Out The Door (California St.)

This is the second time I've been to Out The Door and I'm only doing it to cross off one of the items on the 2012 7x7 list.  I'm really not a huge fan of Charles Phan or any of his establishments.  He has yet to wow me on any dishes or restaurants.  Better tasting dishes can be found elsewhere in the city.     

 Pork dumpling ($3)

It's so odd to me to see one steamed bun per order.  Most dim sum places are at least 2 per order.  Most people here seem to share one bun per table which is also strange to me.  The outside of the bun is quite fluffy and spongey, but the pork inside lacked any flavor.

The first time I came to Out The Door I ordered the beef pho and found it to be surprisingly tasty, but this time the broth lacked flavor and was too salty.  The noodles are extremely clumped together and its a struggle to loosen them up.  Probably the only tasty thing in this bowl of pho is the Nieman Ranch beef.  The beef is so tender and soaks up the broth well.

The usual pho accompaniments are served here, but they call it "aromatics" here.  For some reason, I find that hilarious.



#54 - Chicken porridge at Out The Door- 7x7's 2012 Top 100



The chicken porridge, jook, congee, or whatever you would like to call it, is really thick in consistency, which is a good start.  Also, the shredded chicken is surprisingly generous here, but has no flavor.  It's just a really bland bowl of porridge.

updated - Working my way through the 2012 7x7's SF big eat 100 things

Address:                        Out the Door
                                              2232 Bush St.
                                              San Francisco, CA

Type:                                Chinese/Vietnamese

Popular chomps:   papaya salad
                                               chicken porridge
                                               beef pho
                                               beignets

Chomp worthy:        nothing