San Francisco: Art's Cafe

AF heard about a Korean diner, so of course we had to check it out. When we got to Art's Cafe for brunch, there was already a small line outside:

We didn't understand why until we peeked inside and saw that the entire restaurant consisted of the kitchen...and a counter:

Which was super cool because you could see everything that went on in the kitchen.  It's a tight squeeze back there, but the staff made it work. I especially loved watching the owner and his wife, a cute Korean couple, man the grill and pass plates around like no big deal.

The 3 of us decided to split everything.  That's what I love about eating with my girls.  There's no need to ask, sharing goes without saying.

Two of our entrees came with toast:

Sometimes, there's nothing better than a warm piece of buttered toast with jam.  Yum.

Since it was a Korean diner, we figured we should try something purely Korean, so we went with the bulgogi daily special:

It was kind of just meh. My old roommate made better bulgogi at home. The kimchi was also kind of bland.

The pancakes, however, were much more impressive:

Not only were the pancakes super fluffy, the top on also looked like a stingray.  Which just about made my day.

The hashbrown sandwich was a new thing for me:

Instead of hash browns on the side, the hash browns were flattened into a sheet and folded over spinach, onions, mushrooms, and hot sausage:

Hellooooo hashbrown sandwich.  Thank you for coming into my life.

The omelete looked plain at first glance:

But it was stuffed with tofu, kimchi, sausage, and gochujang:

Love the homey feel of Art's Cafe.  Everything tastes like it came from your mom's stove top...that is, if your mom is a Korean ahjumma.

I never thought I would say this, but skip the purely Korean dishes and go straight for the fusion stuff.  Ack...I don't even know who I am anymore.

A tip for all of you who want to check out Art's Cafe: go early, bring cash, and leave the entourage at home!


Art's Cafe
747 Irving St
San Francisco, CA 94122
(415) 665-7440
http://www.artscafesf.com/