Frankie's

Technically titled and subtitled "Frankie's: Bohemian Cafe". I stumbled onto this place while lost in a random neighborhood in San Francisco (which I later discovered was called western addition? is that a real neighborhood?) and was reaching the brink of fussiness. It was cozy inside, had hand-painted reproductions of famous artworks, and a funny straw roof to a tiki bar, which a handful of men seemed to be making decent use of.

For whatever reason I was feeling especially adventurous- maybe from roaming the streets aimlessly looking for an eatery, maybe from the jovial manner of the man I only assumed was Frankie himself. When presented with the menu, I decided to take what I perceived to be a huge gamble. The main fare available was a variety of burgers, and a variety of something called "Brambory". Someone once told me it's really important to have a homemade veggie-burger, instead of just a freezer patty, which is exactly what John got. I however, felt bold enough to experience the "Bohemian Brambory".

It came out looking like upchucked patty melt. It was a shredded potato, mushroom, zucchini, grilled onion, mozzarella scramble, topped with grilled shrimp and BBQ sauce. I had one of those "jesus christ I'm about to punch myself in the stomach with food" moments, took a breath, and dug in. It was heavenly. Amazing. The potatoes were slightly crisped and still firm without being greasy, all the veggies seemed fresh and cooked to that difficult-to-distinguish moment of cooking perfection; the mozzarella was a perfect addition. I'm not even a big shrimp girl, but this was exactly right. I can't believe how ugly and delicious it is.

As for the aftermath, there was hardly any- I was aware of a food coma, but one of satisfaction, not of over-indulgence. It wasn't at all greasy the way I was expecting it to be, and the portion was huge, giving me next-day-lunch enjoyment. Basically, I've been obsessing about it in my head, wondering when is the next time I'll get to eat it.

My advice, don't be a weanie, try the brambory, it's completely worth the initial shock.

Go Brambory or go home!