New dining experience

On the recommendation of the bf's coworker, we decided to try something different last night. Mr. Pollo is a tiny little hole in the wall, a quite run-down little space dominated by the kitchen, with seating for no more than 4 parties, and no more than 12 people. It's run by a young Columbian/Venezuelan man who says he's driven by just loving to cook, not trying to make a profit. He goes to the local farmers' markets and picks fresh ingredients, and then basically invents his menu based on the ingredients he has. No, correction. There is no menu. There are a few set things you can order - arepas (which are yummy sweet white corn fried cakes with stuffing- he compared them to pupusas), for instance - but for the most part, it's chef's choice. You can tell him how much you want to eat and he'll basically just keep whipping up dishes until you're full. At the time he went, he had gotten a whole goat that he'd broken into different pieces, so he was offering one menu which was five different parts of the goat (shank, tenderloin, leg, rack, and I think chorizo made of goat), while another was comprised of beef, pork and chicken (since I didn't think I liked goat). For $15, we ended up with 3 courses, a fresh fruit juice and a fairly large "amuse bouche". The "amuse bouche" was a cheese arepa, about 3 inches in diameter, which was all crispy sweet fried yummy goodness that left us wanting more. I got the pineapple juice, while my bf got the strawberry juice (he also had mango and several Columbian fruits), which were also good. First course for me was tender grilled shredded chicken with potatoes and some peppers and onions in a savory sauce, while my bf had pieces of tender goat shank with the same preparation style. That was quite tasty. The second course was several small medium rare slices of beef on a bed of lentils, with some parsley-based chimichurri or something similar on top, fresh arugula arranged over, and some kind of seasoning for the lentils. The beef wasn't the best I've ever had texture-wise but it was quite tasty. My bf had essentially the same dish, but with some pieces of goat chorizo, which was quite good, and a few pieces of yucca. The third course for me was crispy fried pork pieces around a delicious rice with fresh market vegetables (including brussel sprouts, fuji apples, and some other veggies), while my bf had the same rice with a small piece of goat tenderloin, a couple ribs, and a small piece of goat leg. By then we were pretty much stuffed, so we called it a meal. I got the impression he would have fed us more if we wanted, but I'm not sure what. While we were there, another woman came in and just ordered the large $6.50 arepa, which was stuffed with a variety of meats and veggies and looked pretty good. He also told us that if we wanted, we could get a single dinner plate with meats and veggies and rice for $10 - again, his choice on preparation. It seems that if you go multiple times you'll get different foods depending on what he's bought and feels like making that day.

It's definitely an interesting experience, especially since the space is so tiny - completely dominated by the kitchen/cooking area - and so run down - the door had a broken top hinge and required special manipulation to even close properly. But the food was quite good, especially at the price - a really excellent deal. The restaurant is located on Mission and 24th, right next to the McDonald's and by the BART station. I'd definitely recommend it for the experience and the food, but don't be surprised at what you find when you get there! Oh and don't go in a rush - this is literally a one man operation. He takes your orders, cooks your meals, plates them, serves them, busses the dishes, and takes your payment. There is nobody else there at all. Though, I think despite all that, and the fact that he was serving two other parties at the same time as us (he staged it so we were basically all at the same time for each course), we still finished our 3 courses and amuse bouche in less time than Cafe Andree took.

And a quick note on another meal - ate at Ana Mandara with friends tonight. The restaurant is a rather large, beautifully decorated space at the corner of Beach and Polk in Ghiradelli Square. Definitely has character and a nice use of space - good feel to the restaurant. It's not cheap at all - they offer a 3-course "comfort menu" for $35 (which was suspended due to their participation in DAT - which had different 3 course options) and a 4-course menu for $55, both of which seem like reasonably good deals given that entrees range from $23-39 (or so) and appetizers tended to be $12+, while desserts were $5-10. My two friends and my bf all got the DAT, starting with either the spare ribs or crispy spring rolls for appetizer, the hangar steak or jumbo prawns for entree, and the banana boat dessert. I didn't find any entree I wanted in the DAT menu, so I ordered the duck entree off the regular menu ($29), and the mango soup dessert ($9). I thought the food was all reasonably good, some better than others. The spare ribs were eh - I tried one, thought it was fine but nothing special. I'm told the spring rolls were the same way. The meat all had a good texture and was cooked well - I particularly liked the tenderness and taste of my duck. I felt the sauce on my duck (a pineapple-pinenut based sauce) was a little over-salty, but the overall dish was good - had long beans and daikon cakes on the side. The hangar steak I tried was also tender and quite good, and came with kimchee, yucca gnocchi, and some other unique sides. My friend said his jumbo prawns were really good, in a kind of sweet chili sauce. The banana boat dessert with caramel walnut sauce and vanilla ice cream was pretty good. The mango soup, which was the specialty of the chef, was excellent. It was a mango puree which I think must have been mixed with coconut milk or evaporated milk or something, for a thick, sweet, light mango taste, with strips of fresh mango ("mango noodles") and a scoop of durian sorbet. The durian sorbet was ok, but not to my taste, so I scooped it out and my friends ate it. The strips of mango were fine, but the puree was truly delicious. Ana Mandara is a bit pricey and the food doesn't quite live up to the price, IMO, but it has some interesting dishes and flavor combinations and is a nice dining experience, so I might still go back under the right circumstances. Might be an interesting, if pricey, place to have a party - they had an upstairs space with loungey-areas, an outside deck with tables and seating, and it looked like possibly private rooms as well.