Basquing in the Glow

Last week I was watching an episode of Check, Please! Bay Area, and one of the chosen restaurants was at the Basque Cultural Center in South San Francisco. The tv show made it look really appealing, with traditional home cooking and a family style atmosphere.

My dad was going to be landing at SFO with a layover on Friday night for a couple of hours, so I thought, what a perfect time to try the Basque restaurant, given that it was only a few miles from the airport, and offered many of the hearty dishes that he loves, but does not get to have often.

I made a reservation, and we arrived on time to find the place packed with people...old people. We almost felt like we had stumbled upon dinner at a retirement home. There was also a wedding party and a lot of families, which was keeping the staff busy.

Upon ordering our food, it was easy to see the draw. While most entrees were around $18-20, which isn't exactly cheap, that price included soup and salad which made for a very hearty meal.

They bring out the soup in a huge metal tureen which is left on your table. This definitely set the standard for the rest of the meal - no sooner than we took our first bite, it was "pass the salt, pass the pepper" for the rest of the evening. The soup was very watered down, so that while the quantity was impressive (at least 2 bowls worth per person), the taste was not interesting enough to make you want to go back for more.

We ordered 2 of the 3 appetizers offered, the Escargot and the Pate de Campagne. The escargot were good and garlicy, but the Pate was extremely fatty and again bland.

The entrees were ok, again nothing great. My dad had veal osso bucco, my husband had pepper steak, and I had their house favorite, rack of lamb. Mine was the best of the three, well cooked and seasoned, but the potatoes and vegetables were like afterthoughts.

All in all, it was nice to see a community space and a restaurant full of people celebrating various occasions. But for the cost of the food, what appeared to be a bargain was really the result of hotel-food or institution-type preparation. They definitely cook for their clientele, so the seasonings are on the light side - but I would have loved to have seen more of traditional Basque cooking and flavoring. Ah, well, it's always nice to get out of your element once in awhile and try something different, and this certainly fit the bill.

The Only Thing Little is the Name

I was doing an errand in South San Francisco on Friday, when I saw out of the corner of my eye the legendary Little Lucca Sandwich Shop. I had read about this place for years, but had never been there, so I decided that fate had led me to it and therefore the time had come for me to finally experience their well-known sandwiches. So I got in line. And waited. And waited.

They go pretty fast considering the amount of product that they get out the door during the lunch rush. I studied the menu and watched the people in front of me to see what to do. There was no small talk. There were no friendly exchanges. You stepped up to the person who said "Next" and stated your order. When your sandwich was finished, you stepped down to the cashier to pay.

I made two faux pas during my time at the counter. The first was when I was asked what kind of bread I wanted. "Oh, just the regular roll," I said, casually. I was met with a look that almost morphed into an eye roll. She started to recite, "Sourdough. Whole Wheat. White. Dutch Crunch..." "Dutch Crunch!" I said, a little too cheerfully. I held my tongue while she made the sandwich, until I realized that I didn't want a lot of mustard. "Mustard only on one side, please" I interrupted. I got a look, but she did what I asked. "Both sauces?" she asked, now very aware that I had no idea what I was doing. "Yes, yes!" I said, in a voice that was more high pitched than I would have liked. I watched as she slathered their homemade hot sauce, then the famous garlic sauce, on the bread. I am sure I fogged up the protective glass with my heavy breathing. I moved to the cashier on cue, and payed my $5.95, dropping a dollar in the tip jar to try to make up for my foolishness.

When I got home, I unwrapped my sandwich as if it were fine china wrapped in bubble paper. A waft of garlic hit me...mmm. I had ordered the Little Lucca Ultimate Sub - turkey, ham, bacon, cheese, lettuce, pickles, mayo, hot sauce, garlic sauce. It was delicious. It was garlicy. It was so full of meat that I could barely get my mouth around it. Would it have been a great sandwich without that sauce? Probably not. But that combination was addictive, and I started dreaming of the next time that I would find myself in the neighborhood.