Spork Provides Good Food, Chuckles
Shakespeare once wrote: "There’s many a man has more hair than wit." We suppose the same scarcity of wit among men can be applied to wit among restaurants (and their restaurateurs). Even in our supposedly open-minded, free-thinking city by the bay, clever menus and the like are hard to find. Pizza Orgasmica never disappoints, and the menu at both locations of Cafe Gratitude is just, well, special.
But Spork takes whimsy to new heights, with the stellar cuisine to match. It's the brainchild of Neil Jorgensen and Chef Bruce Binn (veteran of Postrio, Delfina, Bix and Slow Club) and once you walk in the new Mission hotspot, there are plenty of little details to make you smile:
Above the door that goes to the old walk-in refrigerator, now used as a service area, is the original KFC sign Binn found in the attic. Old exhaust fans become artwork over the door leading to the kitchen.Other Spork highlights include the cast-iron fish, the raw fish ("a must for any restaurant these days"), the red lobster (hee hee) and for dessert, the pot brownie ("like a very good pudding cake").And then, of course, there's the namesake utensil that receives top billing in such dishes as Mussels and Pork With a Spork ($15). This hearty bowl of mussels steamed in Belgian beer is accompanied by mounds of roast pork resembling carnitas, smoked chile aioli and a topping of green beans.
A similar sense of whimsy peppers the menu, too. The In-Side-Out Burger ($14) is a deconstructed version of an American icon, designed to be eaten with a knife and fork. (I wonder if someone has ever patented a knork?) Lettuce and tomato are at the bottom, stacked with two patties, a bun, special sauce, Tillamook cheddar cheese and a dollop of onion confit. It's accompanied by irregular blobs of crisply fried smashed potatoes. Fortunately, the results aren't a joke; the flavor is great in that downscale, guilty-pleasure sort of way.
In the end, it's thumbs-up on all around for Bauer. He loves the laid-back atmosphere, the relaxed yet competent service and most of all, the excellent, serious food coming out of Binn's kitchen. KFC it ain't.
Witty Spork follows through on flavor, too [SFGate]
Spork [MenuPages]
Spork [Official Site]
