Sbrocco hi. Im Leslie Sbrocco. Welcome to check, please bay area, the show where regular bay area residents review and talk about their favorite restaurants. Now, we have three guests, and each one recommends one of their favorite spots, and the other two go to check em out to see what they think. This week, on another special show, were gonna celebrate the food of three of the momandpop places weve visited over the years. Theyre all still going strong. First, lets visit the grubstake. Its a place for serious night owls and early birds and ive been there at both times. [ laughs ] its where stu smith finds all of the homey portuguese food he craves along with classic diner dishes. Owner Fernando Santos met and married his wife here, and now they Work Together every day on pine street in San Francisco at the grubstake. Linda so, the grubstake its an old streetcar, and it originated on mason. [ bell rings ] when it was on mason street, there was a movie that was shot there with Humphrey Bogart in it so that was pretty interesting. Then it was moved onto pine street and its been here for 40 years now. Fernando we serve portuguese and american cuisine all types of food from breakfast, lunch, dinner snacks, appetizers. Then the most popular plate a lot of people have steak and eggs, pork chops burgers, and a lot of breakfast. Woman oohlala fernando the grubstake has a wide range of customers here from taxi drivers to people that work in the restaurants and people from clubs all over the city. A lot of people, theyve been coming for over 10 years, over and over. They know exactly what they want when they walk into the door. Everyone who meets here at the grubstake this is like a family sometimes. And we open every day until 4 00 in the morning, so you can come anytime you want. We serve you portuguese and american food. Ciao bye [ chuckles ] sbrocco all right this is a diner, stu but its its really an historic place, isnt it . Smith yes, it is. Its an old streetcar, and it was a 24hour diner that served breakfast 24 hours a day and a lot of other stuff and then about 18 or 20 years ago a portuguese couple bought it, and they put on a portuguese menu on one side and american standards on the other, and sbrocco so you got breakfast, and you got linguica. Smith you got breakfast all the time until 4 00 a. M. Every day and linguica, yeah, big. They sell a lot of linguica. They sell it with pasta. They sell it on sandwiches. They sell it in soup. They sell it any way they can. Sbrocco thats right. And, right, the streetcar dates back to 1927, i think. Smith yes, yeah, yeah. Sbrocco the railcar. All right, what was your experience at the grubstake . Ill start with you, mark. Rhoades well, my experience was pretty good. We actually went there on a tuesday night and at 7 00 and left around 9 00 and it was packed. I mean, it was so that was really impressive. But a really diverse crowd. I mean, there was more of kind of, like, a hot, sexy Senior Citizen kind of crowd going on there which was nice. [ laughter ] smith a reflection on me. I dont like that. Rhoades oh, no, no. Sbrocco oh rhoades youre, what, two years older than i am, right . No, no, no, no. Sbrocco just hold on to the hot and sexy. Soo hoo ooh [ laughs ] rhoades but then but they are laughing. It just kind of reminded me of like, your grandparents when everybodys just out having fun and just laughing and talking, and so, you know, that was i think its definitely a place to peoplewatch. Sbrocco yeah. Rhoades especially at 2 00 a. M. Im so glad you guys didnt make us go then cause i was like, thats probably the key. Sbrocco because thats what it is. Rhoades im too old for that. Smith theyre there all the time. Sbrocco right, when youre out drinking and then you want a you want a burger, a cheeseburger thats the spot to go, right . Rhoades definitely. Definitely. Sbrocco because it is open actually, i think, till 4 00 a. M. Smith till 4 00 a. M. , seven days a week. Sbrocco mmhmm. Rhoades i mean, i liked it. I just was afraid, and i dont know how to say this. I want to say this in a very complimentary way, but i said to a friend of mine i said, you know, at 2 00 a. M. , this foods good. So, but i mean that in a very good way. You know, i dont mean it like uh, are you saying you got to get drunk first . No, im not saying that. [ laughter ] but it must have been something to see in the 70s and the 80s and, you know, when everybody was out around that area it must have been something really special, so. Sbrocco what did you have to eat . Rhoades okay, im a big fan of linguica. I just love linguica and when i saw that, i was like, oh, okay, this is great. And but what was so great about it is that they gave it on a french roll and butter. So, two things i dont eat is, i try to stay away from white bread and butter, so i just felt like, oh, this is a treat. I mean, theyre making me you know what i mean . I have to do my research, right . Sbrocco oh, twist your arm. Rhoades so, i was just like so, i kind of had this look like oh, god, this is like heaven, so i can do this, so, yeah. Sbrocco yeah, you eat linguica, but you avoid bread and butter. I love that. [ laughter ] all right, karen what about you . What did you have to eat . Soo hoo i had a delicious kale and potato soup. It was very good. Only one thing about it it was just a tad salty, but other than that, it was really good. The fog was just rolling in. It was a saturday night, and it was just very fitting. And i had a dish with bacalhau the salt cod and potatoes was really hearty. Had these beautiful terracotta plates and the bowl. I was just i was loving it. Sbrocco and bacalhau is a traditional portuguese dish, yeah. Smith she ate from the portuguese menu on the back, and its very authentic. Soo hoo admittedly, i wanted to eat breakfast, and one of the gals who i like breakfast at dinner, too, but i resisted and and i think im gonna go back for breakfast and the Homemade Pies they had selected on there. But it was fun. Sbrocco and what are your favorites when you go eat there, some of the dishes that you enjoy . Smith i love almost everything they serve and its such a diverse menu. I mean, i you know, i never get tired of it. We probably go about three or four times a week and eight times sbrocco three or four times a week to this place . smith a week. Oh, a week, yeah. Sbrocco oh, my g do you have your own booth . [ laughter ] smith i should. Yeah, yeah i do know them very well. But i dont think they treat me any differently than anybody else, and the food just remains, for such a broad menu, consistently great in my opinion. I love the food. Rhoades the service there was amazing. They were so kind and friendly and i felt like the owners were there. Soo hoo they are, yeah. Rhoades . Which is really important. And people love that San Francisco charm of knowing the owners, and they come out, and they talk to you and they greet you and, you know, they were just wonderful to us. Sbrocco as you said a local spot where and it sounds like you got the same treatment that you did. Smith yeah, and i think everybody does. I think its probably the friendliest, most authentic diner in San Francisco if not all over. I travel a lot and i go to restaurants all over and we have some great diners here. But i cant think of a place that is that friendly, that is that diverse in its clientele that cooks such good, authentic food. Its a familyrun joint with a family that loves its audience and cares about them. Sbrocco all right. Mark . Rhoades i would definitely go back to that. I thought it was it was a lot of fun, it had a lot of positive energy to it and i think that, you know its definitely a place where you could see taking your friends and just having a great time and enjoying it because, like i say, i mean, its probably better to, you know watch reality there than watch reality tv at home, right . Soo hoo [ laughs ] rhoades you know . And thats what San Franciscos famous for is the diversity and, you know, and just watching just a mixed group of people so. Sbrocco and those sexy Senior Citizens. Rhoades hey, they were very friendly. They were polite. I just, you know sbrocco all right, karen . Soo hoo i will definitely return to the grubstake. I thought it was a friendly joint. I met the owner there. It was very friendly, welcoming. Even though im not a San Francisco native or do i reside in San Francisco im down in the peninsula but they made me feel like a local right when i walked in there. And good food, great value so. Im a customer. Sbrocco if you would like to try the grubstake its on pine at polk in San Francisco. The telephone number is 4156738268. Its open every day from 5 00 p. M. Until 4 00 a. M. Reservations are recommended and the average dinner tab per person without drinks is around 20. Next, Denise Coleman visits the turk and larkin deli regularly. Owners mike and jean rise early very early to make Everything Fresh and now their daughters help out. You wont miss the location at turk and larkin in San Francisco as its all in the name the turk and larkin deli. Mike my name is mike aburahma. Im the owner of turk and larkin deli. We started in april 1979 with three kinds of salads and five kinds of sandwiches. [ indistinct chatter ] my wife and i, we start at 5 00 a. M. Every morning start making fresh salads, and we bake barbecue chicken every morning. We make falafel from scratch. We make hummus and the rest of all of the salads every day, five days a week. Jean have a nice day mike my wife, jean, and me, we spend together 24 hours a day but when were in the store, we treat each other as a professional. We Work Together as a team. I ask her do this, she ask me do that. Ill do it. Our customer mostly regular. They come every day, and we have judges from the courthouse. We have homeless from the street. They all come in every day. And we all treat them just like friends, and every day, customers they keep coming back and back and thats why were in business 31 years. Sbrocco now, denise the owners, mike and jean, have had this place, the turk and larkin deli for 30 years. Coleman 30 years. Sbrocco and this is an institution in that neighborhood, isnt it . Coleman it is. Sbrocco have you been going for 10 years, darling, 10 years. [ laughter ] coleman and it literally has been 10 years. And i have loved every minute of it. I love their fresh salads, their incredibly tasty lean meats. Its just awesome, and the service, the incredible service. That mike, hes at, you know at the counter constantly, serving up the salads and the sandwiches and he keeps everybody and everything moving. And jean shes at that cash register, just ringing everything up. [ laughter ] hirsch cracking jokes. Coleman cracking jokes. Right sbrocco Everybody Knows them by name, right . Coleman yes, everybody its absolutely its incredible. Love it. Eat there as often as i can. Sbrocco and they get there at 5 30 in the morning to make those salads every day right . Coleman theyre freshly made every day. Sbrocco right, now, evan, when you went, because you sort of shook your head with jean, was she was she cracking jokes behind the counter . Hirsch oh, yeah. Oh, mike and jean are adorable. Shes a lot of fun, and i love the way she pitches in, too. Hell be doing things. Hes got a system. Hes on a roll. She has a way of homing in on exactly what hes doing and where he left off with the last customer and is able to jump in and go, oh, one more salad or whatever it is, and boom, ring em up. Sbrocco because the lines can get long at that place at lunchtime yeah. Hirsch but they fly. [ snaps fingers ] they really they are a welloiled machine. Sbrocco right. Right, and when you went, what did you have . Hirsch i had the meatloaf sandwich. I actually had a half a meatloaf sandwich, and it was a chunk of meat loaf on a half a roll and two salads. Sbrocco thats all right, honey. You need a little fattening up. Its okay. We need to fill you up a little bit. Hirsch i can afford to eat, right . So, and i had the nice combination. For 6. 25, you get half a sandwich and two salads. Sbrocco and they offer all those combinations . Hirsch yeah, they have interesting combinations you can choose from. So, i got the caesar and the greek salad. Sbrocco they make 20 different salads every day fresh. Coleman every day. Hirsch at least, even more than that. Coleman and each one of them has their own distinct flavor. You know if you get an avocado salad, youre gonna have plenty of avocados in there, and youre gonna know its an avocado salad. The same thing with the ambrosia or the fruit salads. Sbrocco i mean, who makes ambrosia anymore . Come on, lets face it. Its great. Hirsch its not that easy to find. Sbrocco thats right. Thats right, yeah. And you dont even work in the neighborhood anymore, right, but you still come back. Coleman i still come back absolutely. Its my best and favorite lunch place to go. Demordaunt i went several times, actually. I approached it from two different locations each time and had a rather harrowing trip through the neighborhood. [ laughter ] hirsch oh. Coleman its a very colorful neighborhood. Demordaunt yeah. Sbrocco colorful there we go. Thats the way to go. Demordaunt well, i was kind of concerned for my safety, to be honest with you, and although that shouldnt define the dining experience, it it gave me pause as i was eating, thinking about how i was gonna get back to my car. Hirsch theres almost always uniformed officers in there. Demordaunt [ chuckles ] really. Demordaunt thats true. I did see some uniformed officers in thsoe. But to answer your question, i had the first time i went, i asked what they recommended. They recommended a roast chicken. Sbrocco mmhmm. Demordaunt . Which seemed to have kind of a paprika seasoning and was still fresh from the oven and was actually very delicious. I got a ravioli salad on the side, which was fine, but i. You say that theyre all made fresh every morning. I wonder if the ravioli is made fresh every morning, but it was fine. And i went back with a friend. We tried a pastrami sandwich which is listed as a specialty on the menu, and a bacon sandwich which is also listed as a specialty. Both were just fine. I was a little disappointed that they were made warm via microwave as opposed to some other method. Sbrocco mmhmm. Demordaunt but they were fine. Sbrocco mmhmm, mmhmm. Coleman mmhmm. Sbrocco they were fine. Okay, hes saying, fine, fine, fine. Hirsch speaking of the microwave, too i was a little disappointed that they dont grill any sandwiches. But i understand its a deli theyre moving people along, but it wouldve been nice to have, like, a reuben, or a hot pastrami make it grilled. Sbrocco but, you know when you think about the decor i mean, these guys have been there 30 years and, you know, the decor is still sort of a throwback to the 70s, and, you know, they still use the board that you stick little letters in, you know, so it definitely has that retro feel to it. And pricing i mean, you know, youre spending youre not spending more than 10, right, for hirsch no. Demordaunt very reasonable. Coleman did you guys sit and have lunch . Demordaunt yes. Coleman because i yeah. Hirsch theres no tables for four. The tables are small. I brought Three Friends with me, and we had to pull a chair over from another table. Fortunately, it was not very crowded. This was peak period it was a long line but not many people sit and eat. So there were plenty of tables available, we pulled a chair. Now, we crammed into a table that was so small, we definitely all needed to ditch our red plastic trays and just have our plates but it worked okay for four of us at the table. I was i got to say, i hate to say anything negative, really, but i do have to say i was disappointed that they used regular, old ripe olives and not kalamata or some type of greek olive in their greek salad. That was, for sure a disappointment for me. Sbrocco all right, denise turk and larkin deli is your spot so wrap it up for us. Coleman absolutely my favorite lunch spot ever. Its inexpensive the meals are fresh, and its very filling. Sbrocco all right and, david, your thoughts. Demordaunt i agree. Its very filling and a good value but its a very scary neighborhood so just be aware of that in advance. Sbrocco all right, evan would you go back . Hirsch i would go back. Mike and jean are adorable. This is their lifeblood. Its like a member of their family, and i admire that. Its not necessarily a destination i would go to, but if i was in the neighborhood, certainly and next time im on jury duty im sure ill go see mike and jean for a sandwich. Sbrocco all right if you would like to try turk and larkin deli its on turk at larkin street in San Francisco. The telephone number is 4157716889. Its open for lunch monday through friday. No reservations are needed and the average tab per person without drinks is around 10 and thats cash only. And lastly, jeff kramer explored Fishermans Wharf to find argentinean food served up from a stationary truck called tanguito. The husbandandwife team of steven and betina work hard to make their dream of sharing the tastes and flavors of argentina come true. On jones street, dont miss tanguito argentinean grill empanadas. [ indistinct chatter ] mares i am Steven Alexander rodriguez mares. Lewin and i am his wife, betina lewin. We are the owners of tanguito argentinean grill empanadas, but he is really the mind and the heart behind tanguito. Mares i dont know the mind but my heart. Lewin we love to cook we love to meet new people we like to make some friends and we love the reaction from the people who has our food for the first time or even the second time or even after the third time. They are like, wow, i cant believe that burger or that steak mares i always work on the grills in argentina. You go out on the freeway from buenos aires [sniffs] you have men, you know on the grill. And thats why i like it. And here, where everybody sells seafood, we sell steak. Ll we sell empanadas, and theyre the best empanadas in the bay area. We love it. Lewin our specialties are empanadas. But is very popular the hamburger cause we put a little bit of chimichurri in the ground beef. Weve been here for the past three years now. Mares three years, working. In the day here, in the night, driving a taxi. Just to make possible this, no . Sbrocco okay, jeff, now, i know, you know we can talk about tango. Im a big argentine fan, argentina fan. Kramer we can dance on the tabletop if youd like. Sbrocco well, dont get me started cause i would. Kramer [ chuckles ] sbrocco how did you discover this spot . It isnt a movingaround food truck. Kramer no, totally by accident. I dont even like going to Fishermans Wharf most of the time. You know, living here, theres no reason, but i was actually on a job, working at one of the hotels near there. And i was on my way to Innout Burger to get some lunch and i passed by. And i was intrigued because i realized i didnt really know what argentinean food was, and they had empanadas. Sbrocco meat. Meat. Kramer yes, well, it is all about meat, true. But in addition, they had these empanadas and they had, like a spinach quiche. So, i went to Innout Burger anyway. But on the way back, i stopped at this truck. I was like i have to at least experiment, and then the first thing i had was their spinach quiche and then i went back the next day and started exploring their menu and realized just how good it really is. Sbrocco right, and what is your goto dish when you get there . Kramer you know, i [sighs] i love it sounds trite, but i love everything they do. I mean, the empanadas, without a doubt, are i mean, if youre gonna make me pick one thing you have to try the empanadas. Theres the ham and cheese which is really great, and i went with my friend ray, and he loves that. Theres a chicken. Theres a beef. Theres vegetarian options. So theres usually like three or four different empanadas on any given day. Wyatt this is better steak than steak houses serve. Sbrocco really . Wyatt i am not kidding you. Im not necessarily just talking about quality. Im talking about flavor. I ordered the tanguito burger, which is humongous and i was like, okay, i dont know if im gonna finish this, and they said, okay have this while you wait, and they brought me a little tray of beef that was perfectly grilled. Sbrocco while youre waiting for your meat, theres more meat. Wyatt . With the chimichurri sauce, which is known in latin america, and theirs is outrageous im, like, sitting and going wait a second. This is a truck . I had a friend say im not coming with you because its a food truck. And so i ended up going alone, and i said okay, you know what . Im gonna do it latin style. You know what we do . We take things to go cause thats also a telltale sign of good latin food. So i ordered the paella to go. Sbrocco mmm. Wyatt and i ordered two empanadas to go, but i had the chicken there because the chicken, to me i know everybodys goto is the beef. The chicken is a real sign of a good empanada. Thats a little inside latino saying. And let me tell you, that chicken empanada. Sbrocco girl, thatll make you dance. Wyatt i was like, okay, well, let me roll back for a minute. Sbrocco [ laughs ] wyatt the french fries he had the nerve to come out and ask me would you like garlic . Im like, dracula likes garlic on his fries [ laughter ] im like, yeah and then i sat there and ate these fries and go, how am i gonna finish this tanguito burger . And the burger is outstanding. Sbrocco now, what did you have, ccke, when you went . Steffan well, i went, and it was a saturday morning, and so i thought Fishermans Wharf theres gonna be this huge line. And so my friend and i we decided to split three dishes. We had the paella. Sbrocco mmhmm. Steffan . And the mahimahi and saffron rice and we split a dessert of the dulce de leche crepe but ill say that service was was the one thing that i said needed to be kind of improved. It took 20 minutes for the paella to come out. Sbrocco it is a food truck. Steffan no, but it took 20 minutes for the paella to come out. Wyatt but it was fresh. And they didnt know that we were splitting. And so, the other entree didnt come out for another 25 minutes, so it was 45 minutes for one of the entrees. So, for a food truck or any restaurant, i want it to come a little sooner. But im gonna understand that its a food truck. But the paella, i thought, had this, you know these beautiful colors these autumnal colors of gold and green and orange and it had the squid and the crabmeat and the chicken and the sausage, and i thought that was so good. And then when the mahimahi came out with the saffron rice the saffron rice was used in the paella, but this time it was bitter, and it was overseasoned. It was oversalty, and the actual mahimahi was overcooked and dried out at that point. Sbrocco thats because they waited 45 minutes. Steffan probably, yeah, they forgot about it maybe but they redeemed themselves with that dulce de leche crepe because the friend that came with me was a pastry chef an executive pastry chef in berkeley and he loved it. He loved the batter. It really melts in your mouth. Sbrocco this sounds like something that you would like. Wyatt well, i was surprised cause, actually, there were other people there and i asked them because i went alone. So i had to ask other people how do you like your food . How do you like your food . And then it was like [mumbling] like, you couldnt hear them because they were so busy enjoying their food. Steffan there were some people having some food orgasms next to me. Oh, oh, i cant even have more than that. Like, the people were so excited to eat this food that i was so excited that maybe i was a little skewed by the time i got the mahimahi because. Sbrocco [ laughs ] steffan . It definitely wasnt what they were eating. Sbrocco the foodgasm was over. Kramer they also do something called a choripan sandwich which is a sausage kind of split in half just on bread with the chimichurri. I mean, the chimichurri sauce is some kind of, like, magical ingredient. It just makes everything its on taste better, whether its chicken, fish beef, rice, or bread. Wyatt its like a latinamerican sausage and pepper sandwich. Kramer its great. Yeah, the choripan is like that, exactly. Wyatt yeah, the argentineans have the sausage and pepper. They have the choripan its called . Kramer choripan, yeah. Wyatt its incredible. Kramer and, yeah, theres quite a number of dishes where you just bite into it and its like, whoa. Theres no denying that its the foods great. The price is dirtcheap for San Francisco. Yeah, its a little slow. I mean, its slow. Its not even a little slow. Its slow, i agree. Sbrocco i mean, come on you can walk around. Wyatt well, bang for your buck to me. If i dont have to get on a plane to go to south america, yeah because thats how good the food is. Sbrocco and if you get latin men bringing you free steak. Wyatt well. Thats okay. Kramer i would say go and relax. Steffan i didnt get any little free things beforehand. Sbrocco i dont know. All right, jeff, this is your spot. Give us a quick summary. Kramer sure. So, the food is made with love. You can tell that from the chefs. The prices cant be beat and just when youre there be patient. Sbrocco [ laughs ] okay, and mike . Steffan its a good bang for your buck. Its definitely good argentinean food, and definitely try their dulce de leche crepe because you will not go wrong. Sbrocco okay, and carol . Wyatt im just going back. [ laughter ] thats all im saying ill be back probably tomorrow sbrocco [ laughs ] kramer good to hear. Sbrocco if you would like to try tanguito argentinean grill empanadas, its on jones at beach in San Francisco. The telephone number is 4155774223. Its open for lunch and dinner till 7 00 p. M. Every day except monday. Reservations are not accepted, and the average meal price per person without drinks is around 14. Cash only, by the way. Ah, remembering these spots make me hungry, but thats okay. Its so good to know we can go visit again and again and again. Jeff kramer and the spicy south american flavors at tanguito argentinean grill empanadas, stu smith and the eclectic dishes from the historic San Francisco spot, the grubstake, and finally, Denise Coleman and the delectable delicatessen of turk and larkin deli. We really want to hear your thoughts about todays show and your experiences at any of the restaurants weve been talking about. So go to our website at kqed. Org checkplease where youll find a lot more information and details on all the restaurants featured. You can watch a segment or download a whole show. You can also read my notes on the wines were drinking today and dont forget you can stay in touch with us via facebook and twitter. So join us next time when three new guests will recommend their favorite spots right here on check, please bay area. Im Leslie Sbrocco and ill see you then. Cheers announcer this show is available on demand and online. To watch an episode, find restaurant information, or to apply to be on the show, go to our website at. Youll also find us on facebook and twitter. Announcer a kqed television production. Announcer a kqed television production. Man its like holy mother of comfort food. Kastner throw it down. Its noodle crack. Patel you have to be ready for the heart attack on a platter. Crowell okay, im the bacon guy, right . Man oh, i just did a jig every time i dipped into it. Man 2 it just completely blew my mind. Woman it felt like i had a mouthful of raw vegetables and dry dough. Sbrocco oh, please. I want the Dessert First [ laughs ] i told him he had to wait