Mariposa Cafeteria
Neighborhood: Potrero Hill
1599 Tennessee St
(between 25th St & 26th St)
San Francisco, CA 94107
Rated: ♣♣♣♣♣
Warning: This review isn’t for those of you watching the el-bees.
The good thing about being a native to San Francisco is that you find the hole-in-the-wall restaurants that only construction workers go to. You won’t expect much when you walk into this cafeteria style establishment, but the food will speak for itself.
The specialty at Mariposa is the roast pork ($8). The helpings are so enormous, you have to split it with a buddy or save the rest for an extra meal or two. Yesterday, we had 2 orders of the roast pork, 2 orders of chow mein, and an order of drumsticks - all split amongst 6 people. And, we ended up eating only half of that. The roast pork comes with rice, cabbage and lots of sauce. Rubbed with salt, pepper and lots of garlic, the meat is tender and juicy, never dry. The best part about the dish is the small crispy pieces of meat caked with seasoning. As for the chow mein and fried chicken wings, they’re pretty standard, but tasty nonetheless.
You can’t eat it at Mariposa often because of the high fat and salt content, but when you do, it sure is a treat. Just check out my pictures. Doesn’t it look delicious?