San Francisco (obviously, home of EC San Francisco), is known for its excellent food, among many other things.  And, not surprisingly, Chinatown is a good place to look for good Chinese food.  And, being in California, you can bet there is at least one good Chinese vegetarian places to be found.  You are SO right. Hidden a bit over a block above Grant Ave. (the spine of Chinatown), uphill on Washington St., is a little “hole in the wall” restaurant called “Lucky Creation.”  Some of the best veggie Chinese food I’ve ever had, at reasonable prices!  Try the appetizer sampler plate, or the veggies in a potato basket (“golden nest”).  The fried honeyed walnuts are fantastic.  Lucky Creation is clean (and the food smells great), but the ambiance is near zero.  Not “fine dining,” just brilliant food.  Try it, even if you aren’t vegetarian.  And it’s just about a 10 minute walk from ECSF, and equally close to the central shopping area around Union Square, so there’ s no good reason not to try it.  

Hi ECSF students and blog readers, My name is Tim Ruiz and I’m a senior teacher at ECSF. Since I moved to San Francisco a decade ago, I have been astounded by the many great restaurants this city has to offer. The diversity of foods can sometimes be overwhelming. Cole Valley’s Padrecito is a shining example of the culinary greatness that makes SF second to none. Padrecito is a fantastic Mexican restaurant located at the corner of Carl and Cole streets in Cole Valley, a great neighborhood bordering Haight Ashbury. The atmosphere of this place is as lively and diverse as the food and drinks featured on the menu. This place has a stellar offering of items to choose from but without a doubt their hallmark items are tequila and tacos! Padrecito features a vibrant and friendly staff that are quite eager to offer great suggestions and add an air of friendliness that make this place one of the busiest locations in the area. Reservations on OpenTable are almost always booked a week in advance, especially on the weekends, but the staff keep half of the tables in the restaurant available to walk-in customers so don’t be afraid to stop in. You won’t have to wait long. Padrecito features a full bar that specializes in tequila based cocktails but also offers a great variety of beers and wines. The Piñata cocktail is fierce and not for the timid but is quite smooth, made with reposado tequila, pineapple juice, rosemary, lime, and jalapeño. This cocktail has a real bite but it’s well worth it. Although this place excels at pretty much everything, the premier items are tacos. Padrecito has a wide range of tacos with a number of different meats, including grilled char, goat, pork belly, duck, and skirt steak. By … Read more

Thai Ideal (Polk St. near Eddy) came about because of the number of requests at the traditional Thai parent restaurant in Foster City for vegetarian/vegan entrees.  I found the Foster City location nearly by accident, when I was looking for anyplace to get vegetarian/vegan food near San Francisco airport.  While Foster City isn’t “near,” the drive was well worth it.  While I haven’t tried the SF location yet, I can’t imagine it would disappoint. Simply put, this is the best Thai food I’ve ever had.  For a vegetarian, the security of knowing that there is no meat in the kitchen adds tranquility to the meal, as does the elegant decor and soothing music.  When we went there, we were hoping for an OK meal.  We got an unexpected treat.  I’m looking forward to a chance to try the Polk Street location.  Who knows?  Maybe I’ll meet you there.

One more great eatery for vegetarians / vegans, and not too far from EC San Francisco, is Golden Era, O’Farrell at Jones.  Like its sister restaurant in Oakland, Golden Lotus, Golden Era serves up superb veggie food, mostly in Vietnamese style.  The broth for their soups is amazing, the ginger “fish” is a delight, and the House Rice Claypot, a mix of rice, vermicelli and bean thread noodles, cooked in their great soup broth and flavored with ginger and black pepper, is “to die for.”  For dessert, you can get a vegan version of the French / Vietnamese classic custard dessert, flan.  Except for being a bit less sweet than flan made with eggs and milk, this vegan version has both the taste and texture of the original. Prices are reasonable, and the decor is nice.  I’ve never had bad service at either Golden Era or Golden Lotus, and the organization’s goal of encouraging more people to eat a plant-based diet is necessary for the ultimate survival of life on Earth.  The only downside is the location, on the edge of the SF neighborhood called the Tenderloin, but O’Farrell is a main street, and the restaurant is only a few blocks from the popular Powell Street.  It’s not my favorite neighborhood, but I’ve never felt unsafe there. Now that EC San Francisco is switching to a 45 minute lunch, Golden Era is a bit out of range, but if you are shopping near Union Square, or just want a deliciously different dinner experience, you should try it.  My parents are not vegetarian, and some places we have taken them, I know they were just being polite about the food.  However, if we say “Let’s eat at Golden Lotus” (Oakland is closer to their house), they run to put on their … Read more

There are not many cuisines that you can’t find in San Francisco, and The City boasts many fine Japanese restaurants.  One, Cha-Ya, is vegan, following the cooking style sometimes called “temple cuisine,” which is still served in some Buddhist temples in Japan.  But, to illustrate the eclectic nature of San Francisco, this top-rated Japanese restaurant is not in Japantown, or along Geary Street, but in the Mission District, traditionally San Francisco’s Latino quarter, where Mexican restaurants lie next to Salvadoran bakeries. The food at Cha-Ya is excellent, but, as with most Japanese restaurants in the SF area, tends to be more expensive than, for example, Thai or Chinese.  However, while the sushi (all fish-free) is a bit pricey, there are a number of combination dinners that are quite reasonable.  The only real problem the last time I went there was that they did not serve filtered water, so the water in my glass tasted, as tap water does in San Francisco due to the ancient water system, like a swimming pool.  The tea and soups, however, taste lovely. Cha-Ya is walking distance from BART, and on a couple of Muni lines, so it’s easy to get to.  From EC San Francisco, it should take you about 20 minutes.  Too far for lunch, but a great dinnertime option.

Along with the question, “What is American culture?” comes the question, “What is American food?”  Is it just burgers and fries?  (If you want a great selection of vegan burgers [and other “soda fountain” food, such as milkshakes {vegan and non-vegan{], go to Saturn Cafe in Berkeley, only 2 blocks away from BART).  Or is there more to American food?  When you study ESL abroad at EC San Francisco, you can find out easily. Since nearly all of what we eat here comes originally from elsewhere, you could say that Chinese, or Thai, or Italian is “American” food, but if you want vegan versions of American traditional standbys like meatloaf, you should try Herbivore.  The chain has three locations (two in SF, one in Berkeley), and I think the best of the three is the one on Divisadero.  The venue is bistro-style, with a garden seating area at the back, for those rare warm days in San Francisco, and the food is as good as it gets.  If you can, leave enough room for dessert  –  the cakes [all vegan] are super.  This restaurant has a reputation that extends well beyond San Francisco.

Sometimes, for a good vegetarian dining experience, you have to go a bit out of your way.  I’m really stretching the point to say Udupi Palace is “near” the school.  However, when you study ESL abroad at EC San Francisco, a little extra journey for a different taste sensation can be worth it. Udupi Palace is Indian vegetarian, specializing in South Indian street snack food (“chaat”), particularly dosas.  A dosa is a thin, crispy pancake similar to a French crepe, with a spicy filling of potato and onion curry.  It comes with a quite hot soup (“sambar”  –  watch out for the whole dried chilis) and two chutneys  –  a mild, coconut-based one, and a red one that has I don’t know what in it, but it isn’t mild.  There are also other traditional snack foods such as “idli,” a nightly selection of curries, and a couple of “thali” platters, a mini-feast with a variety of curries, breads, and flavored rices (try the lemon rice.)  Prices are midrange.  If you get a thali, you will have some food to take home.  You can eat a whole dosa at one sitting (barely), but you probably won’t want dessert.  The kitchen is wholly vegetarian (although not all dishes are vegan), so you don’t have to worry about stray bits of meat, fish, or poultry winding up in your food. Udupi Palace is an easy 5 blocks from the 24th and Mission BART station (3 long blocks on Mission, 2 short ones on 21st), located on Valencia at 21st.  There are several other excellent vegetarian / vegan restaurants in the area, so it’s worth becoming familiar with the journey.  Your stomach will thank you.