After a half day of perusing the Ferry Building Market Place (including lunch and triple espresso gelato at Ciao Bella) then a quick stop at Stonetown, I left our dinner dining options open (in the words of Tony Bourdain, No Reservations.. made for the evening). Since this was the last night for the S's, they wanted to dine with friends who resided off of Mission St so a reservation was made for the Peruvian restaurant, Limon.
I initially was a little apprehensive since I did do a rotation at SFGH many moons ago - there's a reason why the City's trauma center is located in the Mission. Since it was Halloween Eve, there were many revelers on the streets and the district did seem cleaner than when I attended school here. In Peru, Pisco is king so we started with Pisco based cocktails. My Chocherita (Pisco, ginger liqueur, prickly pear, Aperol and lemon juice) was actually pretty good.
We then started with several small plates including Veggie and carne Empanadas
Chicharron de Pollo or chicken marinated in soy sauce, aji amarillo and garlic
Anticuchos de Res or grilled beef hearts served with corn and fried yucca (my favorite dish)
Ceviche Limon with snapper, shrimp, octopus and calamari marinated in their house "leche de tigre" sauce. The little "shot glass" is filled with the leche de tigre and is supposed to be a good cure for a hangover. I can't vouch for it since I never overindulge... or at least regularly... okay, I get my fair share of hangovers but I've never tried it...
Seco de Costillas or braised beef shortribs
Pescado Limon or crispy fried snapper
Sweet Potato Fries (I guess there's no Peruvian language equivalent for French fries)
And the Carne a la Parilla or marinated and grilled hanger steak (as tender and flavorful as the best steak)
I also sampled a Peruvian brew, Cusquena which tasted like a Dos Equis
And we shared a bottle of 2009 Ochoa Granacha/Tempranillo blend
For those left with a little room after the savory courses, we also ordered a Panna Cotta de Mango and a Bandido or chocolate cake with dulce de leche ice cream
I have to say that the food was very good, especially the beef hearts and the hanger steak though the ceviche was also as fresh and good as I've tried in other restaurants. And if the Mission continues its neighborhood revitalization, we may make this a regular stop in our future Bay Area vacations.
Limon
524 Valencia St
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 252-0918
Lunch:
Monday - Friday: 12:00pm - 4:00pm
Dinner:
Sunday 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM
Monday- Thursday: 5:00pm - 10:30pm
Friday - Saturday: 5:00pm - 11:00pm
Brunch:
Saturday - Sunday: 11:30am - 4:00pm
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