I never have coffee or any other drinks to-go as if I’m in a hurry I just sit down for 5 min, drink, and then go. So one of my pet peeves is places that give you paper or plastic cups even when you emphasize that you’re going to drink it there. And it bothers me even more when I see that they have actual non-disposable cups hidden behind the counter. This is enough for me to X-list a place, as I find this practice unacceptable in such an environmentally-aware city as San Francisco, where plastic bags are not allowed, composting is compulsory and the city has detailed guides on what green products people should by. Beyond the green side of things, using paper/plastic cups also interferes with the taste of the drink. Even if it’s in a minor way, for places that pride themselves in having amazing gourmet coffee it’s a baffling issue.

So what’s up with you, coffeeshop owners and baristas of San Francisco? Why are you so fond of using paper and plastic? Are you allergic to dishwashing or what? Would you toss out your cups and plates from every meal at home? Maybe some of you do, which is kinda terrifying.

Pictured here you can see the waste produced by a meeting hiphapa, humin and I had the other day at Jebena (at least he plate was not throw-away, I guess it could have been worse). And as much as I love Little Bird, I also have to point a finger at them as one of the offenders in this despicable disposable cup trend. If you don’t want to be green, then at least be smart about your money. If I’m eating in, give me the option of a proper ceramic or glass cup so that you don’t have to buy new cups all the time, thus saving money for your business.

Anyways, back to our regularly scheduled Loin…

The thing about Thai House Express on Larkin isn’t that the prices are too high or that the food is bad (it’s often good), or even that their website has music on autoplay. It’s the fact the service has to be the absolute worst of any Thai restaurant in the city (or of any restaurant in general). It’s like they went out of their way to employ angsty skinny jeans-wearing art students who are working there in order to create some kind on conceptual piece as to how much crap you can shovel at a customer before they kill you with a chair.

My placement of THE on the X-List is well documented in two misadventures there that have led me to never go back. One incident was going there for a quick meal with evarels (aka tenderblogette) when we showed up as two. There was an empty table in the back which was a four person table. A group of three showed up two minutes after us and despite the fact there was no one else to seat, they chose to seat the group of three first. When we pointed out that we had arrived first, the server just ignored us. This put them on my do-not-eat-at list for quite some time as it was just so blatantly on our faces, I couldn’t really forgive it.

Some time later, on a quiet week day, I went there as part of a party of five. Once we had ordered, we noticed down on the menu that they charge a mandatory 20% gratuity on parties of 5 or more. Typically this is done to parties of 6 or more and it’s done at much swankier places than a basic Thai spot in the Loin. And 20%? WTF? 15-18% sure as that’s how it’s done in SF, but 20% is a bit excessive for a cheap restaurant.

Anyways, we ate a rather lackluster meal and they brought the bill which we then divided amongst the five of us with the exception of 17 cents in change that we didn’t think we had (they only accept cash) and hoped wouldn’t be a big deal. The server picked up the bill and the money and we commented that a mandatory 20% gratuity for a party of five was pretty steep. He just shrugged in this snide little way and said that’s what they did, then walked away. He came back a second later to inform us that the bill was 17 cents short. We all dug through the deep ends of our bags and bottoms of our pockets and miraculously gathered 17 cents in pennies. He took the bill away again only to come back in a huff and tell us that we could keep the 17 cents while he threw them at us. Stunned, we got up and walked out, never to come back again because really, there are tons of Thai restaurants in the neighborhood and much better ones nearby with truly unique foods and no bullshit from the servers. Despite getting placed on various “Best Cheap Eats” lists THE sucks and shouldn’t be gone to by anyone unless they hate themselves.

In the hazy border land where the eastern end of The Loin drifts in to Union Square and tourists often make that “wrong” turn up Post Street has sat Postrio. This 20 year-old restaurant has finally just shut its doors. And while food critics are abounding in platitudes, I personally think that it way outstayed its useful existence by say… a decade.

A sharp-witted friend of mine who lives in San Francisco has what he calls, “The X Policy” when it comes to eating out. Essentially, if a place gives him too much attitude or the food is completely off, he crosses it off his list of go-to places. His reasoning behind this is that due to the countless restaurants we are spoiled with in this town, there really is no reason to put up with any crap due to there being so many others to try. I agree with this to a large degree, but will sometimes try to go back and give a place another chance. Such was not the case with Postrio.

It was five years ago that my mother was visiting from her village in the outskirts of California. I wanted to take her to some place new and Postrio seemed like a good fit because hey, it’s mom and you gotta treat mom well when she’s visiting the big city. We showed up, dressed in casual/work clothes, the hostess looked us up and down and told us that maybe there would be a seating in two hours. I poked my head past her and saw an empty dining room (it was 6PM on a Thursday) and asked why she couldn’t seat us now to which she just responded that all the seats were reserved. I said nothing, gave her my, “this is the pinnacle of your pointless life” stare, walked out with my mom, and have never returned. As a side note, we walked up to Canteen where the waiter told us that they were full, but asked if we could wait because he thought he had a cancellation. He sat us in 10 minutes and we had a great meal, which has always been the case at Canteen, which, despite the shoebox size is a well run and delicious operation.

My big problem with Postrio is that it always appeared to be a place whose marketing people said it was classy, so guys in striped shirts who pound Red Bull n’Vodka assumed: “Damn, that’s one classy place. Let me fire up the Mustang GT and go pick up Ashley for a night out!” To me, from my snubbed viewpoint at the window, it looked like a glorified part of the lobby to the hotel in which is existed. This is in sharp contrast to a place like Fleur de Lys which I would gladly wear my best suit and polish my shoes for. I find the allusion in this article to American Psycho couldn’t be more apt for Postrio. The place was all attitude and while the article was far too positive, I loved this comment:

I expect every restaurant to get this treatment when they spiral into mediocrity, then go out of business.

While Bauer’s article also nods towards some of the restaurant’s failings as of late, it is generally complementary as well. Of course, leave it up to the comments to posit more succinct descriptions:

Postrio: Over-rated, pompous, over-priced.

Whether it ends up being a wine bar or the very fitting vacuous space along Post Street that it is, we’ll see what happens in the coming months. Whatever the case, it won’t be missed by me. Now, who’s up for Chutney?!!