Tropisueno

This restaurant is best known as a casual lunch spot for those working in the financial district. During the day, the restaurant appears as a straight-up taqueria which offers burritos, tacos or special plates - either to dine in or to go. It then undergoes a daily face lift in the evenings to re-open as a full-service restaurant.

Tropisueno's location - in the pedestrian-only Yerba Buena Lane - means it has to be a destination spot for dinner, no casual drive-bys. Unfortunately, people are lazy. When I visited Tropisueno last weekend, my group were the ONLY ones in the restaurant. Ok, so there was one guy sitting by himself - but he doesn't count. And that's unfortunate, because the decor was a modern, hip rendition of an old world Mexican restaurant, and the food was tasty, reasonably priced and served in heaping portions! If you have to organize a group dinner, I would definitely recommend Tropisueno - primarily because they have the room! Judging from Yelp reviews and my own personal experience, this restaurant is definitely more of a lunch locale. Beyond that, it has a great hip vibe, tasty Mexican food...and who doesn't love margaritas?

The House Margarita was a crowd pleaser with El Jimador Blanco tequila, fresh lime juice and organic agave nectar...served with *spicey* salt. Now onto the food, I told my waiter that I had a gluten allergy - so, while corn tortillas were fine, flour tortillas or anything that had touched or been prepared near flour were banned. He laughed at my dramatization, but he assured me that my food would be prepared on a clean surface. I also grilled him on vinegar (as it's distilled from wheat and trace amounts can make me ill) - and he verified that none of the salsas contain vinegar. Good to know!

The table started with Crispy Flautas (crisp corn tortillas filled with chicken tinga, topped with salsa verde and crema) and Yucatan Poc Chuc (grilled skewered pork marinted in citrus). Both plates were licked clean. 2 side notes on the Yucatan Poc Chuc - 1) the skewers arrived on a bed of salad whose dressing DID contain vinegar, and 2) the skewers were also served with a roasted habanero salsa that had one of my friends literally in tears...it was THAT hot.

The waiter recommended the Tampiqueno as an entree, and I was extremeley pleased. Thin, marinated carne asada (which tasted like heaven) with an enchilada. And all entrees come with Mexican rice and beans. So if you're contemplating your next birthday gathering, call up Tropisueno.

http://www.tropisueno.com/
75 Yerba Buena Lane
San Francisco, CA 94103
415.243.0299