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(I posted this to Yelp on 2-22-07)

Zachary’s Chicago Pizza
5801 College Ave
Oakland, CA 94618
(510) 655-6385

This was recommended to me as “THE BEST PIZZA ANYWHERE!!”. Eh, it’s “pretty good”.

We ordered a Small Zachary’s Special. The chunky tomato sauce was nice if a little bland. The pie needed a smoother mouth feel – more fat of some sort would have worked.

Pizzaria Uno and others have a better Chicago Style pie.

(I posted this to Yelp on 2-22-07)

Johnson’s Barbeque
2646 San Bruno Ave
San Francisco, CA 94134
(415) 467-7655
BBQ

This is the real deal. Dinner was terrific. I’ll be back.
The neighborhood closes up a little early and the decor is -very- low key, but it’s clean and the food is what it’s ALL about. It was just a side benefit that we had (lip smacking) leftovers for 2 more meals, making the place a value too.

(I posted this to Yelp 2-28-07)

The Box Shop
951 Hudson Ave
San Francisco, CA 94124
(415) 642-7467

The Box Shop is an industrial arts space. It is the home of several art groups including the Flaming Lotus Girls (check em out http://flaminglotus.com). Containers are rented out to all manner of artists. In this shop has been built many crazy and beautiful projects.

PS. They never answer their phone.

PPS. The Yelp map is off by several blocks. Click on the “View Larger Map/Directions” icon under the map icon. The Google Map is correct.

(I posted this to Yelp on 3-21-07)

Larkins Bros Tire Company
370 S Van Ness Ave
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 863-5730

Larkin rocks. They’re fast, efficient, and friendly :-)

Update 4-17-09: they are “my mechanic”!.

(I posted this to Yelp on 5-16-07.)

3409 24th Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 970-8815
Mexican

My favorite taqueria. Sure, it’s 50 steps from my door, but I’d go further for it. Excellent service, nice staff, nice decor (though it’s noisy when they’re full).

Their burritos have potato, carrots and other fried vegetables, giving them a very “fresh” taste. :-)

(I posted this to Yelp on 5-16-07)

El Toro Taqueria
598 Valencia St
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 431-3351
Mexican

I call it the best taqueria in town. All their fillings are on display so you can point to what you want in your food. Everything is very fresh and they serve with a real smile. Their enchiladas kick butt.

(I had posted this on Yelp on 5-16-07)

Suppenküche
525 Laguna St
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 252-9289
German

Excellent. Authentic. German. Familial. Loud. Bar. Food!

(I posted this on Yelp on 6-27-08 after going with Charlotte)

Valentina Ristorante
419 Cortland Ave
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 285-6000
Italian

A terrific meal. The decor is excellent. Another commenter had said something about the walls being not well painted. They have recently redone the walls with a very impressive multi-tone paint job that even matches the art on the walls and, humorously, the nail polish of our server.

(I posted this on Yelp a few weeks ago)

Rumi
227 3rd St.
San Rafael, CA 94901
(415) 455-9797
Persian/Iranian

Went there on April 5th, 2009 for lunch. It was fabulous. Sauces and meats were fantastic, excellent service, very nice decor, we ate outside in the front. The food was a little more expensive than you initially might think it should be but the dishes are all WELL worth it.

(Charlotte and I wrote this and posted it on Yelp after dinner tonight. We ordered takeout after driving around for 30 minutes in the Lower Haight looking for parking… On to the review)

Memphis Minnies
576 Haight St
San Francisco, CA 94117
BBQ

2 appetizers and a dinner were $30.

Memphis Minnies makes a pretty decent potato salad. Of course, I didn’t order potato salad, I ordered cole slaw take-out. But when I opened the bag at home, there was the potato salad.

The fried cheese grit sticks are pretty darn good. They’re fried, how can you go wrong?

We ordered the 2 meat dinner. The guy at the counter said that wouldn’t be enough for 2 people, but it was waaay enough food. The beef rib was tender and good. The tri-tip was fine. The pork rib appetizer was fine.

However, a big reason one goes to a barbeque joint is for their signature sauces. One of the sauces they gave me was a thin, tangy, mild vinegar sauce. The other was a tangy, thin, mild mustard vinegar sauce. Sound similar? They were. :-( Both lacked depth and subtlty. There were no hot, spicy, mild, or sweet sauces.

Curiously, all the meat came only with a dry rub. There was no sauce except for what was in the little containers. Not liking any of their sauces, I made my own.