Volcano!

Volcano

            The next stop on my journey takes us to the Outer Richmond. Located north of Golden Gate Park on 19^th Avenue and Geary Boulevard, Volcano provides San Francisco a taste of some great Japanese curry. There is a huge variety of curry, which is made up from a range of spices such as turmeric, coriander, and cumin. Curry has been a popular dish around the world like different parts of India, Thailand, Bangladesh, England, and Japan. For a quick history lesson, Japanese curry was brought over by the British between 1868-1912, when the British were also occupying India. They brought it over to Japan, and curry has been in Japanese cuisine ever since. But that’s enough history for one day. I am here to talk about another food spot that you should definitely check out.

 

            A buddy of mine told me about this place last week and said how it has pretty good curry for an affordable price. He wasn’t lying. When I walked in, I saw a restaurant packed with people face filled in curry. I even spotted a few people sweating quite profusely. I knew right away that this place could be packing some heat. 

The set up of the restaurant is you walk in, order in the back, and then you seat yourself. Although it seems like a good system, it tends to get quite busy, so you might see yourself waiting to find a seat. You’ll definitely have to hawk out some tables and anticipate when people will finish or else someone will swoop in, and you’ll end up waiting longer.

But before we get into that, I want to tell you about their menu. At first glance, what caught my eye were the four levels of heat offered: mild, medium, hot, and volcano. Even though I was hesitant at first, I definitely did not want to go the safe route, so I decided to at least go with hot. However, I knew for a fact that wouldn’t choose volcano. It was pretty hot out that day, and I wasn’t really trying to sweat like the people that I saw when I first walked into the restaurant. 

The menu actually has a good variety of meat as well as toppings to go along with their curry. They had chicken, beef, pork katsu, fried shrimp, and my favorite crispy chicken katsu. All these main dishes range from $5.45-$7.25. What a deal! What sets this place apart to me from most of the other curry restaurants are that there are a variety of toppings available to take your curry to the next level. There were toppings like boiled egg, cheese, jalapeno, sausage, zucchini, and potato croquette. Their menu also had other food such as sandwiches, mini sandwiches, noodles, and rice plates.

MENU

Personally, I decided to get the hot chicken katsu curry with cheese, jalapeno, and potato croquette. Along with that, I also wanted to try the mini spam katsu and mini teriyaki mahi mahi sandwiches. Both sounded delicious and each cost less than two dollars so why not? Yeah, fried spam may not sound the healthiest, but I couldn’t resist. I was able to find a seat fairly quickly and the food came out pretty fast. The portions were respectable and definitely worth what I paid for. The chicken katsu was exactly how I like it – hot and super crispy. The steamed vegetables were delicious and croquette was very crisp as well. The potato croquette was on point, and the curry was pretty spicy but not unbearable. The heat definitely started to kick in when some smart guy closed the door when he left. This made it worse because now there was absolutely no wind coming from outside. At this point, the curry was getting pretty spicy. I’m not going to lie; I was sweating just a little bit. Good thing Volcano offered free self serve ice water. I was refilling my cup constantly!

All in all, I had a good experience at Volcano. The food was solid and the price was well within my budget. Volcano has certainly been added to my list of places that I will keep on visiting. As much as I think I could have made the food myself if I had the time, I don’t regret going there. I will be going back here many more times to try out new combinations of meat and toppings to go with my curry. The only drawback to Volcano isn’t the restaurant itself, but the parking! Since this is on Geary, if you try to come here during peak lunch and dinner hours, good luck. It wasn’t too bad, but it took me some time for sure. But don’t let the parking problem stop you from going here though. This place is definitely worth the trip. Bring your friends or bring whoever loves curry. With the combination of food quality, variety, and price, I think you guys will enjoy this spot.

Like I’ve said before, if you end up liking or loving this place, don’t forget to spread the word. If you have time, comment on my blog about your experience whether you liked it or not. I would love to hear your opinions! And if you have places to recommend, let me know!

Batter UP!

On my mission to seek an awesome pig-out spot, I was not sure where to begin. In order to implement some sort of structure to my blog, I decided break down food spots by their geographic location in San Francisco.

My first stop on this great journey of discovery is Batter Up located in the Mission Terrace district. This literal hole-in-the-wall is located on Geneva and Mission Street. For the people familiar with the area, it is right next to the Popeye’s. Potential patrons can easily see this spot by keeping an eye out for their one of a kind Batter Up mural, a black and orange themed mural that pays homage to the world champion San Francisco Giants.

Batter Up Mural

Anyways let’s get to what we came here for, the food. Who knew that corn dogs could be so darn delicious? But these are not just any run-of-the-mill Hot Dog on a Stick corn dogs or the ones we find in our grocery’s freezer section. These are legitimate gourmet sausage corn dogs.

One of the first things you look at when you get there is a big black chalkboard menu describing all the different types of delectable meat, cheese, and desserts. These gourmet meats include juicy Cajun turkey, chicken apple, spicy Louisiana hot link, smoked bratwurst, and succulent lemon chicken. When you see these choices, your mouths will begin to water profusely. Say goodbye to those ordinary and no good mystery meat ballpark franks. You will not get those over here.

Batter Up Menu

As you look at the other side of the menu, it says that they can deep fry sticks of cheese such as hot pepper jack, gooey mozzarella, or cheesy cheddar. But the piece de résistance of Batter Up is the triple-play. This is where you can create different combinations in one corn dog like having three different types of sausage or even two pieces with a block of cheese in the middle! These corn dogs are fully customizable to suit everyone’s flavor palette. Now I dare you to tell me that this does not sound delicious. The combinations are practically endless! All corn dogs are made to order to ensure that they come out fresh and piping hot.

My favorite sausages are the Cajun turkey and Louisiana hot link. To me, these were the sausages that stood out from the rest. These two sausages were so flavorful. I also love spices, so choosing these was a no-brainer. I definitely recommend getting these two flavors when you all decide to go.

Batter Up was a great first spot to visit for my blog. Thanks to my friends, who were the ones who told me of this place, I have found an amazing spot to tell all of you. The owner is definitely capitalizing on the exploding food truck/stand market here in San Francisco. When you walk up to the stand, it is so inconspicuous. It is a plain service window next to a Popeye’s and behind a Muni bus stop booth. This place is great because it is affordable at rate of around $3.50 per corn dog. But before I forget, if you really want to get something special, make sure you try the Big Barry or The Freak. These are definitely some delicious options as well. Batter Up is not only a tribute to corn dogs, but also to the strong San Francisco Giant fan base. One of our most beloved sports teams has become an inspiration to a delicious San Francisco establishment.

All of you need to get over here as soon as possible. If you like corn dogs, sausages, cheese, or just great food in general, this place will not disappoint. This place has changed my perspective on corn dogs, and once you realize how awesome the food is here, don’t forget to tell your friends!