Tay Ho in Oakland Chinatown has an excellent version that is really crispy, full of goodies, and not greasy.

I've lived in SF for over 10 years but have been living in Oakland just over 12 months. While I agree that SF does not have a restaurant like Miss Ollie's (delicious), I would pick Pizzaiolo for some head to head competition. SF has restaurants that are similar to Pizzaiolo, and imho Pizzaiolo is better than most if not all of their SF counterparts. And generally a few bucks cheaper.

A thread on downtown Oakland lunch spots must include some of the Chinatown restaurants! I have a few favorites to get us started:

Gum Kuo - the fastest takeout in the area. I like their wonton duck noodle soup, porridge, and made to order rice rolls.

Shan Dong - although I am a fan of their handmade noodles, eating an entire order makes me too sleepy so it's been a dinner-only restaurant

Shanghai restaurant - probably my favorite in the area for non-noodle non-BBQ dishes. They go easy on the salt and it is one of few restaurants that serves shredded pork with bamboo. I like their rice cakes, and I buy their frozen dumplings and frozen sesame rice balls regularly.

BC Deli - the Vietnamese sandwiches in Oakland aren't as good as the ones in the Tenderloin. But I think their shrimp spring rolls are better than anywhere else.

Kim Huong - their pho broth is good to the last drop. I also like their spicy bun bo hue.

Tay Ho - my favorite for Vietnamese with the best crispy crepe I have ever had. The list of great dishes at Tay Ho is very long. They serve my favorite bun rieu too. I have tried most of the broths for the noodle soups and they were all excellent. Even their fried rice was excellent, and I rarely order fried rice since I can make it at home.

And I almost forgot! Peony has a $15 Peking duck lunch special on Thursdays. It takes a while to come out, so it's tempting to fill up on dim sum dishes while you wait.

Thank goodness I am not the only one who dislikes Ike's. At least Subway is somewhat healthy.

I am also a big big fan of Stag's. Best sandwiches in the area. There's a great variety to choose from, and the grab n go sandwiches have also wowed for $6. $6 is an amazing deal. Outside of Chinatown, the only other $6 lunch I have had is Rosamunde's. This week they had a brussel sprout salad that was similar to a Chinese chicken salad, it was perfect with the curry chicken sandwich.

Food trucks - I am over them. I will occasionally get a cupcake but the trucks haven't been changing their menus and I haven't felt the need to eat anything twice. Except for maybe the ricotta donuts at the comfort food themed truck.

I still do love Bakesale Betty's though and I am eagerly awaiting strawberry shortcake season.

I have been there for lunch several times and once for dinner with a group of 5. While lunch was very good, the dinner experience was phenomenal. We ordered everything on the menu and ate family style. This format showcases the wide range of flavors, each dish was delicious and unique. I couldn't pick a favorite as I tasted each dish once, then twice, and then a third time.

For lunch my two favorite dishes were goat curry and also dungeness crab soup with dumplings.

I feel lucky Miss Ollie's opened in this neighborhood and will be returning repeatedly.

Yes, I second Sue's comments on Cosecha. My single favorite item that I eat on a weekly basis is their salad. I have a hard time going anywhere else for salad during lunch. My other favorites are their crispy tacos on Tuesdays and their cornbread on Wednesdays. Their quesadillas rock but I would need to order a side dish to be full.

I had lunch at Ironside often when I worked in SF and the Carriage House features some items from Ironside's menu although not my favorite Ironside dishes.

I liked the lamb meatball sandwich and the fried oyster slider, although the slider was small and not a great value. The cucumber quinoa salad, a solid dish at Ironside, was soggy and bland at Carriage House. I will probably try it again in a month or two, but I don't think it will be as good as Stag's.

I like Au Coquelet in Berkeley, my favorite is their raspberry white chocolate cheesecake.

Stags Lunchette

Cosecha, although they are open saturdays and 2 nights a week for dinner.

Battambang Market on Eddy has never let me down.

+1 on the five spice ribs. The tempura coating was delicious and similar to a salt and pepper style coating, eg salt and pepper crab. Perfect with plain hot rice and veggies. I will return to have this dish again.

Cupola in the same part of the mall is also very good. I would go there if I couldn't get in to MY China.

My favorite in Oakland is Tay Ho, but I wouldn't order the shaking beef. Garlic rice, clams over rice, crispy crepe are all fantastic. I primarily go for lunch for their bun rieu and other noodles soups. The range of great dishes is better at Tay Ho than at Bodega Bistro, in my opinion.

I tried a number of cupcakes from different bakeries and found Cupkates to be the most moist and flavorful. The cupcake shop with the window on Union between Stockton and Grant is not very good. Kingdom cake or something like that.

I would definitely second (or third or fourth) Il Pollaio. Don Pisto's would also fit the bill for fresh wholesome food if you go with tacos, tortilla soup, etc. I also like Tuk Tuk Thai, as another post already mentions.

I was there about six months ago and thought it was excellent! Same as ever.

I really like Shan Dong in Oakland and usually order their pork chow mein or combo chow mein. It is a few blocks from both the 12th ST station and the Lake Merritt Station.

This is my favorite Vietnamese in the area. Their Vietnamese crepe is delicious and not greasy, just add the nuoc cham. Their noodle soups are great too - so far I've had their seafood noodle soup and bun rieu, both have excellent flavor that makes you want to drink every last drop of the soup. I also like the house special #10 that you reported on. Next on my list of items to try is Bun Cha Ha Noi. I haven't had any bad dishes yet, so I'll continue to explore their lunch menu.

Their pupusas are yummy, but I recently started to try some their other offerings since their menu is so broad. Their panuchos are excellent, larger than the ones in Mexico, but also more flavorful. They do not use achiote rub on the chicken, but it is otherwise an authentic rendition. They are my favorite version, better than the version at Mi Lindo Yucatan IMHO.

Also, they serve breakfast all day, and their chilaquiles are great. Two eggs over saucy tortilla chips with cheese and salsa and crema. Refried beans are good too.

I've eaten dinner here twice now and greatly enjoyed it both times. I am a big fan of Naked Lunch and Txoko's food is similarly flavorful and even more sophisticated on a plate instead of between two slices of bread. I would not hesitate to order to foie gras pinxto again and again. We also recently had a squid pinxto and an anchovy pinxto that were fabulous. On the small plates side, the seafood items have been my favorite. There is usually a seafood dish garnished with pea sprouts - I usually order it. What can I say, the chef has a knack for with pea sprouts in combination with seafood. After trying 3 seafood sandwiches and 2 seafood small dishes, I've never been disappointed.

At some point I want to try the main dish, usually steak, but thus far I can't tear myself away from the variety and flavors of the pinxtos and small dishes.

I noticed during my most recent visit that they've turned up the lights, which allowed me to see my gorgeously plated food. Can't wait for a third visit!

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Txoko
504 Broadway, San Francisco, CA 94133

I bought some from McEnvoy Ranch at the ferry building 2 weeks ago.

Perfect! I'm staying in the 17th and that is only one metro stop away. That was the golden nugget of information I was hoping for. Thank you!

Thank you both - looks like I need to plan for the possibility that some of the harder to find ingredients may not be available. I was thinking of smuggling in one or two leaves...

Thank you Parigi! Have you seen Thai basil at these markets? I'm trying to decide whether a curry should be on the menu, and Thai basil is a key ingredient in most Thai curries.

I'm visiting friends in Paris and am planning to cook a nice asian dinner for them. I'm planning the menu before I leave so that I can bring all the necessary spices/sauces from my pantry. However, I'm not sure about the availability of fresh asian ingredients in Paris. Are there markets that carry Thai basil, galanga, cilantro, ginger, chilis, and lemongrass? Where are they located and are they easy to access by Metro? Thanks for your help!

No, it's not a buffet, I ordered at the counter and sat down. They promptly brought a plates/silverware along with water and plate of onions, chilis, cucumber, tomato, and lemon.

This Indian/Pakistani place opened up last week in North Beach where Pasta Pomodoro had been located. They are somehow related to Naan N Curry, although I don't know the exact relationship. I stopped in over the weekend for a hearty lunch and was pleasantly surprised - the food seemed to be a step or two above Naan N Curry's, although the last time I ate at Naan N Curry was perhaps 3 years ago and my memory could be fading.

We had karahi gosht, ghobi gosht, tandoori chicken leg, and chicken seekh kebab. All were delicious and more flavorful than your garden variety tendorloin Indian dive. The naan was fluffy and extremely fresh. I'm definitely going to be getting takeout regularly.

Their current hours are 11am until 2:30 on weekends. In case anyone is out drinking til 2am...

Yum! Went there last week and had a delicious lunch. Lentils were super flavorful and delicious. And their baklava's definitely my favorite of any that I've had.

I haven't tried Pasta Gina, but Tony's in North Beach has great meatballs. You can get takeout - 6 big meatballs for $7 or $8.

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Pasta Gina
741 Diamond St, San Francisco, CA 94114

House of Prime Rib should fit the bill.

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House of Prime Rib
1906 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco, CA 94109

Wow, what an old thread! I can't believe it's only been two and half years since they opened. The other soup I like on their menu that you don't see a lot is their stuffed squid soup. It is more Chinese in style than tom yum soup, but I like it and wouldn't want to do all the work to make it myself.