A Taste of Spain in the Heart of Broadway in San Francisco
Txoko restaurant, which opened this summer on San Francisco’s colorful Broadway, is all about the meat.
In fact, the restaurant, named for a traditional members-only Basque gastronomical society, serves up a menu of Spanish-inspired small plates — with only one “big plate.”
And that is a Flintstone-sized “Painted Hills Bone-In Rib Eye Steak for Two.” Two? Seriously, this could easily feed four. Though, my server told me on the night I had been invited in as a guest of the restaurant that she has seen two people actually clean the plate.
We’re talking a splay of meat slices on a platter that is essentially prime rib cut as a steak. It’s incredibly juicy, beefy, and rich as butter.
It’s a he-man portion. But wait — there’s more. The “big plate” also comes with two side dishes, each holding thick slabs of potatoes cooked in butter, of course, as well as heirloom tomatoes, and shishito peppers — ringed by a vibrant chimichurri sauce.
I’m not even a major carnivore, but even I was blown away by how magnificent this steak was. It’s $65, which is a pretty good deal compared to traditional steakhouses elsewhere.
It takes 45 minutes to cook this behemoth over mesquite — time enough to admire or blanch at the quirky decor of what was once the legendary Enrico’s restaurant.
Quite a few have balked at the funky vibe of this place. But considering it’s surrounded by strip joints, can one really complain too much?
I kind of liked the eccentricity of this dimly lit place that has a huge bar, bare dark tables, enormous wheel-like steel light fixtures, and a crazy mural by North Beach artist Jeremy Fish that depicts cartoon animals feasting on, um, animals. Yes, nothing like a little cannibalism to whet the appetite, hey?
