Anna's BBQ & Teriyaki in San Francisco, CA: A Review

This little stretch of Ninth Street just off Market has a bunch of little Asian-run restaurants that are a good value, and run with more warmth and care than the area probably deserves given the yammering crankheads that camp out nearby and run up and down the street all day every day pulling hijinx. Among these is Anna's BBQ and Teriyaki which, in spite of the name, is best hit up for their Korean food.

It's basically a little American-style diner, but run by a Korean couple, and thus the menu is a mix of diner comfort food and more general Asian fare, with the specialties being Korean items like bulgogi and kimchee. Each day there's also a rotating $5 lunch special, usually a rice plate of some sort.

Breakfast is very solid and inexpensive. Their pancakes, French toast and omelettes are all better than average, and easy on the wallet. If I'm in the area I usually like to check the donut place across the street first to see what their daily $4 breakfast special is, but if it's something not to my taste (they make a pretty yucky cheese omelette) I'll head over here instead. The lunchtime diner selections are just average at best. The burger and fries are serviceable, but as basic and CostCo-caliber as it gets. The pork chops are probably the best bet if you want American diner food for lunch.

The thing to really check out, however, is the bulgogi, which is actually on special for $5 on Wednesdays. This is very thin shreds of beef marinated in some magical tasty sauce whose ingredients I'm not totally sure of, but there's onion and mushroom in the mix too. Served over rice, this is quite a filling and tasty lunch. You also get steamed veggies on the side. Other lunch specials are more iffy - Monday and Thursday are the teriyaki chicken plate, which suffers from the overly sweet and unappealing sauce that a lot of lower-end restaurants use. And Friday is a veggie plate that just looks like way too much veggie all at once for me.

There's nothing overwhelming on the menu, but for an area that's kind of a food desert, it's a nice option to have. Give the bulgogi a try, at least.