El sabor de México: San Francisco
Community meets comida at these outstanding Bay Area restaurants and mercados devoted to the authentic flavors of six Mexican states.
By Scott Hocker, Photography by Mitch Tobias
To the naked eye, San Francisco is not as much of a Yucatecan
stronghold as Middlefield Road in Redwood City is for Michoacanos, or
Fruitvale is for immigrants from Jalisco. Over the past five years, a
few Yucatecan restaurants have sprung up near 16th and Mission Streets, and the occasional Tenderloin greasy spoon has mujeres burning chilies for the region’s traditional black mole, marinating pork in naranja agria
(sour-orange) juice, and whirring batches of black beans into a creamy
purée. But though these restaurants lack the cohesive geography of
their brethren in the East and South Bays, the Yucatecan presence
behind the scenes in San Francisco is unmistakable. Ever since
Oxkutzcab native Tomás Bermejo, who moved to California in the ’50s as
part of the bracero program, opened the still busy Tommy’s Mexican in
the Outer Richmond in 1965, the connection between Yucatán and San
Francisco has been secure. Now there are approximately 15,000
Yucatecos in San Francisco (and another 10,000 in San Rafael). Most of
them—thanks to their experience in the hospitality industry in the
Mayan Riviera of Cancún and Cozumel—work in the city’s top hotels and
fine-dining kitchens. With that kind of background, it could be only a
matter of time before banana leaves and achiote paste become as common
here as chiles rellenos and guacamole.
POC CHUC
Biografía:
Carlos and Delmy Ruiz (he’s from Durango, she’s from Yucatán) met while
cooking at a La Salsa taquería in the Castro. They married, and now, at
Poc Chuc, they’re capitalizing on Delmy’s Yucatecan home cooking and
three years behind the stoves at the très Gallic Bistro Clovis.
Atmósfera:
Yellow pendant lights hang over the kitchen counter, the color scheme
is a sophisticated red and green-gold, and mirrors line the walls.
Diners range from intrepid Missionites to just-off-work Yucatecos.
Especialidades:
The namesake dish is a mound of pork that’s been marinated in
sour-orange juice and spices, then grilled. Washed with charred
habanero salsa and eaten with the region’s signature black-bean purée,
it’s about as iconic a Yucatecan meal as you can find in the city. But
Poc Chuc also has fancier leanings. In honor of Delmy’s time spent
cooking in fine-dining kitchens, there’s a lamb stew suffused with red
wine, and a seared duck breast scattered over wilted Napa cabbage
salad. Both are served with a dollop of creamy mashed potatoes—good
luck finding those at any other Yucatecan restaurant. 2886 16th St. (bet. Shotwell st. and S. Van Ness Ave.), S.F., 415-558-1583
COMIDA YUCATAN AND CITY PIZZA
Biografía: Pakistani
owner Mohammed Nadeem poached Adelina Cham from an underground
restaurant in the Mission. Now, in the heart of the Tenderloin, Cham is
turning out precisely the sort of food she prepared in her hometown of
Tecax.
Atmósfera: Outside is one of the seediest corners of
the ’Loin. Inside this combination pizza shack and Yucatecan diner, the
lighting is bright, the walls are painted a cheesy shade of pink, and
the service is usually kind and attentive.
Especialidades:
Above the counter hangs a menu placard nearly as wide as the room. On
its left are the Yucatecan dishes, including just-cooked empanadas and
tortas with a choice of carne molido (ground pork), carnitas, cochinita (spiced pork), or pollo. The three types of tamales (oven-baked horneados, thin torteados, and tender colados) are cooked in banana leaves, topped with tomato sauce, and difficult to find elsewhere. Sopa de coditos is a Yucatecan madre’s
take on chicken-noodle soup, with macaroni, turkey, avocado, and a
flurry of black pepper. Best of all are the daily specials,
particularly the Jueves-only entomatado, a homey stew of tomato and pork served with puréed black beans and steaming-hot housemade tortillas. 294 Turk St. (at Leavenworth St.), S.F., 415-931-4200
MI LINDO YUCATAN I
Biografía:
After quitting his job as a courier for Bank of America and letting go
of his ownership of a downtown taquería, Morelos-born Benny Huerta
(along with business partner Jorge Gongora) opened one of the city’s
first strictly Yucatecan restaurants. Huerta’s chef of seven years,
Marinel Y, once sold panuchos on the streets of Oxkutzcab.
Atmósfera: Out
front, a collection of Mayan gods—including, appropriately, Ek Chuah
(the god of business)—greets diners. Inside, shades of lime and sea
green keep the mood light. Faux-lantern sconces flicker above tables
painted with images of Mayan deities and commoners at work, and the
Virgin of Guadalupe stands guard in back.
Especialidades: The appetizer menu features some of the harder-to-find masa-based Yucatecan antojitos, like chilindrinas, pockets laced with spinach, stuffed with egg and pepitas, and fried; cylindrical polcanes look like pigs in a blanket but are filled with lima beans and steamed. In escabeche de pavo,
turkey is rubbed with allspice, two kinds of pepper, and cinnamon,
braised, then served with pickled red onions. Perhaps the national
bird’s finest moment is in Mi Lindo’s relleno negro. Made with
chilies that are toasted until they’re burnt, plus tender white and
dark meat swimming in ink-black broth, the dish is so flavorful and so
complex, it could reduce a sauce-proud French chef to tears. 401 Valencia St. (at 15th St.), S.F., 415-861-4935
MI LINDO YUCATAN II
Biografía:
Husband-and-wife owners Jorge Gongora and Soledad Pacheco are both
natives of Oxkutzcab. In 1984, Gongora began cooking at the now defunct
Julie’s Supper Club. After 20 years in other people’s kitchens, he got
one of his own when he and Benny Huerta opened this Noe Valley branch
of Mi Lindo Yucatan in 2004.
Atmósfera: The posh Noe Valley
offshoot looks like its Mission progenitor after an appointment with a
personal shopper. Fiesta-ware bowls and plates mimic the restaurant’s
bright fuchsia-and-blue palette, and a sculpture of a Mayan ruin sits
on the counter. This being Noe Valley, count on plenty of strollers.
Especialidades: Yucatán’s breakfast of champions, huevos motuleños—tostadas
slathered with whole black beans, then topped with fried eggs and a mix
of ham, tomato, and peas—is a menu staple. Fixtures also include such
classic dishes as panuchos, puffed-up tortillas filled with black beans and topped with lettuce, avocado, and a choice of chicken, turkey, or pork; and cochinita pibil,
a flavorful braise of pork cooked with banana leaves and achiote paste.
Pay attention to the specials, as Gongora is unafraid to tweak
tradition: His blueberry tamal with chili-infused cream sauce has been known to draw diners back multiple times in a single week. 4042 24th St. (bet. Castro and Noe Sts.), S.F., 415-826-3942
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