There are plenty of places that you can go to get great Mexican food in the Mission, but La Palma offers a slightly different vibe than many of the others. La Palma labels themselves as a “Mexicatessen.”

From the outside, La Palma looks like a grocery store with tortillas and Mexican sodas lining the walls. Once you enter through the double doors you can see the counter in the back and the menu plastered to the wall. I ordered a carne asada taco, which had the perfect amount of spice. What I really loved was my sister’s “quesadilla suiza,” which was a regular quesadilla with crispy carnitas and guacamole. The carnitas were so wonderfully fried and really played off of the guacamole.

La Palma is also a functioning Mexican supermarket. They sell items such as Mexican cola, cotija cheese and fresh handmade tortillas. The tortillas are really tasty and you can buy them in large packs to experiment making your own concoctions at home. Also, all of the cooks there were very friendly and answered our questions concerning the multiple types of pork that they sell. La Palma not only has great Mexican food like many other places in the Mission, but it has a plentiful selection of all the Mexican food items you could need!

When my dad first told me about this place, I wasn’t too sure if it was the place for me. The name Hard Knox Café reminded me a little too much of Annie. But once I got to this diner style place on Clement and 26^th. I knew I would be able to get over the musical theater reminder. They serve delicious Southern style food with a really great atmosphere.

I particularly love the booths that line the restaurant and the many signs that line the walls.

Every time I have gone to Hard Knox, I have always gotten an Arnold Palmer, in case some of you foodies don’t know an Arnold Palmer has half lemonade, half iced tea. I don’t know what it is, but I adore the Arnold Palmers there.

Now onto the food, I ordered the roasted pork loin sandwich with honey mustard. This was the first time I have ever had a sandwich there and it was great. The bread was fresh and all the vegetables in the sandwich were crunchy in the best way possible. Also with every entrée, they give you two warm corn muffins, which are a great addition to the meal. My sister got the Fried Red Snapper entrée, which she really enjoyed. Overall, if you want really great soul food (corn muffins!) and in a relaxed environment, you should go to Hard Knox.

Hard Knox Café

415-752-3770
2448 Clement St.
San Francisco, CA 94121

$6-$15

Also there is another location at:

415-648-3770
2526 3rd Street
San Francisco, CA 94107

http://www.hardknoxcafe.com/

Many of you readers probably have a place that consistently go, at least every few months. Well, PPQ, a Vietnamese restaurant in the Inner Sunset, is the place I have consistently gone for the last five years. In my opinion, they have the best pho I have ever tasted! But, there are many other items that are worth ordering off the menu other than the pho. When I think of or want Vietnamese food, PPQ is the place that comes to mind.

Last night, I went with my father and my sister to PPQ to get our Vietnamese fix. I ordered the Curry Coconut Chicken with Vermicelli Noodle soup ($6.75), it was spicy and had a distinctly coconut flavor. My sister ordered BBQ Beef and Vermicelli ($8.25), which comes with fish sauce and cucumbers. My dad ordered the same, but with pork (their charbroiled pork is fantastic!) Also, we shared the shredded pork spring rolls, which were incredibly fresh and tasty ($6.75).

PPQ can sometimes get crowded. We had to wait around ten minutes. But I am telling you, the food is definitely worth a short wait! PPQ also has a slightly more fancy restaurant in the Richmond that is known for their crab. Both are worth a visit and I am sure you will love Vietnamese food that much more!

Pho Phu Quoc (PPQ)

1816 Irving St
(between 19th Ave & 20th Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94122
Neighborhood: Outer Sunset

(415) 661-8869

In the city, there are so many pizzerias to choose from. There are the slightly more upscale ones with pizzas that have innovative new ingredients and then there are the always-great traditional pizzerias. Gialina in Glen Park does not fall into either one of these categories. They serve interesting pizzas, but do not compromise taste for innovation.

We first had the arugula salad with beets and goat cheese, which was very good but you can find salads like that at almost any other restaurant. Then for another appetizer, we ordered the meatballs, which were amazing. They had a little bit of melted mozzarella on top and accented the tomato sauce perfectly!

As for pizzas, both that we ordered were fantastic. The first one that arrived at our table was the asparagus with green garlic, fontina cheese, tarragon, and pancetta. The green garlic was so tasty and the only criticism we had was that we wished that they cut the asparagus into smaller pieces on the pizza. The other pizza we ordered was the lamb sausage with young greens, leeks, goat cheese and yogurt. As a person who loves any sort of savory yogurt on meat, this pizza was excellent.

Another reason this place is so wonderful, is because lining the walls there are charming, old pictures from Italy. Gialina is a great place for wonderful pizza and homey atmosphere. Another plus, they do takeout!

Gialina

2842 Diamond Street
San Francisco, CA 94131
415.239.8500

http://www.gialina.com/

Yes, many of you may think that I am just being crafty with the title of this review, but actually this is the apt name of a chicken restaurant in the Mission. Good Frikin’ Chicken is a non-assuming corner Mediterranean restaurant right on the border of Bernal Heights and Mission Terrace.

Like all great Mediterranean take out places, they have the standard rotating shawarma. What makes Good Frikin’ Chicken, that much more good frikin’ is their whole open flame chicken. The chicken was tender and well seasoned with garlic and herbs and a crispy skin. In addition to the chicken, the dinner special is accompanied by olive oil pita (coated with zatar and other spices), which goes very well with the chicken and costs $10.50. I went to the take out portion of the restaurant and they had out meal ready within five minutes! I was truly astonished at the taste of the chicken and the speedy service.

If you crave exceptionally tasty and garlicky chicken, Good Frikin’ Chicken will surely convince you that the restaurant deserves the name.

Good Frikin’ Chicken

10 29th Street (Corner of Mission and 29th)

San Francisco, CA 94110

Phone: (415) 970-2428

http://www.gfcsf.com/