BB Bob's
We have been watching a new restaurant, BB Bob’s, go in on California Street for many months. We were excited because it is just blocks from Muffinville and it advertised steaks, hamburgers and breakfast served all day. It has an appealingly kitschy look, like a diner that had been a fixture of a neighborhood for years. After it opened less than two months ago I was immediately concerned because there was never anybody in there when we drove by in the evenings. Last night Vida and I couldn’t agree on dinner. I was offering burritos and she wanted latkes of all things. When she suggested BB Bob’s I was inwardly resistant but it seemed like it was the better option since getting home at 6:30 without dinner in the works was a recipe for disaster.
We walked in to a completely empty restaurant. The waitress greeted us and then strangely enough immediately asked if we wanted to watch T.V. She went to get the control before we could really answer. Maybe she just saw Vida’s eyes light up at the idea of eating dinner in a restaurant while watching the Disney Channel. It was slightly stressful since she didn’t appear to know how to work the T.V. and we were left with the remote and program listing trying to figure it out ourselves—I was definitely torn since going to a restaurant is sometimes the only time we have to eat and look at each other given our crazy meal situation on busy evenings. But, I let it go since Victor was quite enough to handle. He wouldn’t eat the Pirates Booty we brought to bribe him into cooperation and was insisting instead on holding on to his butter knife and pretending to cut.
The décor seemed to reflect a strong aesthetic affinity with Hamburger Haven without any of the nostalgic touches. There was a bar with stock restaurant supply wooden stools and non-descript wooden tables and chairs. There were Ravenswood wine bottles displayed on a table in the entryway and neon beer signs, some lit and some not. The waitress asked if we wanted anything to drink and I assumed that they actually had alcohol given all the paraphernalia but alas they didn’t have their license yet. I ordered a diet coke. I had a strong sense that we were in trouble as far as the food was concerned when I saw a jumbo jar of Coffee mate and Folgers coffee. I was actually a little incredulous that I would be seeing these things in a brand new restaurant in San Francisco. It’s as if the owners had never left the Richmond and fog had seeped into their brains permanently addling them to the passage of time and San Francisco as one of the restaurant capitols of the world.
I was starting to panic a little while reading the specials board. They advertised a “stuffed chicken” but they didn’t say with what, beef stew over rice and a Turkey Reuben Sandwich. The pressure was on to order since Vic had progressed to using the knives as drumsticks so I ordered Vida a rib eye and Victor some silver dollar pancakes. I inexplicably ordered the Reuben sandwich for myself since I don’t even like Reuben sandwiches and the menu had dozens of other choices. We drank our sodas, watched some Phineas and Ferb and waited for our food. Our waitress was gone so long I thought she had gone back to cook the food herself but she reappeared to talk to us. The first thing she asked was whether I had any other children and when I said no she stated as point of fact that I had to have another. I was confused until later in the evening when it was apparent that she thought Victor was a girl. When she found out he wasn’t she said it was fine that I had just two because a boy and a girl was the character for perfection in the Chinese language. Whew.
Vida was offered soup or salad with her dinner and she chose salad. It was a “mesclun” mix with a glop of Caesar dressing and a few red kidney beans. When the rest of our food came it was just as I suspected. Vida’s steak was thin and the plate came with some stock carrot, cauliflower and broccoli mixture. The French fries no matter what their origin were tasty enough. Vic’s pancakes tasted just like I-Hop and my sandwich was one of the tiniest things I’ve ever been served in a restaurant. Oftentimes restaurants with mediocre food will make up for it in volume but not in this case. It was edible but not by much. Vida however was in heaven with her well done steak. It put her in such a good mood she even ate some broccoli. Vic loved his pancakes so I just went with the happy flow and envisioned a cold beer and Judge Judy when I got home.
Lately I have been noticing that restaurants that I have wanted to try have gone out of business before I could get there. I hope that BB Bob’s finds a neighborhood following despite its less than stellar food but I have a feeling that it won’t last long.
Restaurant Total: 265
