Update: MoMo’s – South Beach
760 Second St. (@ King)
San Francisco , CA
(415) 227.8660
See larger map and more nearby
VdV Rating: 4
Food: Ca/american
Ambiance: Casual
Cost: $$$
PRO: Food keeps getting better, great bar staff, heated outdoor seating, fun times
CON: Giants game crowds can be quite douch-ey
Yeah we’re on it like bacon on maple buns. Every 4-5 years we’ll revisit a place and update you with all the latest and greatest! Yep it’s been awhile since we last squawked about MoMo’s. I think that’s what happens with familiarity sometimes, don’t you? Familiarity breeds contempt, or something like that. It’s like, we go here all the time, we have to write about it too?! Hell, MoMo’s already occupies at least 6 hours each week!
Anyhoo, we like to think we helped Pete Osborne finance the recent remodel (ok, ok not that recent it’s, more like a year or so ago but it’s all relative, isn’t it when you really noodle on it?) ‘cuz we could be called ‘regulars’. Are you classified as a regular when the State of California sends you a tax bill for residing there? Anyway, Pete did a nice face lift on the spot. Guess it was getting a little long in the tooth (same goes for a couple regulars who will remain nameless. And toothless). They brought in some nice new colors on the exterior, new carpets and paint and complete clean-up in the dining room and new TVs, a big mirror and paint in the bar. Nice upgrade, Osborne! OK, enough, this isn’t Good Housekeeping and I’m not gay.
Crazy thing? After 4 years since our last review, many of the same people are still working here. Ya got the one-of-a-kind Paulie ‘No-Nonsense’ Cardinale as GM; Kenny ‘Big Daddy’ Hanlon, Daron ‘Cool Jazz’ Dunne and Gill ‘Happy Hour’ Gallegas still workin’ the bar like a male Coyote Ugly scene. Plus a whole passel full of cool chick bartenders including Jalabe, Shannon and Marina. Nice work, Paulie. Note: Gill really likes it when you come during happy hour with three of your d-bag penny-pinching friends and split the tab three ways on three different credit cards each round. Then tip him a buck. Makes for a fun and fulfilling career experience!
But y’know what? Apart from all the bar hi jinx, the food is damn tasty, and the chef, Damon Hall, doesn’t get the chefing respect he rightly deserves. He’s been cooking since he was 9 or something, has some Napoli pizza training, is always experimenting with new dishes, can cook on the fly and cranks out some quality chow that is some of the best and most consistent in the ‘hood. Check out the Creamy Cambozola ($12) baked in a flaky puff pastry and adorned (yes, adorned, I felt like saying that) with a sassy little fruit jitney. I mean chutney. This bundle of joy is about the size of George Costanza’s wallet and is this is my fave appy right now. Nice, simple, fresh and the cheese (if ya didn’t know what cambozola was, blockhead) is melted to perfection and just oozes out like lava. But lava you’d want to eat. And like lava that wouldn’t make your tongue melt. Yeah, he coulda used Brie but that’s for hacks. F’ing awesome, kittens! And if it’s not in pastry form, check for it in a Flat Bread mode. Same level of yummy-ocity. Order it with a side of Crestor (that’s cholesterol-lowering drugs, Festus).
Other faves include the Nicoise Salad (special only, hoping he’ll add it full time), Tuna Tartare with Crispy Wontons ($18), nice and chunky Ahi-grade tuna cut into nice chunks and not hidden with too many spices or mayo or anything. And the Wontons are crisp and big and drizzled with a nice soy/miso/something-or-other sauce. Their French Onion Soup ($8) is some of the best around, too. Nice and authentic.
And yeah, we’re pizza bitches if ya didn’t know. So typically we reserve our pizza-mongering for pizza places. Not some ballpark joint! But say hey, their Pizza Margherita ($14) and Pepperoni ($15) are both solid and even the pickiest of thin crust pizza bitches (who, us?!) will respect the cracker-crust thin crust, nice blistering, a little sog coming through from the fresh ingredients taste. Hint: Ask very nicely if Damon has real Bufala mozzy as an upgrade. Holy crap. Still hungry, ya fat cow? OK, try the Blackened Salmon with Andouille Jamabalya and Sautéed Corn ($21), an excellent dish that melds some outstanding spices and flavors and textures all into one scrump-dili-icious dish. Our fave entreé on the menu.
Oh yeah, and we’d be verklempt if we didn’t mention…kuzoo chorus please…THE JUICIEST NY STEAK DINNER IN ALL OF SF!? OMG WTF RUKM ($29). No you didn’t, Pete Osborne. Oh yes you did, you crazy mo-fo! Ya get Soup du Jour (yes, they once served me the wrong soup, and said ‘Soup du Jour, sir’. I said, not recognizing it as anything that resembled the soup I ordered ‘What the F is this’ (politely), and he said ‘Soup of the Day, sir’. a) Don’t call me sir. 2) OK, I’m not a retard dude, but that was comical. Anyway, ya get soup or salad (not Super Salad), a whopping 14 oz NY steak and a tasty dessert. Bam. I have not had it personally, but have sat next to, and drooled on people that are eating it and I’ve asked people that have and it’s a big fat thumbs up (up in the air, dirt bag).
So go. We warned ya about baseball season. You have about 127 days!
VdV Rating: 4
Hours:
Brunch: Sat-Sun 11:30a-4p
Lunch: Mon-Fri 11:30a-4p
Dinner: Sun-Wed 4p-9p; Thu-Sat 4p-10p
MoMo’s
760 Second St. (@ King)
San Francisco, CA 94107
Phone: (415) 227.8660
One Response to “Update: MoMo’s – South Beach”