Adventures in San Fran: Burritos and Sausage

Dinner out in San Francisco was never a glamorous expedition for us, but we did try some fun places that filled us up before a night at the whiskey dive bar (like Whiskey Thieves) or a beer-based dive bar (like Toronado). After all, what's vacation if you aren't eating and drinking well?

I really wanted to have some good Mexican while on the West coast, so we headed to the Mission District for burritos at Pancho Villa Taqueria. This place was big and bright, with super high ceilings and florescent lighting beating down on the grill and assembly line. It kind of reminded me of a bigger, more theatrical version of a Chipotle.

Unfortunately (and I really hate to say it), I'd take Chipotle over this place. My veggie burrito didn't have much taste to it -- the rice was mushy, the guacamole was bland. Rob said the shrimp is his shrimp burrito was perfectly cooked, but agreed about the blandness. I guess the salsa gods decided to punish me for my complaint, because the last bite had some kind of insane hot pepper that burned my mouth for the next half hour. Luckily the Mexican Coke with sugar cane instead of high fructose corn syrup helped to temper the pain a little.


Pancho Villa Taqueria
3071 16th St (between Caledonia St & Julian Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 864-8840

Another night we walked the two miles (uphill both ways... no, really!) to Rosamunde Sausage Grill for some cheap meats with crazy good reviews on Yelp. This tiny hole in the wall has a small counter with a display case and minimal seating. Most people take their sausages to go and enjoy at Toronado (where I had a fantastic Belgian style pale ale called Perdition.) We sat and tried to enjoy for a few minutes of peace first.

Anyway, I guess we got there a little late, because our top sausage picks were already gone (the duck with figs, and the wild boar with apple and spice). I tried the beer sausage with onions and sweet peppers, and Rob had the merguez (spicy lamb and beef) with onions and sauerkraut. My beer sausage felt lonely without its usual honey mustard companion; too bad I was already done with mine before I realized they had honey wasabi mustard dijon that would have completed the taste and then some. I really wanted to be hungry enough for a second one but these modest sized sandwiches were way more satisfying than I was expecting.


I will definitely return when I visit SF again... but early enough for the duck or boar this time!

Rosamunde Sausage Grill
545 Haight Street (between Fillmore St & Steiner St)
San Francisco, CA 94117
(415) 437-6851