Any new restaurants near the Castro Theater? (SFB area)

My annual post for new suggestions within easy walking distance of the Castro Theater. Ideally with food to go and not to spicy or messy. I don’t really have time to eat at a restaurant as I can’t be away from the theater for too long. I’ll be there for ten days at the end of the month.

My current rotation is Kasa, Tartine, BiRite and Rossi’s Deli

Not new, but Tacos Club has become one of my go-tos when coming back from a trip or too tired to cook. Their mole (choice of chicken or pork) is quite good, and their platanos with black beans are a steal. Across the street, Tacorgasmico is good, and seems popular, but I find it uneven. The cochinita pibil is good and they make their own tortillas. There are a few other new/rebranded places but reports sound as if they have the Castro curse (food a little worse than it should be for a little more money than they should charge).

I can’t remember what you’ve tried in past years. Dinosaurs for credible banh mi and Vietnamese salads? Cafe Mystique right across from the theatre? (I haven’t tried that last one myself.)

super duper is a pretty decent option if you want a burger / fries / milkshake. As prabhakar mentioned, dinosaurs is a solid choice for good vietnamese sandwiches. their spring rolls are quite good too

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Is M & L Market permanently closed?

According to y*lp, it’s been closed since the summer.

What did you try?

Namu Gaji was too busy on Saturday Night (and they deserve to be), so we stopped at Dinosaurs for banh mi. Quick and satisfying.

En route to the theater, we picked up candy at Giddy Candy (corner of Noe and Market). Her chocolate covered gummy bears are wider than the ones at the Kabuki (eating lots of porridge?), and all the better for it.

Mostly the usual.

Tartine - no line before 4 during the week - I like the brownies and chocolate pudding, not so much the brioche bread pudding, nor the ham and leek quiche. Eating the oatmeal buckwheat porridge bread for lunch this week. Not bad, but I prefer Acme.

Kasa - The cauliflower/potato (gobi aloo?) and keema muttar roti were as good as ever. The dahl was bland (a good counterpoint to the spicy roti) and seemed beefy although I think it is based on a vegetable broth.

Mostly I ate in Berkeley as we usually didn’t leave for the city until 3: Great China, Brennan’s. Cheeseboard, Juice Bar Collective.

I did try Dapper Dogs twice. The regular dog had dill pickle relish and was too salty. The Chicago Dog was well balanced and had the requisite sweet pickle relish. The dogs themselves were large, had some bite and juicyness, but were only warm. I’d eat there again in a pinch. Actually the onion rings were the best thing there with a light, relatively soft breading (cornmeal like?)

Tried Castro Tarts for lunch Sunday. Lots of vegetables but not much of the bland chicken in my 5 spice chicken rice plate. The VN iced coffee was good though with lots of condensed milk making it taste like caramel (the way I like it).

I’ve sort of given up on eating in the Castro.

I was told by other NC attendees that The Cove across from the theater had good Eggs Benedict and Eureka around the corner had good fried chicken and ribs (they have gumbo too, but are only open after 5:30.)

Glad you find a couple nice places to eat within your parameters. The Castro is a pretty tough neighborhood for fast casual food–think all the highlights have been mentioned.

For future reference, I have found some good food at Eureka. I think that their happy hour offers a great deal for some well-made cocktails.

On the other hand, I haven’t found a lot that is recommendable about The Cove.