Late Night Eats in San Francisco

After a long day of activities a good meal is always needed. When we spent the day exploring San Francisco, California with our good friend Haseeb he led us to a couple of great late night joints that really hit the spot. At Yamo we got a Asian noodle fix and  at El Farolito Taqueria  we had wonderfully fresh Mexican food.

Haseeb led us to Yamo, a true Burmese restaurant, after a day at the Golden Gate Bridge Park. The windows were fogged from the hot cooking going on inside, a good sign. Three ladies working together behind a long diner counter with ten seats lined up welcomed us.

These ladies ran the place.  One took orders, filled glasses, and took care of the dishes. Another lady prepared all the food before she passed it down to the women working the wok, they work together like clock work.

Burma food culture has been heavily influenced by Chinese, Indian, and Thai flavors and cooking techniques. Brian and I could easily see the similarities as we ordered the recommended dishes: curry fish and house noodles, shrimp fried rice, and spicy beef noodles.

The ladies set quite the mood, they were there for business, and you were expected to order, eat, and make room for the next diner. We sat excitingly on our stools listening to the bang of pots and pans and the chit chat of the women working behind the counter.

When the plates of steaming noodles were placed before us, drawing the attention of the other diners, we took a minute to take in the lovely sight.  Yamo was partly a performance art experience, the food was the star and when anyone got a plate everyone stopped to admire the wonderful aroma and take in the images of soft noodles and meat piled with care on to plates.

Brian got the special of the night and made out the best among us, I think. Long wheat noodles intertwined with chunks of pan fried fish, mixed with peppers and a light, spicy curry sauce. The wheat noodles had a slight bite and chew to them. The fish was fresh tilapia that was elevated to new heights when eaten with the well balanced curry sauce.

Haseeb’s spiced beef and noodles was another winner. Thinly sliced beef that had been marinated and cooked through had a chew itself that went perfectly with the pile of wheat noodles that sat beneath it.

My shrimp fried rice was great but I definitely missed out in not trying these special noodles offered by the Burmese women.  My shrimps were tender and had a nice level of heat just as I would expect. The pile of fluffy rice was very good but just not the same as the fresh noodles would have been.

While we were visiting Haseeb in the city of San Francisco we took a side trip on the weekend to visit nearby Yosemite National Park. Sunday we took a very long strenuous hike up to the top of the Yosemite’s upper falls. On our way back to San Francisco Sunday night we were worn out and ready to eat, but of course we got delayed by The Matrix’s (our wonderful car) first and only (thus far) flat tire!

Thankfully our friends understood and were peasant with the whole situation. Our friend Sarah, who was with us, knew the prefect place to get great food really fast!

El Farolito Taqueria was a bright light in the night. A long counter separated the guests from the hot cooking line. When we reached the register, the guy taking our order help me pick out the grilled chicken taco.

A double layer of flour tortilla supported a tall pile of juicy and flavorful chicken.  The peppery chicken was nicely cooled by a cilantro salsa. It was the perfect meal after such a long day and the right selection.

Brian’s beef tostatas was smeared with re-fried beans, a layer of lettuce, sliced avocado, a mountain of beef, all on crispy fried tortillas. The beef had a great texture with a bit of chew with a nice caramelized flavor from the flattop it was cooked on. At the counter different degrees of salsa were offered, Brian tried one of each, enjoying the nice addition of heat to his meal.

Simple, authentic, and freshly made by passionate people–nothing could be better!

Happy and full we had had another outstanding late night meal. In San Francisco it is easy to fill your day with sights and your stomach with great food.