AK BBQ
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Address: 820 Clement St, San Francisco, CA 94121
Visited on June 22, 2024
Comfortable, yes, cozy, probably no--this place provides an experience that is pretty close to that of an average, low-priced, comfortable restaurant in a random city in China at 10pm. TVs playing loudly in the background, crowds in rapt conversations that overflow their tables, the non-stop foot steps of the only employee all added up to a sense of authenticity. The employee was apparently too occupied to look at us when the food was delievered.
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Communication was minimal. We took the hint to sit down after receiving only the slightest acknowledgement of our arrival. Later on, however, we discover from their online menu a hidden sense of humor.​
The ordering system was completely online, and very convenient. If you don't know how much food you need, start with small, since it's always easy to add more later on the phone.
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​The food was tasty, just tasty enough to make for a pleasantly ordinary treat--no polishment, no decoration, and no carefully crafted secret recipies. Just some food and beers you have with friends after a game. The plates quickly became messy, food was brought to the table timely, in a seemingly random order. Everything was perfectly casual.
I think we will revisit this place before too long, at another night when we just want to go somewhere hidden, far-away, somewhere perfectly casual.