Arinell Pizza

First time here, I came in after beers with friends and thought it was a glowing beacon of hope- I had a hard time finding any decent (let alone GOOD) pizza in this city. And no diss to you Lanesplitter's and Arizmendi's fans, I'm talking in terms of simple slices, not chi chi gourmet pizza, which I have also been known to indulge in from time to time. Knowing that my excitement might have been influenced by beers more than truth, I came back a second time. This time, I had New-York-Native, at-least-4-slices-a-week John to back me up.

I was pleased to see the same guy working as the one I saw a few weeks earlier, it adds to the impression that it's a small operation. And who doesn't love eating at a hole-in-the-wall pizza joint that blasts Bad Brains and is run by surly metalheads? This place is delicious. Even sober, I love the thin, slightly crispy crust, and love even more that they don't use sugar or salt (except a little salt to make the dough rise) to season their sauce.

By having un-sweetened sauce, the flavor of the appropriately greasy cheese comes out. It's refreshing to have pizza with damn good cheese. Simple and perfect. John called the place "good", which is about all I can squeeze out of him, and he's been wanting to go back everyday since; even at $2.75 a slice, I freaking love Arinell Pizza. It's one of the few places that claims to have New York style slices, and actually does.

Food Coma Factor: 1.2.3.4.5

Grease Factor: 1.2.3.4.5

Holy Grill

Nestled in the crotch of newly sprouted condos and designer decor suppliers, I had my first encounter with Holy Grill. I just finished designing this blog, and must have been inspired by the background photo to go get a burger. I got the Holy burger, and John (my vegetarian companion) got the Yoga burger with fries. The burger was alright, the toppings were generous, and the boardwalk-style fries were okay. Maybe I'm a bigger food snob than I realize...

Holy Grill is one of those condo-dweller fast-food places that's a step up from McDonalds. It wasn't even very satisfying in it's greasy-ness (you know how sometimes you want that big, greasy burger? And feel a little like garbage, but a lot of satisfaction after you eat it?) and mostly it got an "eh". Our burgers were about 6 bucks a piece, way too much considering Nation's are only around $4 and Barclay's are around $8. Barclay's pub remains king of my favorite burgers, but I wonder if that's affected by the last time I ate there- when I stumbled in starving for a burger.

Nothing to write home about. Even though I just wrote this whole post about it.

Food Coma Factor: 1.2.3.4.5

Grease Factor: 1.2.3.4.5

Mission: Eat the Bay

I'm a skilled eater on a budget, I've lived in the San Francisco bay area for a year and am now committed to eat the bay. In that year, I've already discovered my favorite cheesecake, potato salad, hash browns, bacon, and frozen yogurt. Watch as I try to throw those favorites off their pedestals, and keep track of every hidden mom-and-pop-shop I stumble into.