San Miguel (SF)

[Pan]

I was part of a party of 5 for dinner at this Guatemalan restaurant tonight.

In short, the place is great!

We had the following savory items (numbers, dish titles, and parenthetical English explanations from the menu):

7. Frijoles Negros Volteados (Refried black beans, with two pieces of cheese guatemalan style)

8. Guacamole

17. Salpicon (Chopped beef meat [really, stringy stew beef], with sour orange, onions, cilantro & mint leaves)

20. Pollo en Mole

27. Camarones Asados (Charbroiled Prawns with Chimichurri Sauce)

33. Enchilada Guatamalteca (Fried corn tortilla, chopped meat and vegetables, onions, sauce, hard boiled egg & dried cheese on top [also beets])

35. Tamales de Chipilin (Small corn tamale with chipilin leaves [which I found reminiscent of sarsaparilla])

We were also provided with excellent artisanal chips (tostaditas), one mild pico de gallo, and one really fiery one!

Everything was delicious, with the Enchilada (my order) probably the best and most unique of the lot. The Chimichurri on the Camarones Asados was not at all the same as the sauce I've had in Peruvian and Argentinian restaurants, but instead, the shrimps were grilled on a skewer with aromatic herbs without a wet sauce remaining. The Tamales de Chipilin were quite interesting and worthwhile and not really like anything I've had before.

Some excellent Guatemalan beer (I forget the name, but it was the one the waitress recommended) and some Tamarindo (which I found overly sweet, because I prefer for the sourness of the tamarind to come through more) were drunk.

It was too close to closing time for them to prepare Platanos for dessert, but we had some very soothing Atol de Elote, rather a sweetish corn soup I felt somewhat analogous to dessert soups served in some Chinese and Malaysian restaurants as a kind of digestive.

The waitstaff were extremely nice and spoke very clear Spanish and a little English. A knowledge of at least basic restaurant Spanish is helpful.

The decor and music at the restaurant were charming.

The total cost amounted to $100 including tip.

No-one should be deterred from going based on any false notion that Guatemalan food is very similar to Mexican food, because it is quite dissimilar in many ways. Go and enjoy!

From their menu:

San Miguel

Fine & Authentic Guatemalan Cuisine

3263 - Mission Street [between 29th and 30th Sts.]

San Francisco, CA 94110

Phone (415) 641-5866