Nopalito

306 Broderick St, San Francisco, CA 94117

(415) 437-0303

http://www.nopalitosf.com/

It took my friend Victor and I three tries to get seats at Nopalito. This place does not take reservation, but you may put down your name by phone as you are on your way there. I did that two times, which still left us needing to wait for an hour or so. But by the third time, like a charm, we got seated right away.

Vic and I came here to try their carnita because it was on the 7x7.com 2010 SF Big Eat List. If it's on the list it must be good right? That wasn't the only reason I wanted to dine at Nopalito though. It was more so because Nopalito is not any Mexican restaurant...it is an ORGANIC Mexican restaurant. Also, I'd been wanting to try this Mexican stable sauce call Mole.

Upon seated, the waiter gave us water and a small bowl of fried chickpeas. And as hungry as I was, I started munching on them. They were good. Not too greasy, not too salty, just how I like them to be. I had looked at the menu so many times before since I'd been wanting to try this place for awhile.

We ordered what was on the list, the Carnitas.

Carnitas - Long braised pork, orange, bay leaf, cinnamon and beer, cabbage salad, pickled jalapeños, salsa de tomatillo 

I think what got this carnitas on the list was that unlike many Mexican restaurant, which served their carnitas shredded, Nopalito served it as a whole in a baked parchment paper. Using a folk, the carnitas could be easily shredded apart. Very juicy and tender, but just not as juicy as most carnitas you get at other Mexican restaurants. I think it was because other Mexican restaurant then soaked them in grease. Nopalito's carnitas was good, but just not something I would go back purposely for.

We also ordered Mole Chicken since I wanted to try Mole.

Mole Poblano con Pollo - Sauce of toasted chiles, chocolate, cinnamon, nuts, sesame seeds, onions, poached chicken leg and rice

My coworker told me about how mole was made with chocolate, so I expected it to be sweet, but it wasn't as sweet as I could have imagined. The sauce tasted very unique. It was a little sweet yet bitter as the sweetness trailed off. I didn't really enjoy it much. I had to scoop some sauce away and just ate the chicken by itself. The poached chicken was really tender. I like it a lot. The rice was really good too. It was cooked with tomato, so it was very appetizing.

Housemade Corn Tortillas

Both the entrees were served with homemade corn tortilla. Now I think this tortilla should have been on the list instead. It was so good, especially when warm!

I don't think I would wait in line too long for Nopalito, but I would order take out as they have a take out window. Other than that, I am not sure if I would actually come back here, maybe just whenever I feel like it.