Kate’s Kitchen What little charm and authenticity left in the Upper Haight is barely peeking its head above the noxious, briny waves of retail commerce, the crowds of shopping tourists fresh from Union Square, and the crusty punks badgering them for money while their slobbering dogs shit all over the

Irving Street Cafe I have a fondness for diners, especially ones situated in working/middle class neighborhoods with a self-contained quality.  These diners aren’t self-consciously retro or ironic, they just ARE.  I’ve previously made mention of a few diners here among the cyber-folds of Broke-Ass Stuart’s Goddamn Website (Art’s Cafe and

The Mission’s Red Cafe I few months ago, I “discovered” and subsequently wrote about San Jalisco in The Mission, a great spot serving fabulous and appropriately greasy Mexican-style breakfast all day.   Here’s another gem fashioned along similar lines: Red Cafe, situated in the same neighborhood a few blocks away on

Don’t order the specials Howard’s Café is a diner in the Inner Sunset.  Remarkable? Not particularly, and that isn’t to its detriment. American diners represent comfortable familiarity with a twist of that quality us State-Siders would like to think we invented: individuality.  They’re all very much alike, but with little

If you’re looking for a simple, cheap meal it doesn’t get much better than Hamburger Haven.  This place has been doing it right since the ’60’s. Hamburger Haven is great for nearly every meal of the day.  Their breakfast dishes, most of which hover around seven bucks, are plates of

Well, maybe it’s not your new favorite burger joint, but it’s definitely mine.  Whenever I’m craving a burger and fries on the cheap, Belly Burger is the place. Belly Burger gives off somewhat of an old school feel.  I think it’s the black and white checkered tiles and old school

If you’re an East Coast transplant living in California, then you’ve probably lamented the lack of greasy spoon diners in the Bay Area (no, Mel’s, IHOP, and Denny’s don’t count, though they are the greasiest).  Well, guess what?  Ole’s Waffle Shop in Alameda is here to fill the gap (with