the greasy than what you would find at the chain restaurants and well-seasoned.

- Fish - Lots of fresh lemon wedges came with fresh fried tilapia, lined up on a plate making for a perfect picture moment.  The fish was beautifully golden, and fairly moist.  This can be hard to eat for those whom aren't accustomed to it, but the oil was definitely fresh. We were also offered a grilled version with a dollop of pesto for those whom preferred it which was also very nice.  


- French Fries - That fresh oil was again featured by the lightly salted golden French fries. 


After our meal, the owner sang a song for us from the stage area.
This is an especially popular place for tour groups and in the evenings, you can often hear more music coming from Decks as you drive by the area. 

Service is friendly, although it's sometimes hard to get the servers' attention, especially when they're serving about 50 people at once.

If you enjoy Mediterranean food, you'll like Decks.  The atmosphere is casual, as evidenced by the servers attire.  Great food served family style in a gorgeous setting along the water - you can't go wrong.