Sunday, November 06, 2005

Tommy’s Joynt, A Meat Lover’s Dreamland

After spending a day of only eating only a rock-hard Nature Valley granola bar, I was starving. I wanted (say the following in a deep and husky tone): "meeeeat."

For dinner, I moseyed on down to Tommy’s Joynt, a notorious restaurant vilified by my vegan friends, but generously lauded by websites ranking the best cheap eateries in San Francisco.

As I entered the swinging saloon-style doors, I was greeted with a line of patrons snaking around the bar. Great . . . My stomach was not willing to wait any longer than it had too.

However, there are benefits to waiting in line at Tommy’s Joynt. One of them is watching the theatrics put on by the restaurant-servers as they slice and serve the plates of roasted meat. It is mesmerizing to watch and hear their carving knives clatter and crisscross as they sweep across the face of a hefty roast.

I ordered a pastrami dinner plate and my companion ordered the famous buffalo stew with a side of coleslaw.

I have never tried buffalo before, and I have to admit, the thought of eating buffalo was just a tad abominable to me. When it comes to trying different types of meat, I am as narrow-minded as they come. I guess that is ironic though, since I have always been a rapacious meat-eater.

When our orders arrived, I was disheartened by the thick white pieces of fat interspersed in the pastrami. However, the pastrami was well-salted and seasoned, and very (say the following in a deep and husky tone) "meeeeaty." I also daringly snuck a bite of the buffalo stew, and was taken aback by the fantastically melded flavors in the tomatoey gravy. Plus, the stewed buffalo meat did not have a strange, biting aftertaste like lamb, but it tasted just like plain ole' beef. Therefore, the stew ranked pretty well in my book.

The coleslaw, buttered bread buns, mashed potatoes, and sliced "all-you-can-eat-from-the-communal-barrel" pickles were perfect accompaniments to my meal. Shoot, if I could just eat those pickles for dinner, I would be more than satisfied.

4 comments:

  1. Gee, you are a passionate eater.

    I'd be curious to see what you write about LA, as that's where I live.

    I never knew food blogs existed but I might incorporate the idea into mine.

    Now I must think aobut eating buffalo....

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  2. Ha ha! Thanks for the compliment about my "passion" -k-! There are many food blogs out there, and they are very fun to look at--if you want to be perpetually hungry like I am.

    As for L.A. postings, I am heading down there for Thanksgiving, so keep on visiting for those postings.

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  3. OMG! I remember Tommy's Joynt from growing up in the Bay Area!!! Only been there once but I remember having the buffalo stew over spaghetti.

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  4. Pam! I hope that my post was a nice "trip down memory lane" for you. Mmm-mmm! Hot stew over spaghetti sounds terrifically delicious!

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