South End Grill

  Shirley:

It's one of those ideas that spring out of conversations with friends. The 'we should write a blog about this' kind of offhand remark that gets forgotten or dismissed due to lack of time, motivation or priority in the things-to-do-someday list. But, we kept eating out on Valencia, often at the same sports, so we decided to eat our way down one side of the street and up the other. So many meals, so little time. In fact, we assume that we will not be able to sample all the eateries before new ones crop up. We will make a valiant effort to keep up.

So tonight we began this tasteful adventure at the South End Grill, positioned at the corner of 26th Street, with the Salvation Army and the Dovre on its companion corners. We walked in a few minutes before opening time and caught them slightly unprepared for business, but they were definitely welcoming and accomodating. 

The artwork on the walls defined its character well; a fun, friendly joint described by its owner, Steve, as an 'easy going neighborhood kind of place.'

We sat at the table of our choice and looked forward to our meal. The menu offered bar food that would wash down great with a cold beer, hearty main courses and a whole list of mac 'n cheese options. I had a plain ole burger and would say it was mediocre. Both the service and kitchen execution were un-even, the food averaged out to okay, the prices moderate, the choice and volume of music good and the ambience comfortable. If I lived in the neighborhood, I would not hesitate to grab a meal there on the quick.

But, as I wrote earlier, we were very early and we had approached the place expecting a dinner restaurant and I don't believe that's its real personality. It was easy to envision the open space 

crowded and busy and noisy, a 'Cheers' sort of atmosphere of familiar faces and pub-like companionship. I liked the place. The food was so-so, but I liked the anticipatory feeling of impending activity, like the calm before a really good storm.

That's it for my first post to this calorie laden, taste bud challenging, senses taking experiment with fine friends and good times.  Enjoy.

Jesse:

Friday night, 5:30. I'm hungry. I'm on Valencia Street with my buddies and we've decided to eat our way up and down Valencia Street. Who in their right mind would refuse something like that? Right? Not me. I've lived near Valencia Street for over 30 years and it has always offered good food.

Remember when the Slanted Door started out on Valencia, near 17th Street? Limos would pull up in front of El Toro and discharge lusciously dressed men and women who would ask the first person on the street they could find, 'Do you know where the Slanted Door is?' Their food was and still is so wonderfully delicious. Or when La Rondalla had their Christmas decorations up everywhere, all year, and the hunting photographs were on the walls by the booths. Not the greatest food in town, but I loved that place. Anyway, I digress.

It's still Friday night at 5:30. I know it's really early to be eating out, but hey, you can always find a table and it's when our watercolor group ends. Despite my best intentions of not being a stereotypical retiree, I do like to eat early and I love painting watercolors. But I am a bad-assed watercolorist, and I don't paint flowers. Not that there is anything wrong with painting flowers. Some of my best friends paint flowers. It's just not for me.

So, our first target is South End Grill, Bar, Pub & Club. It's so early we're the only ones in the joint. It takes awhile before Steve, the owner, appears. We tell him that we tried calling to make reservations but no one answered the phone. We weren't even completely sure they were open. He laughs, 'Reservations? We don't take no stinkin reservations. The neighborhood knows our hours.'

OK, that's cool. Steve and the restaurant do have a nice, relaxed neighborhood feeling. I hope the food is good because I like this place already. In fact, while we were waiting for someone to appear, we all fell in love with the art on the walls. The paintings are of San Francisco streets, which are near and dear to my heart. That's what I paint. Woohoo! There's a huge painting on one wall. It's of Valencia Street. The longer I look at it, the more surprises I find. It even shows Kenny playing his guitar on the steps of the Social Security buildig. He's wearing his signature wild, colorful long coat. He's the homeless guy who has been playing on Valencia for as long as I've lived here. Haven't seen him for a while, though.

So...now, down to business. Food. We're seated by Steve and I tell him of my food limitations. He's very attentive and willing to make substitutions in order to serve me the best dinner he can. Awesome.

I order the the hangar steak for $18. It's normally prepared with a gorgonzola butter sauce and french fries. I can't eat the fries or the cheese/butter sauce, so I ask Steve to leave it off the steak, and order brussels sprouts as my vege. He is happy to do it.

As much as I like this place, I have to say the steak was pretty tough. When I mention it to Steve, he says the sauce would have softened it. I think even with a great sauce, a tough steak is still a tough steak. Durn. I would not order it again. I see on their on-line menu that they normally offer a rib eye prepared this way. A rib eye steak for $18 is a pretty good price and much more likely to be tender. If I return and it's on the menu, I would give it a try. The Brussels sprouts with bacon are a different story. They are delicious. Perfectly cooked. A beautiful bright green, soft but still a little crunchy and lots of flavor. The salad is very good as well.

My overall assessment is 3 out of 5 stars. Decent food for a decent price, but uneven quality.

For those of you who care, and I know you're out there because I used to date one of you, their bathroom was very clean and decorated OK. I give it a 2.5 out of 5 stars. I've seen a lot nicer and I've seen a lot worse. Oy, have I seen worse in this town.

I have to say that what really stands out on their menu is their extensive mac 'n cheese choices. They have ten varieties. If I didn't have any diet limitations, I'd try their crab mac with garlic, parmesan, cheddar and jack cheeses.

I feel we really didn't do this place justice because we didn't try a mac and cheese entree, but perhaps you can. Go ahead, try it, and please let us know what you think.

Mary:

I'm glad to have a chance to eat at South End Grill. I've driven or walked by it often and been curious. 

The first thing I see and walk over to is the large, wonderful painting of Valencia Street, painted from the perspective of the center of the street, next to the South End Grill. You can see all the way to Market Street, and it seems propitious as we start our gustatory journey with this first restaurant at the South end of Valencia.

I order the salad with apple bacon and blue cheese and dressing. $5.50. It's delicious--a great blend of flavors and crispiness.
I'm anticipating a great meal now, and the Brussels sprouts are top quality cooking. They are also $5.50 and they are delicious--more bacon, beautiful color, cooked just right. So when the bok choy comes, $4.50,  I feel let down. It's over- cooked and flavorless. A little hard to chew. I wish I could eat the mac 'n cheese. I watch the delivery guy on his way out the door to bring containers of it to people's houses. Clearly, food wise, this place has made its reputation off their large mac 'n cheese menu.

I could see finding well cooked favorites off this menu by trial and error, and returning to enjoy the variety.




(Note: as of the end of January, 2015, this restaurant is closed and the premises are being remodeled. It looks like another restaurant will be coming in.