Don Pisto’s, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

Don Pisto’s is quite literally the closest restaurant to my house. It’s a block away. It’s hard to ask for a better restaurant to be so close to, honestly. Indeed, let me count the ways:

1. First and foremost, the food. It’s good. No. It’s really good. It’s schmancy Mexican, which I like far more than standard Mexican fare. Regular Mexican food is heavy, greasy, and usually cheap. All of which can be great in the right mood. But what DP’s offers is upper class Mexican — a minuscule menu of gourmet tacos, creative appetizers, and a few mains. Plus sangria, wine, and margaritas. Everything I’ve had has been extremely tasty.
2. The service is always great. The entire staff is very courteous. When I make an order to be picked up — even my standard order that costs under $10* — they treat me like I’m a valued patron, like they know me. Which, though I’ve been there many times, I’m pretty sure they don’t. And one time, they kept me waiting for 15 minutes or so after they called me to tell me my table was ready, and they gave my friends and I a pitcher of sangria to apologize for the (additional) wait. It was awesome.
3. Brunch. They have brunch on the weekends. At said brunch, they have all-you-can-drink margaritas/sangria/mimosas for $17. You can switch between the drinks at will. I haven’t actually done it yet, but it seems soooo amazing. Also, brunch is amazing.
4. They have no sign. I once passed a guy on the street trying to give a friend directions to DP’s over the phone: “It’s on Union, and there’s a sign (looking around)… wait, there is no sign.” Nope, no sign outside. Which I originally took to be pompous San Francisco ridiculousness, but now I just find kind of endearing. Oh goodness, San Francisco has changed me…
5. Flour tortillas. They make THE BEST ONES EVER. I’m not even a huge flour tortilla fan in general — I usually go for corn. But here, I literally order flour tortillas to go because they are THAT GOOD.

Whew, sorry about that. I’ve been coming here for over a year and for some reason never managed to actually post about it, which bothers me surprisingly often. Now it’s out of my system. Only downside of DP’s: it’s loud. Like, can’t really hear your friends loud. It’s annoying, but totally worth it. Did I mention the flour tortillas?

Oh, and sadly, I’ve apparently been entirely remiss in my documentation of the amazingness that is Don Pisto’s and only have a few sad pics to share. I’ve got a couple good ones at brunch, but I’ve never photographed the consistently delicious fish tacos, or anything else. I will try harder, dearest blog.

*My standard to-be-picked-up order: Three flour tacos, chips, and guacamole.

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