El Trebol

3324 24th Street

Tel: 415-285-6298

I have steered away from writing about ethnic eateries in the past, largely due to my own ignorance and prejudice. But I had the opportunity recently to meet a doctor and a young attorney from Mexico City for a 'business' lunch in the Mission. Without thinking twice I agreed to meet them at El Trebol.

Located just steps from the BART station at 24th Street, this small authentic restaurant in a bland storefront seemed like the perfect place to eat and talk business with the guys I was joining. The restaurant is made up of two small rooms joined haphazardly and unevenly with just over a dozen tables. The linoleum floors are well worn, the walls a basic whitewash white, there are a few plants scattered around, and a wall mounted jukebox that played music that me feel as though I was actually in a neighborhood joint in Mexican City. I walked in the front door and found my lunch mates immediately, and was greeted by a matronly lady with a menu in one hand, a glass of water in the other, and a huge warm smile of welcome.

We were on a tight schedule and the doctor who is a regular here warned that it's a true 'Mom and Pop' place and takes forever to get the cooked to order food, so I followed the lead of the two I was with and ordered the pollo frito, described on the brief menu as fried chicken with rice, beans and salad. Doc ordered the chile relleno and the young lawyer ordered the salpicon, described on the menu as chopped beef with rice, beans and salad. We declined an offer for Cerveza or wine, and ordered sodas which came in old-fashioned bottles and plastic glasses with a handful of ice.

And we waited, and waited. And waited.

The place filled up, the language was Spanish, and the pace was slow, but it was relaxing and comfortable. The crowd was a diverse mixture of people from the neighborhood, most looked like social service providers, but kids, UPS drivers, letter carriers and even yuppies were to be found. I watched the single wait/bus lady working confidently and slowly, and then saw the single occupant of the kitchen, an older Latino man with a stack of orders, plodding his way through each with resolute dignity and aplomb. He was making each item to order, not a thing appears to be pre-cooked, and our wait proved how good his fare is.

Before each of us appeared a large platter of what was really delicious food, truly well prepared and fresh. Fernando, the drop dead handsome young attorney, had ordered a side of fried plantains, not on the menu, and they served as an appetizer and dessert throughout our meal. They were excellent, a taste and treat I'd never had before. My chicken turned out to be a boneless, skinless breast weighing close to a pound, seasoned with tangy and sweet/hot spices, and surrounded by really great rice and beans, and a good, simple fresh salad perfectly dressed with a citrus vinaigrette. Francisco, the young doctor who gives so freely of his time to the Latino and HIV community, shared a bite of his chile relleno, fantastic, and so did Fernando share his salpicon, a dish I've never tried, but will order my next visit.

Throughout our meal, the jukebox yielded haunting Latin torch songs, and sizzling Mariachi music, people chortled and guffawed happily, and we enjoyed the food, and ourselves almost forgetting the business we had come to discuss. The 'kicker' to this experience was when the hostess presented the check and I saw that each entrée was $3.75. I almost fainted; my goodness, this is the bargain of San Francisco: great fresh food, perfectly prepared and priced from another time. The restaurant also features a selection of Nicaraguan food including the salpicon, and outside the specials nothing on both menus is over $3.75. The food was all delicious, the atmosphere; ambient, fun and relaxing; the prices are truly gravity defying. The only drawback is the snails pace of actually getting what you order, but I highly recommend El Trebol.

Stu Smith

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