The Best Dishes Eater SF Editors Ate This Week: March 8 - Eater SF
"It’s a Saturday night at Old Skool Cafe, the city’s storied nonprofit cafe for second-chance young people, and the groundnut stew from chef Eddie Blyden might be the best in the Bay. The dish is named after one of the program’s many students who rotated through, offering their own recipes along the way. The side of Brussels sprouts, an almost must-have on menus these days, was legitimately enjoyable, cilantro- and peanut-topped with a bright acidic dressing. But the peanut stew itself was certainly the main event, though, arriving piping hot with a well-portioned ball of rice smack in the middle. The dish reminded me of a mafe I’ve had the joy to eat, but it wasn’t too peanut-y as bursts of tomato and soft sweet potato ran through the dish like chunks in a pint of Ben & Jerry’s, meaning plenty was going on outside of the sauce itself. The hospitality at Old Skool is, frankly, better than some upscale restaurants in San Francisco. With a series of trainers and managers floating nearby, the young people working the floor and the bar are chipper and attentive, and gratefully not dressing diners down with recital-like explanations of the menu. Plowing through creamy and toothsome stew, I felt totally taken care of, and seeing staff welcome regulars into the manicured red and blue restaurant I had the rare feeling of FOMO creep in, as Old Skool has been an east side mainstay for years for a reason. I’d say it’s somewhere between the groundnut stew and the stellar service that keeps business rolling in for this swanky supper club." - Paolo Bicchieri
