Best Hole in the Wall Restaurants/Bars? (San Mateo, Vista: how much, home)

[jman650]

Borobudur on Post and Jones is a really good Indonesian restaurant.

Angkor Borei on Mission and Cortland is excellent for Cambodian.

Always love Submarine Center at Ulloa and Westportal too.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Originally Posted by jman650

Borobudur on Post and Jones is a really good Indonesian restaurant.

Angkor Borei on Mission and Cortland is excellent for Cambodian.

Always love Submarine Center at Ulloa and Westportal too.

Borobudur had two locations at one point, in addition to the one on Post they had one on Geary (now a Thai resto). The one on Geary was, bar none, the best Indo I've ever eaten this side of Kalamantan, it was more the "down home" menu for the expats while the one on Post was more geared toward the gringos. That legacy somewhat continued after the Geary place closed. We much preferred the old Indonesian Cafe, further down Post, on the same side, across Jones. Well, sadly, they moved to Berkeley and were replaced by a "Pan ASEAN" type place (not my cup of tea). Thankfully, Borobudur on Post has improved. Enjoyed it last visit.

Angkor Borei has rescued that hood ever since the demise of Pad Thai. A few words on that. Pad Thai was one of the most, if not the most, authentic Thai place in the City (perhaps in the US, although, some places in LA , actually, Hollywood, to be exact, are really, really authentic). The same family owned it for years. It was the only place to get things like pla tdu and nam prig. Let's put it this way, it was a key place for expats. Sadly, the original owners sold out. The new owners kept the name but changed the menu (utterly ruined it) ostensibly to attract more gringos (at the expense of expats). Not only that, they act like members of the People's Liberation Army (I know different country, but that's how they act). DISASTER! Thank God for Angkor Borei, just up the road a piece. Again, different country (by a few miles) but wonderful food.

[jman650]

Originally Posted by BayAreaHillbilly

Borobudur had two locations at one point, in addition to the one on Post they had one on Geary (now a Thai resto). The one on Geary was, bar none, the best Indo I've ever eaten this side of Kalamantan, it was more the "down home" menu for the expats while the one on Post was more geared toward the gringos. That legacy somewhat continued after the Geary place closed. We much preferred the old Indonesian Cafe, further down Post, on the same side, across Jones. Well, sadly, they moved to Berkeley and were replaced by a "Pan ASEAN" type place (not my cup of tea). Thankfully, Borobudur on Post has improved. Enjoyed it last visit.

Angkor Borei has rescued that hood ever since the demise of Pad Thai. A few words on that. Pad Thai was one of the most, if not the most, authentic Thai place in the City (perhaps in the US, although, some places in LA , actually, Hollywood, to be exact, are really, really authentic). The same family owned it for years. It was the only place to get things like pla tdu and nam prig. Let's put it this way, it was a key place for expats. Sadly, the original owners sold out. The new owners kept the name but changed the menu (utterly ruined it) ostensibly to attract more gringos (at the expense of expats). Not only that, they act like members of the People's Liberation Army (I know different country, but that's how they act). DISASTER! Thank God for Angkor Borei, just up the road a piece. Again, different country (by a few miles) but wonderful food.

Glad to hear that Borobudur didn't completely fall off. I don't have too much experience with Indonesian food, but I really love everything I've tried there. Especially the honey bbq chicken! I didn't know there were other locations before. Wish I could've tried the really good one you mentioned.

Man, I hate when new owners take over a place and completely ruin it. That's happened to places I love more times than I care to remember. I never had the pleasure of trying Pad Thai (that restaurant anyway haha).

But Angkor Borei has never disappointed me. Angkor Wat, which used to be on Geary, was pretty good too, but I think Angkor Borei always blew it out the water. And its prices are not bad either!

[Jonotastic]

Originally Posted by fishnfool

I have been working on and off for the last year (and will continue to do so for the next 6 months) in Alameda. I usually try to swing into the city once or twice a week and on the weekends if I'm hanging close to "home". I've become quite familiar with SF and the surrounding areas and am NOT into anymore of the touristy stuff......okay well I will still continue to down Irish Coffee's at the Buena Vista but that's it......

Now I'm looking for the real good hole in the wall bars and restaurants. I absolutely LOVE any and all ethnic foods (the spicier the better, the stranger the better....New England severely lacks both!) and really enjoy some good live music in a sleepy hole in the wall place...especially blues, folk, or jazz.

Anyone have a few places to recommend? I'll be back out next week through September, and then back in October.

Lahore karahi - tenderloin
osha Thai - tenderloin location
naan n curry - sunset location
Vietnam - north beach on broadway

[DMenscha]

Old Weang Ping on Macarthur in Oakland. Check out yelp.com for reviews and directions. It's crazy, but really good Thai food.

[oaktowndiver]

while you are out on Alameda, check out Angel City Sushi and get the monkfish liver, OMG it's good!

[Radical347]

I'll second Angkor Borei. Great place! Also, if you're in Oakland try Phnom Penh restaurant, in their Chinatown.

Have not been to the King of Thai on Taraval...but the one on 7th & Clement is pretty good. The one on 4th & Clement... just so/so. Also Thai House Express isn't bad. There's two of em...Geary & Larkin and 19th & Castro.

Larkin Express is good for Burmese, Larkin @ Golden Gate. They remodeled so it feels like less of a "hole in the wall" and more like a restaurant than before, but still with the location it's pretty hole in the wall-y. (It used to be "Larkin Express Burmese Kitchen & New York Deli" and they had the "New York Style Deli" and Burmese soups out front behind the counter, and if you ordered other Burmese food then they made it in the back. LOL! But they are just as good and much cheaper than Burma Superstar - you also won't have to wait in like like 3 hours.

For Korean, check out To Hyang on 2nd & Geary. Try one of their more uncommon dishes (meaning not BBQ or soft tofu stew.) (And if anyone tries to recommend it, AVOID BROTHERS RESTAURANT!!!!!)

[rah]

Originally Posted by Jonotastic

naan n curry - sunset location

Go to Tasty Curry, which is two blocks away, instead. A little cheaper than Naan N Curry (so pretty cheap), and in my opinion far better. I'd only recommend Naan N Curry if it's late and you're near one of their 24 hour locations downtown (there's one on Van Ness now too)...the food is decent, but i've had some gross experiences there, and I'm not the only one I know who has. Also the staff at the sunset location tends to be pretty surly...whereas at Tasty Curry i once forgot my money, and they had no problem letting me come back later to pay them. Friendly dudes.

[Radical347]

Speaking of Indian, have not been to Tasty Curry, but if you like Indian vegetarian food, New Ganges restaurant on 2nd & Frederick (right before Frederick turns into Lincoln) is pretty good.

Yeah, I have heard mixed things about Naan N Curry's. I went to the one on O'Farrell once and the atmosphere was incredibly disgusting. The one on Van Ness was ok; however, I took a food safety class last year and it was mentioned (officially) that one failed pretty badly...

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Shalimar on Jones. Pakistani / Punjab style and IIRC halal.