Txoko restaurant, which opened this summer on San Francisco’s colorful Broadway, is all about the meat.
In fact, the restaurant, named for a traditional members-only Basque gastronomical society, serves up a menu of Spanish-inspired small plates — with only one “big plate.”
And that is a Flintstone-sized “Painted Hills Bone-In Rib Eye Steak for Two.” Two? Seriously, this could easily feed four. Though, my server told me on the night I had been invited in as a guest of the restaurant that she has seen two people actually clean the plate.
We’re talking a splay of meat slices on a platter that is essentially prime rib cut as a steak. It’s incredibly juicy, beefy, and rich as butter.
It’s a he-man portion. But wait — there’s more. The “big plate” also comes with two side dishes, each holding thick slabs of potatoes cooked in butter, of course, as well as heirloom tomatoes, and shishito peppers — ringed by a vibrant chimichurri sauce.
I’m not even a major carnivore, but even I was blown away by how magnificent this steak was. It’s $65, which is a pretty good deal compared to traditional steakhouses elsewhere.
It takes 45 minutes to cook this behemoth over mesquite — time enough to admire or blanch at the quirky decor of what was once the legendary Enrico’s restaurant.
Quite a few have balked at the funky vibe of this place. But considering it’s surrounded by strip joints, can one really complain too much?
I kind of liked the eccentricity of this dimly lit place that has a huge bar, bare dark tables, enormous wheel-like steel light fixtures, and a crazy mural by North Beach artist Jeremy Fish that depicts cartoon animals feasting on, um, animals. Yes, nothing like a little cannibalism to whet the appetite, hey?
Read more
