I read somewhere that San Francisco has so many restaurants there’s one for every 230 residents. That’s an impressive statistic. But it isn’t just about numbers—this really is one of the nation’s premier food cities, not just for cutting-edge cuisine but also for a tasty and reasonably priced lunch. And on a recent visit I enjoyed three reasonably priced and very satisfying lunches.

It was too chilly for an al fresco late lunch at one of the four sidewalk tables outside La Mediterranee,  so my friend and I dined inside. This cozy little Pacific Heights eatery is about as close as you’re going to get to a Parisian bistro in San Francisco. I hate to lean on the word “charming,” but that’s exactly what this restaurant is. It’s small, and the seating isn’t exactly expansive. But the walls are covered with cool stuff—a vintage poster here, a Persian rug there. Even the music reminded me of the City of Lights; if I had to guess, I would say the song with a bossa nova beat playing in the background was by ’60s chanteuse Claudine Longet.

As the name suggests, La Mediterranee’s menu focuses on Mediterranean flavors, with a healthy dollop of Middle Eastern influences thrown in. It’s mostly soups, salads and appetizers, but that doesn’t mean you won’t get a substantial meal. I ordered chicken salad, one of the lunch specials. It was a brimming plate of organic mixed greens, sliced tomatoes, bell pepper strips, pieces of apple and toasted almonds topped with zesty marinated chicken and tossed with balsamic vinaigrette. The colors were vibrant and the flavor was fresh; I polished off every bit. My friend’s falafel salad looked equally appetizing, the fried chickpea balls resting on a bed of greens with tahini on the side.

I went for the one dessert I couldn’t pronounce (also recommended by our server): muhalabiye. It’s a Lebanese pudding served in a parfait glass, infused with rosewater and topped with crushed pistachios and a sprig of mint. It was smooth, creamy, not too rich and utterly delicious. La Mediterranee promises “Anoush ella!” (May it be sweet). It most assuredly was.

La Mediterranee is at 2210 Fillmore St. (near Sacramento Street). Click on the map for more info.



The Inner Sunset neighborhood is not only very convenient to Golden Gate Park; it also has a smorgasbord of restaurants from Ethiopian to Persian to Vietnamese. I enjoyed another late lunch one day (after a visit to the de Young Museum) at Little Bangkok . This tiny, homey Thai place is run by a sweet lady who will probably remind you of your mom. I got the two-item combination plate (dished up already made from a small buffet behind the counter), which came with jasmine rice and a cup of vegetable soup redolent with fresh ginger. The lunch offerings are standard—minty chicken, vegetables in yellow curry, pad Thai—portions are ample and it was all good enough, if not out of this world.

The standout item on the menu was an appetizer my friend and I ordered almost as an afterthought. “Crispy yam with peanut sauce” translates as sweet potato fries, and they were amazing—crunchy but airy on the outside, properly mealy on the inside and absolutely grease-free so you could really taste the sweet potato flavor. I also liked the fact that they weren’t salted; so often sweet potato fries seem to be nothing but salt and batter coating. The peanut sauce was simply peanut butter warmed to a consistency suitable for dipping, but it was the perfect accompaniment. These things were addictive; the next time I come here I might just get two orders and call it a meal.

Little Bangkok is at 845 Irving St. (between 9th and 10th avenues). Click on the map for more info.



I visited San Tung Chinese Restaurant (just a stone’s throw from Little Bangkok) before noon on the advice to “get there early if you don’t want to wait.” Sure enough, it was busy at 11:30, and streams of people kept filing in the whole time I was there. The decor is utilitarian and the noise level high, but ambience is not why you come to San Tung; heaping quantities of tasty Chinese home cooking is.

I can’t tell you about one of the restaurant’s signature dishes—fried chicken wings—since I didn’t get them. But several tables around me did, and regulars rave about these crispy, sweet, spicy morsels. They come both “wet” and “dry” (dry is the original), but either way you get different dipping sauces to slather them in. The wings are a featured lunch special, along with sauteed string beans, beef with oyster sauce, cashew chicken, curry shrimp and many more choices. I may have to get the wings next time.

Instead I ordered chicken soup noodles, a large bowl of dark-colored broth piled with diced white-meat chicken, julienned vegetables and “homemade soup noodles” (similar to regular spaghetti). It was a simple, yummy and very filling dish (and I wasn’t hungry an hour later). And everything coming out of the kitchen looked so good that I wanted to pull the servers over as they walked by the table and find out what it all was. San Tung jumps to the head of my restaurant return list.   
 
San Tung Chinese Restaurant is at 1031 Irving St. (between 11th and 12th avenues). Click on the map for more info.