Yip on NOPA

NOPA * 560 Divisadero St @ Hayes * San Francisco, CA 94117 *(415) 864-8643
Cuisine: Californian
Neighborhood: Hayes Valley

The Scene

First off, this place is total hipster chic. It has a great bar and an awesome mural of the neighborhood. Get a table in the loft so you can see those that want to be seen. The hipsters really go for that.

The Service

We sat down, and for some reason with the unseasonably warm temperatures in San Francisco, I was feeling extremely parched. Thankfully they have these large bottles they bring to the table to keep you well hydrated. You can barely drink to the bottom of your glass before they come by to fill it. It's like a little game. I went through 3 bottles before the night was through.

The Food

To start, my friend and I shared the goat cheese with pickled beets. Two of my favorite things: beets and goat cheese. I am obsessed with beets. I love beets. I consider myself a beet connoisseur. My friend Kelli has the most amazing beet recipe and a restaraunt has yet to surpass her ability. Unfortunately, for this helping, there were only three small half-sized beets with the goat cheese spread, and my mouth was watering for a beet smorgasbord! Why don't they just call it a beet garnish and get it over with?! *growl*

Next, my rotisserie chicken shows up. Holy Portion Control, Batman! This is why American's are so fat. They brought enough chicken to feed a small country. I definitely recommend it, but save your waistline and plan to split.

It’s a miracle there was room for dessert after chicken for six, but we settled on an unmemorable rhubarb tart. I also ordered a cup of decaf that came in an individual french press, which I love. I often like to have a coffee with dessert after a nice meal. You know, drag it out and enjoy a little more conversation with my date. And by date, I mean one of my gay boyfriends I used to work with. We had a little mishap with the milk, though.

Me: "I'll have a cup of decaf coffee with the lowest fat milk you have.” Waitress: "We don't have any milk." Me: "No milk?” Waitress: "No. The milk we have is extra thick" Me: (blank stare) “Extra thick?” Waitress: "Yeah, but I'll bring you half and half."

Yeah, ok, but I still have no idea what 'extra thick milk' is. My milk vocabulary consists of the assortment available at Starbucks, and I've never heard anyone order a triple venti extra thick latte.

The Bathrooms

An open shared trough-like sink and individual closet-sized restrooms with single toilets marked with “vacant / occupied,” but the kicker is that there is no door to separate this activity from the rest of the restaraunt. Which means, if you're sitting close to the back of the place, you're also sitting close to the sound of flushing all night. Is it wrong to want a door between my make-up application and my tuna tartare? If the country can have separation of church and state...

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In a spoonful, it's worth checking out. A good scene. Food is descent. Has some quirks, and maybe I'm alone on those. But, this blog is all about my reactions to those quirks. And every place has 'em.

Yip gives it 3 spoons