Curio Bar & Restaurant

Curio is a bar and restaurant in the Mission, open for weekend brunch, and dinner Wednesday - Saturday.  

"People come together to eat, drink, and enjoy each other’s company. That spirit of community and fun drives our shareable menu - uniquely infused with international flavors from the grill, smoker and plancha.

The heart of Curio can be found at the bar, where seasoned mixologists create unique, culturally-infused cocktails. The drink menu is rounded out by a curated selection of beer and wine."

I haven't actually been there myself, but they seem to have a vibrant culture, with live music on weekend evenings, and a hoping brunch scene.  One night, I was browsing on Door Dash and it caught my eye, with tempting sounding dishes, a fun cocktail menu (available for delivery too!), and, spoiler, housemade cracker jacks (!!!).  Yelp reviews are strong (4 stars) for both brunch and dinner, so it was an easy decision to order.

I ordered through Door Dash, and my order arrived relatively quickly.  It was all well packaged, and decent.  I'd consider ordering from them again.

Side note: Stuck doing a lot of takeout and delivery these days? Want to try some free food and new pickup or delivery services?  Here are some codes for free money!

• Nextdish: ($10 off your first order) [ Delivery only ]
• Door Dash ($15 off, $5 each of your first 3 orders) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Caviar ($20 off, $10 off your first 2 orders) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Ritual ($6 off) [ Pickup only ]
• Delivery.com ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Grub Hub ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Seamless ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Allset ($5 off) [ Pickup only ]
• Nextdish: ($10 off your first order) [ Delivery only ]
• Uber Eats ($20 off - use code eats-lejw5 at checkout) [ Pickup or delivery ] 

Drinks

Curio has a great bar program, a key focus of the restaurant ... when you dine in.  Seriously, so many great sounding cocktails, like the Chupachabra with tequila, mezcal, passion fruit, lime, habanero, curacau, yellow chartreuse, and grapefruit bitters (!), or the Sphinx with bourbon, black applejack, pear liqueur, Swedish Punsch, sweet vermouth, Angostura bitters. They even have a great lineup for takeout ... at brunch.  But at dinner, the cocktail list is reduced to just two options: a mango slushy margarita, or this one, the "Lil Lilith".  I found it a bit surprising that their only takeout cocktails were both slushy drinks, which seem less takeout friendly.

Lil Lilith. $14.

"Lillet rose, aperol, gin, white peach, apricot, grapefruit, lemon."

My first order from Curio was at dinner, so I had the choice of either of the slushy drinks, and opted for the Lil Lilith.  While I wanted some of the others on the dine-in menu more than this, it still sounded pretty fascinating.

The packaging was well done, in an actually sealed bottle, with a Curio sticker on it.  I was impressed that it was even still quasi-slushy, even though it had been picked up 40 minutes prior.  I wonder if they partially freeze them, intending for them to melt during delivery?  

The drink was good, interesting as I'd hoped.  A bit sweeter and fruiter than I really go for, at least alongside a meal, but I think it would make for a great poolside slushy drink.  It was reasonably well balanced, with the assorted fruits and acidic components, along with the alcohol, nothing coming out too sharp.

I enjoyed having a fun drink, but, unless I was planning a beach or pool excursion (um, in SF? Yeah right), I wouldn't get this again, as it this didn't quite fit my mood.  Slushy, fruity drinks just aren't for dinner pairings in my world.

The bottle was quite full, and at $14, it really was a reasonable price, I've had many more expensive, considerably smaller, takeout cocktails from other places.

***.

Dinner

Curio is closed entirely on Mondays and Tuesdays, and serves only brunch (albeit until 5pm) on Sundays. Dinner is only offered Wed - Sat.

Sharable Bites

To get your meal started, Curio has a range of "Sharable Bites", which really are a fairly random set of items.  Lobster rangoons sit side by side on the menu with tuna tartare or deviled eggs, all of which have some unique components (those aformentoined deviled eggs have brie in them (!), and chile crisp, the tuna tartare has smoked pineapple, Ghost Town aioli, and wakame on top).  There are also bar favorites like chicken wings, and a healthy vegan spring roll.  And, um, drop the mike, Curio Jacks.

Curio Jacks. $6.

"Roasted nuts, seeds, salted caramel popcorn."

O.M.G.  That is all.  When I saw the Curio Jacks on the menu, I knew I needed to order from Curio, and I knew I needed at least one box of those jacks.  I was even more excited when I opened my delivery bag.  They really did come packaged in a custom Curio Jacks box.  And, yes, they really do put prizes in them (and, depending on your prize, if you take a photo and share it on social media, they donate to a charity in your honor).  Amazing.

Anyway, if you know me, you know that I absolutely adore popcorn of all kinds, sweet or savory.  To me, this was too good to be true.  Housemade caramel corn?  With salted caramel to make it a touch more interesting?  YES!

The popcorn was smaller sized kernels, not the larger "mushroom" popcorn that many commercial brands use.  The pieces were all extremely well coated in caramel, making them quite crunchy.  The caramel didn't actually taste salted to me, and was the kind of caramel that is right on that edge of being a very complex flavor, or burnt, and it was right at that line.  

The seeds were a fairly unique component, seemingly a mix of white and black sesame seeds, and pepitas.  They added more crunch, more depth of flavor, and the pieces were well coated in them too.  I think Curio could refine the flavor of this even further if they introduced miso into the caramel, the miso and sesame seeds would be a wonderful pairing.  I only found a couple peanuts in my entire box, they definitely were not a dominant element.

Since the pieces were all so well coated, it meant that a handful of this was really quite sweet.  And yet, I couldn't stop eating it.  After all, I had to look for my prize, right?

I wouldn't say this was the best caramel corn I've had, I'd prefer the caramel a little less on the burnt side, and I'd like a salty aspect (or miso perhaps), but, it was certainly good, and certainly gone within moments.  I made a mental note to order more than one box next time.

**** for box design and novelty, and for uniqueness with the seeds, ***+ overall.

(And no, I didn't get a prize, darn!)

Sides

I was kinda drawn in by everything on the small, 4 item only, sides menu.  Sweet potato tempura with gochujang aioli?  Sure!  And people rave about their smoked potato wedges with furikake ranch (yes, furikake!).  But it was the one non-fries item I most wanted: broccoli slaw.

Grilled Broccoli Slaw. $6.

"Dried cherries, desiccated coconut."

Ok, so I am not one to be all that excited about broccoli.  Generally, for me, there are two ways I enjoy broccoli: either simply steamed and served with decadent mac and cheese, or lightly blanched, and in the Whole Foods broccoli crunch salad (or other copy-cats).  Other than those two applications though, I'm pretty meh on broccoli, and although I used to like it raw when I was younger, I really don't care for it raw as an adult. 

But that Whole Foods broccoli crunch salad ... I went through a serious phase of addiction to it, and I still love it from time to time.  For the unfamiliar, it is still crispy lightly blanched broccoli, including chunks of stem, with dried currants, shaved thin slices of red onion, lightly candied cashews, bacon, and tons of mayo sauce.  It is this wonderful mix of creamy and crunchy, harsh and acidic and sweet, and entirely laden in fats (mayo, bacon, cashews).  It is not broccoli for a healthy person, I'll tell you that.  And I adore it, and any version like it.

So when I saw the broccoli slaw on the Curio menu, I was drawn in.  Now, mind you, I had no idea what it would really be like.  As a "slaw", it may very well have been shaved thin (it wasn't!).  It said it was grilled, which seemed both odd for a slaw, and unlikely to be what I'd want in a broccoli crunch salad.  But the dried cherries sounded kinda like the currants in my Whole Foods salad, and the coconut just sounded interesting, so, try it I did.

And I'm glad I did.  While this was nothing like my Whole Foods broccoli crunch salad, it was quite enjoyable.  Chunks of broccoli, fairly small florets, that yes, were grilled, and had a slight char and smokiness, but weren't too soft.  There was also shredded carrots and cabbage, and thinly sliced red onion, making it slightly slaw-like.  It was dressed in what I assume was a mayo base, although perhaps it was something more wholesome like yogurt, but I doubt it, as it didn't have a yogurt tang to it.  It was well seasoned with salt and pepper, perhaps something else.  There was tons of desiccated coconut on top, but strangely, I didn't really taste it.  I think it added texture more than anything.  

One thing that was missing was the dried cherries mentioned in the description.  I didn't find any, and I think those pops of sweetness would be a good addition (plus, they'd mimic the dried currants in my Whole Foods one).  I think some candied cashews, like in the Whole Foods salad, would also do wonders here to add some crunch, and go quite well with the other ingredients.

Overall, this was a good dish.  I hesitate to call it a slaw, given the size of the broccoli chunks.  I also hesitate to call it a salad really, the grilled nature of the broccoli made it seem more just like a side dish ... if that makes sense?  The ingredients were all well sized, in good balance, and it was well seasoned.  The portion was quite sizable for the $6 price, and it could easily be shared between several people, or made into a side for multiple meals.

I'm glad I tried this, but when it comes to broccoli salads, I do prefer lightly blanched, not grilled, broccoli.  ***.

Entrees

The entrees at dinner time are all about comfort food.  Coca-cola braised ribs.  Fried chicken strips or a sandwich.  Classic burger.  Mac and cheese, truffled, available either regular, or vegan (with cashew cream).  Oh, and a token salad.  No seafood.

Truffled Mac and Cheese. $16.
(Topping on the side).

"Vella bear flag brand sharp white cheddar, grana padano, truffled gouda, garganelli pasta, crispy parsnips and leeks."

I went straight for the mac and cheese (not the vegan one, although that sounded fascinating too).  It got good reviews, looked quite creamy in Yelp photos, and had crispy parsnips and leeks on top?  Sounded like a winner to me.  I asked for the crispy topping to be on the side so it wouldn't get soggy, which they nicely accommodated.

The mac and cheese was decent.  It was actually quite creamy, although a bit hard to see here.   The pasta was well coated, and there was plenty of extra sauce in the bottom.   The cheeses were a sophisticated blend of sharp white cheddar, gouda, and grana padano, which was a pretty punchy mix.  It was a mix that made me realize that while those are cheese I like to nibble on, they aren't really the ones I want in my mac and cheese.  It was quite flavorful though.  

Speaking of flavor, of course there was also the truffle element.  I think it was truffle oil, in addition to the tuffle in the gouda.  The truffle was intense, but it was certainly a truffle oil sort of intense, not a fresh truffle flavor.  I think it could be quite polarizing if you aren't into truffle oil.  

The pasta itself was well cooked, not too mushy, not too al dente.  Use of garganelli was a nice change of pace, and it held the cheese sauce well.  I really loved the crispy leeks and parsnips, not only for the crunch, but also the interesting flavor.

Overall, this was well made mac and cheese, creamy, well coated and well cooked pasta, but, the flavors were quite intense, both the cheeses and the truffle, and weren't quite what I was in the mood for.  If you like sharp white cheddar, and truffle oil though, seek it out.

***.