#64 Paper masala dosa at Dosa

A few nights ago, Brian and I went out for dinner and a movie. The ideal spot for this combo in San Francisco is the Sundance Kabuki theater in Japantown and Dosa, across the street on Fillmore. Let me explain.

Kabuki seems a little like the soup-Nazi the first time you go, because you have assigned seats (in a movie theater!). The more you go, however, the more you realize that it's awesome. You can buy tickets with reserved seats ahead of time online! Some theaters are 21 and up and you can drink alcohol while you watch the movie! You feel like you're somehow cool and indie because the theater is peripherally associated with Robert Redford and the film festival! And did I mention that you can pick out your seats ahead of time online?

At 7:30pm, we saw the new Coen brothers' film, A Serious Man, which Wikipedia helpfully calls a "drama/dark comedy." Not my favorite of their oeuvre, to be honest. When the movie was over, we walked across the street and had a late dinner at Dosa. The Dosa on Fillmore (they have another location in the Mission on Valencia) opened relatively recently, and is a beautifully decorated restaurant. It's almost too cool for me and B to hang out at, but the friendly service and the excellent food would make anyone feel at home.

We started with the dahi vada, a filled dumpling served cold with yogurt, mint, and tamarind sauces piped in the most exquisite pattern on top, as well as the idli sambar. (I just got a new South Indian cookbook from a friend of B's, and was sad to learn that, though idli has very few ingredients, I need a special-shaped steamer in order to make my own at home!) For main course, we moved on to finger food: channa served with an immense and delicious poori and, the course we'd been waiting for since we read about it on the list, the paper masala dosa.

Dosas come in many different flavors and fillings and spices and shapes. The paper masala dosa is a thinly rolled but very long cylinder (between 18 and 24 inches or so, i.e., quite impressive), empty on the inside but with the traditional spiced potato mixture served alongside in a bowl. Grab a piece of dosa, pick up some potato with it, dip in one of the three sauces (I like to dip into both the coconut and the sambar), eat, and repeat. Once again, we were too full for dessert (we even took some channa home with us), but Indian sweets are not usually my favorite anyway.

All this food, including two mango lassis, tax, and tip, came to $64. Affordable, chic, and located across the street from the movie theater. Like I said, a perfect date!

#4 Spicy crab and grits at Front Porch

We kept hearing good things about Front Porch, a staple in the Mission, but hadn't ever been there. A few months ago, we'd eaten with A&K and D&R at Good Frickin Chicken down the street on 29th, and had noticed Front Porch (which does in fact have a porch, complete with several rocking chairs). The rocking chair is a prominent theme at the restaurant, even animated on their website.

It's a pretty good logo, isn't it? Spurred on by the list, and by the recommendations of B's sister and B's work friend, we ate dinner there last night.

We started with the recommended dish from the list, which was supposed to be spicy CRAB and grits, but which was really spicy SHRIMP and grits. Maybe it was a seasonal change? I'm not sure, but they sure did taste good. We also had fried okra—you know how I feel about all things fried—which was good, but much improved with additional salt. We also had some delicious complimentary cornbread.

For dinner, we had the fried oyster po'boy (very good cornmeal-based batter) served with sweet potato fries, red-beans-and-rice-and-andouille-sausage, and fried chicken. Some people told me that the fried chicken should have been list-worthy, and I agree that it was exceptionally good: very moist on the inside, with a crispy, well-flavored crust on the outside. In case you hadn't gathered, the chef at Front Porch is well-versed in using the deep-fryer.

By now you're probably thinking that B and I are total pigs. We promise it wasn't just us downing all this food! We had a total of five people, and even then we were too full for dessert.

There'll just have to be a next time, I guess. Fry, fry again!