Sam's Diner - Civic Center/Tenderloin, San Francisco

Dinner on Day 3 in San Francisco...


So when we first arrived to the hotel on Monday after a longass drive with my parents arguing in the car on the very last stretch and everyone being incredibly frustrated with the Market Street NO LEFT TURN situation for what seemed like miles, we were first greeted by the incessant chattering of a front desk person who would not SHUT THE FUCK UP like a crazy tweaker person and then a bellman who would not SHUT THE FUCK UP but more like a cokehead. And I determined that afternoon that I would not listen to one fucking word either one of them was saying, least of all the bellman's restaurant recommendatioN, Sam's Diner being it.

But then last night, my mom got a hankering for fried chicken to eat with some of these pickled jalapeños she packed (to eat with her mobile ramen), and assuming that my dad was going to be going out to dinner with us, we wanted to find the closest place possible that served fried chicken. And Sam's Diner, right across the street from our hotel, was it.

And at first, we were just going to let my mom order her chicken to go to bring back to my dad whom she left in the room because she'd had enough of his bitching for the day and just get some crap at Burger King right down the corner, but there was something quirky and inviting about the place that made us decide we would rather sit down and eat there. 

I'm not sure what did it for Dean, but for me it was first the Korean Tacos special written out on the sidewalk sign and then seeing an actual Korean woman working the counter and what I think was an ensuing mild fascination that this woman was running a diner with a menu that was 99% All American Diner, but managed to incorporate a couple of little Korean inspired dishes to it. 

You may ask why I assumed that the Korean woman working the counter was the owner and not just an employee. I'll tell you why. Because she's Korean, and it's simply not part of the national character of Koreans not to be self-employed or at least absolutely abhor the notion of working for someone else. And even if they're not all that good at being self employed, they're usually even worse at being an employee. :P


Turns out I was right.



Yelp Review

And it appears her Korean tacos are a big hit with lots of people who've tried them. I can now count myself among them.

My mom's fried chicken and +Dean Robinson's French Dip were not necessarily stellar examples, but they were absolutely reliable.


But beware the incredibly slow service.


shinae

Sam's Diner
1220 Market St.
San Francisco, CA 94102
415.626.8590
www.samsdinersf.com