A Non-Mission Mission Spot

Sarah G FINALLY joined the 25 Club (ok, one day after me…) and to celebrate five of us ventured to the place of her choosing, Andalu. Located on 16th between Guerrero and Valencia, this place is smack dab in the middle of a hoppin’ Mission district block. As I stepped inside the door, I was overwhelmed with the aroma of quality fried food. I got pretty giddy as I eyed the plates as I made my way to the upstairs table.

Andalu’s shtick is small plates, and not of one specific genre or geographical region that I could glean. The menu is bordering on overwhelming (but only because I wanted all of them): tartars, short ribs, sliders, mac’n’cheese, fondues, salads, fries, bacon wrapped pork, fish… the list goes on and on; each averaging about $10 a pop. The server advised 2-3 plates/person which I would disagree with; the small plates – to Andalu’s credit – or more “medium” in portion and 1-2 per person is plenty.

The ladies and I shared about six plates. Once the “ooohs” and “ahhhs” died down and the eyes returned from the back of the head, I took a straw poll about the favorites. The fondue (served with sliced pear and crispy bread) and the Mac’n’cheese came out tops. Did you know you can bread and deep fry mac’n’cheese? I did not. Picture a mozzarella stick filled with mac’n’cheese and you have an idea of how Andalu does it. Entirely unexpected and so delicious.

I’ve gone on many a rant about the Mission district but Andalu gives me renewed optimism about the neighborhood as a whole. As home to such destination places like Delfina, Range, Beretta, and others, the “professional” food critics devote all their admiration and attention here. My opinion is that, generally speaking, the hot Mission spots we read about daily in the Chronicle offer pretty much the same thing at the same quality in the same atmosphere. Before I get carried away (again), I want to conclude by saying that while Andalu does follow the small plate trend, the offering is entirely different than its neighbors and exists in a category of its own.

Lastly, as we walked out, the birthday girl stated Andalu was Top 5. As her friends, we could not have asked for more.