Out the Door Credit: Jen Siska

While San Francisco is known for is plethora of high-end—and high-priced—restaurants, there are also some great bargains to be had in this city. What these spots may lack in flashy four-star décor, they make up for with tasty, reasonably priced dishes that don’t skimp on portions.

Medicine New-Shojin Eatstation
This simplistic New-Shojin Japanese restaurant downtown is serving healthy vegetarian Zen Buddhist monk meals using locally sourced bio-dynamic and organic produce. Long communal tables and bird’s-eye benches overlooking Sutter Street set the scene for a feel-good fix. During lunch, Medicine's menu is based on "Foundation Sets,” essentially a prix-fix menu. The Soba Set ($9) consists of hot soba noodles with wakame and shimeji mushrooms, homemade tofu with ginger and nori, and tangy house-made fresh pickled vegetables. Jade Nuggets, natto-filled shiso leaves in tempura, are a surprisingly delicious appetizer that introduces natto (fermented soybeans) to novices ($5). Yuzu lemonade ($4.50) is citrusy and refreshing, but the sleeper surprise is the chilled coconut cup ($4), a creamy dessert treat far more decadent than its menu description. Beverages are half-off during “Contentment Hour,” M–Sa, 5:30–6:30 pm, and Entrée Sets start at $16 during dinner, though there are plenty of reasonably priced appetizers, salads, soups, and noodles. Shojin means "zeal in progressing along the path to salvation,” and the healthy options will set you well on your way.

Mijita Cocina Mexicana
Famed local chef Traci Des Jardins, the culinary powerhouse behind both Jardiniére and Acme Chophouse, opened Mijita Cocina Mexicana, a bright terracotta-tiled eatery in the Ferry Building Marketplace, as a nod to her Latin roots. Traci grew up on a farm in the San Joaquin Valley and learned to cook at the feet of her Mexican-born grandmother. Mijita was Grandmother Salazar’s nickname for her. At Mijita, guests sit at huge wooden tables and benches (indoors or outdoors) with waterfront views of the ferries arriving and departing. Ensalada de jicama y aguacate ($4), jicama, grapefruit, and avocado salad with pumpkin seeds, cleanses and cools the palate with an unexpected combination of tastes and textures. Tacos de Carnitas ($4) are to die for—braised pork in soft corn tortillas with green tomatillo salsa, cilantro and onions. The organic corn tortillas are made fresh throughout the day, and all of the meats are from Golden Gate Meats. Mexican wedding cookies ($1.50) are cakier than most versions, but delicious. Beer is available, but Mexican Coke ($3), a sweeter version made from pure cane sugar, is a popular beverage choice. Daily breakfast—served all day— includes such options as chilaquiles, huevos rancheros, and chorizo con huevos.

Pork Store Café
The Pork Store Café, one of the oldest restaurants on Haight Street, was born in 1916 as a butcher and sausage shop—the photos on the wall tell the story of this institution. Beyond the storefront’s original stained-glass windows and in an open-air kitchen, frenetic chefs work to the clang of spatulas to perfectly time several breakfast dishes simultaneously. Although a noteworthy lunch is served, heaping breakfast platters are the main attraction here, and no, they aren’t all swine-centric. The Pork Store Special ($8.95) features two pork chops, two eggs, two whisper-light buttermilk biscuits and perfectly crisped hash browns—more food than most people can devour in one sitting. And your cup of coffee ($1.75) never goes cold, as refills are plentiful and free. The wait can be long on the weekends, but if you arrive before 10:30 am, it should be a little easier. Service is fast and friendly, plus, for those who subscribe to the “grease is good” school of thought, there’s no place better.

Pakwan
Pakwan is the place for reasonably priced and filling Indian-Pakistani cuisine. Although lunch and dinner specials at the downtown location are dirt cheap ($5.99 and $6.99), you won’t break the bank ordering à la carte. Straight-from-the-Tandoori-oven plates of Nan are just $1 an order; add chopped garlic for only $1 more. The chicken tikka masala ($5.99) is a not-too-shabby rendition of the usual Indian-menu suspect. The meat is tender, the curry creamy and mild. Wash it down with a Mango Lassi ($2) and you can fill your belly for under a 10 spot. The O’Farrell location is clean, but pretty bare bones—the 16th Street location, though slightly more expensive, feels a bit more intimate. There is counter service at both locations.

Out the Door
Owner Charles Phan, a former architecture student and computer-software salesman, created a cult following in San Francisco with his wildly popular restaurant Slanted Door at the Ferry Building Marketplace. Phan’s dishes hail from Thailand, but the recipes are mostly from mom. Visitors who can’t snag a reservation at the Slanted Door or prefer a less-pricey dining experience can get a taste for some of Phan’s signature dishes at his nearby Out the Door outpost. Crispy Imperial Rolls ($7.50) with shrimp, pork and glass noodles are a standby to start with. On brisk SF days, Lemongrass Pork with Vermicelli Noodles ($7.75) is a soothing dish in a savory broth. Out the Door offers a decent selection of iced boba drinks, but the Chrysanthemum Herbal Tea ($2) smells so lovely, it can’t be missed. The menu is definitely scaled down from the Slanted Door and, on occasion, some menu items may be sold out, but if you can score one of the few stools in front of the small kitchen, you’re in for a real treat.

Information:

Medicine New Shojin Eatstation
161 Sutter St. (at The Crocker
Galleria), 677-4405
www.medicinerestaurant.com

Mijita Cocina Mexicana
One Ferry Building, Number 44,
399-0814, www.mijitasf.com

Out the Door
One Ferry Building, Number 5,
321-3740
865 Market St., 512-6776, www.outthedoors.com

Pakwan
501 O’Farrell St., 776-0160
3182 16th St., 255-2440
www.pakwanrestaurant.com

Pork Store Café
1451 Haight St., 864-6981
3122 16th St., 626-5523

Medicine New-Shojin Eatstation

Mijita Credit: © 2006 Frankie Frankeny, FrankenyImages.com

Information:

Acme Chophouse
24 Willie Mays Plaza
www.acmechophouse.com
644-0240

Boboquivari’s
1450 Lombard St.
www.boboquivaris.com
441-8880

Harris’ Restaurant
2100 Van Ness Ave.
www.harrisrestaurant.com
673-1888

House of Prime Rib
1906 Van Ness Ave.
885-4605

Izzy’s Steaks & Chops
3345 Steiner St.
www.izzyssteaks.com
563-0487

LarkCreekSteak
(at the Westfield San
Francisco Centre)
845 Market St., 4th Floor
www.larkcreek.com
593-4100

Seasons Steak & Seafood
(at the Four Seasons Hotel)
757 Market St.
www.fourseasons.com/sanfrancisco
633-3838