Season Three, Episode Five: Restaurant Review: Nopalito

Nopalito
306 Broderick Street
San Francisco, CA 94117-2275
(415) 437-0303
Four out of five stars

NOPA (North of the Panhandle) has a lot of things going for itself. Officially part of Western Addition, NOPA was coined by the real estate smarties that wanted to push gentrification (and real estate value), and as a result, what was once an unassuming area of San Francisco, is now home to a bustling hipster mecca, with plenty of activities that cater to the hipster crowd (live shows at the Independent, 90s clubbing at Madrone’s), as well as a diverse selection of fine dining establishments that cater to different tastes and palates.

One of the many fine restaurants in the area is Nopalito, which means “little cactus (nopal)” in Spanish. It prides itself as a “vibrant neighborhood Mexican kitchen” that celebrates the “traditional cookery of Mexico”.

Being from SoCal, I consider myself not necessarily a “Mexican food connoisseur”, but I’d like to think that I know “authentic” Mexican food when I eat one. And this place isn’t quite it; and I think that’s the charm of it all. Nopalito is like the Mexican version of what an organic PF Chang’s would be like.

Ok, maybe that’s a bit insulting to Nopalito, but I guess what I’m trying to say is that this is not your El Farolito-type of a restaurant. By any means, I’m not trying to degrade Nopalito; The food is prepared fresh with local, organic, and sustainable ingredients, and the presentation is quite pleasing.

Speaking of food, some things to try while you are here: First and foremost, the Totopas con Chile (Tortilla chips, salsa de arbol, cotija cheese); they are to die for! As in literally, you’d feel that your artery is slowly clogging as you bite into the spicy chips dipped in sour cream. And then when you’re done, you feel like you’ve just lost a few years off your life (and you rationalize this by saying, “Eh! But those are the Depends years anyway”) but gained a few QALYs (and weight). That’s when you know that you’ve gotten to the good part.

And I know 7x7 has the Carnitas (long braised pork) in their list of the “100 Things to Try Before You Die”. I mean, don’t get me wrong, they were yummy, but if it were me, I’d put the Totopas in the list before their Carnitas. And there’s something about their Enchiladas de Mole con Pollo (Sauce of chiles, chocolate and nuts, shredded chicken, onion, queso fresco) that draws me to them; I get it almost every time that I go there. And recently, I had a taste of their Torta de Chilorio (Sandwich of shredded pork in adobo, jack cheese, onion and avocado), and it was pretty good (minus the avocado part). I know, I’m part of the 0.001% of Californians who do NOT like avocados, so sue me.

Another not-to-miss item: Margaritas! I know they’re not technically a “food item”, but they do make them really well here. A pitcher or two will come in handy while you’re waiting for the ridiculous line during the dinner rush, so I would suggest calling ahead of time to get on the “waiting list”.

Keeping up with the “gentrified” neighborhood of NOPA, the clientele is what you’d normally expect in a “hip and cool” San Francisco restaurant: San Francisco foodies, people that have the website “Stuff White People Like” as their homepage in their Safari browser, Quarterlife Crisis sufferers, and the like. On the other extreme, there are plenty of businessfolks who frequent this place, I’d assume because of the ease of parking (there’s a parking structure next to the restaurant), and the fact that the space itself is quite relaxed. And quite a few tourists too! Not Fisherman’s Wharf in magnitude, but I swear, every single time that I’ve been here, there’s always a contingency of tourists eating there. Maybe they have a coupon on the Visitor Guide?

Oh yeah, I’ll definitely be back. It’s around my neighborhood, the prices are reasonable, the margaritas are excellent, and it’s a nice spot to people watch.