It’s not an entirely unique format to San Francisco, that’s for sure. I see it as sort of similar to a place like Spinnerie on Polk. Both fairly bland, uninteresting takes on national/ethnic standards that should be far more flavorful and exciting. Both offer a certain level of customization with pricing to match, ie. pay extra for sauces and toppings, which is never a good sign as kitchens should feel confident in their recipes and flavors to not have to offer a half dozen choose-your-own-adventure-type garnishes for every palette - that never works. Both places offer healthier conscientious menus at somewhat of a premium for what they’re serving - local, organic, sustainable, veg options - all good and more power to them. The end result however, is completely middle of the road. Nothing wrong with these type of establishments and every city has them. What I find strange is how they’re not seen as simply passable or convenient neighborhood spots, but trending and perhaps it has to do with the shifting demographic and socio-economic turnover in the city; people would rather drop twice as much at some fresh new spot that ticks off all the boxes (bright space with reclaimed wood and healthy options) instead of their neighborhood corner store/market. Personally, I’ll take just about any generic $7 sandwich on a Dutch crunch roll over the former, but I’m guessing we’ll be seeing a lot more of these places and a lot less of the small family markets in future with the way things are going. They sure seem to be in vogue right now.
