The Poor Man’s El Pollo Loco
North Beach a half-buried memory
Rudely stirred awake by stray items found in unpacked moving boxes
A business card
La Parrilla Grill, a fast food joint
Where Broadway and Columbus intersect
Holding up the corner between City Lights Books and Wells Fargo
Charbroiled chicken lacking in taste
Boiled corn on the cob wrapped in greasy aluminum foil
Corn tortillas free of moisture, also hidden in foil
The poor man’s El Pollo Loco, without the flavor, good for a quick bite between beers
Captain Cool told me once that he used to buy buckets of La Parrilla chicken
To feed the starving poets of North Beach
I’ll tell you about Captain Cool another day
February 29, 2008 at 3:13 pm
I think no comments yet because everyone is trying to figure out what the not-so-poor man’s El Pollo Loco would be…
But speaking of poor man’s chow in North Beach, what happened to that Basque place in the basement near the thing next to the place you probably went to that time?
All I remember is one Friday night. It began a trip into House of Shields, my usual bar while up there, sufficiently south of Market and therefore a good place to hide from my brother bankers on any trips where I was obliged to visit my boss. And me once asking about Basque restaurants there, because they are always good places to meet family, and I was meeting one. And the one guy saying that there were two, one in Soutn San Francisco, and the other a veritable beatnik holdover that keeps people from starving…
Naturally, I scuttled my plans with the family, and went to wherever-it-is, I think a little bit north of the Pyramid and east of Columbus. Scruffy but palatable food for something like $2.50 a plate—in Y2K dollars!
February 29, 2008 at 3:28 pm
It’s a Hungarian joint now, Joseph, called Cafe Prague. Very popular with the poets for its cheap eats and poet-friendly atmosphere.
March 1, 2008 at 9:08 am
Joseph, sounds like you are referring to the Basque Hotel on Romolo Alley, a half block off Broadway & Columbus. Their restaurant closed years ago; there is just a bar now. Many folks in SF who crave those luscious affordable big meals now head to the Basque Cultural Center in South SF.
Back in the early 80s, I ate dinner at the Basque Hotel on Romolo with several relatives. I remember a huge platter of meatballs dubbed “appetizer.”
March 1, 2008 at 10:06 am
Yeah, L is right, Joseph. It probably was the Basque. The decaying residential hotel is still there but the restaurant closed down ages ago. It’s sandwiched between a strip club and the Beat Museum.