Y's Choice - Review - Jack London - San Francisco - The Infatuation

"At this Jack London Square soul food restaurant, the dishes are so large that you'll have to pace yourself. Some are compelling enough to test the limits of your stomach, like fried catfish with garlic noodles that comes with two flaky, moist filets the size of your forearm. Others? Not so much. Greasy crab cake egg rolls require repeated dunks in tart chili sauce to tone down their heaviness. Gumbo is delicious but imbalanced, with 80% seafood and meat and just a splash of broth. And the fried shrimp po’boy's gigantic crispy crustaceans overwhelm the sandwich's two deflated pieces of bread. Most people file in and out of the place to pick up takeout orders, so the all-black dining room stays fairly quiet. But as long as you choose your dishes wisely, it's a solid place for a filling meal when it's 9pm on a weeknight. Food Rundown Crab Cake Egg Rolls This is essentially crab dip inside of an egg roll wrapper. The filling’s creamy and the shell is crispy, but it’s all oil-slicked. And the accompanying cup of sweet chili sauce can only do so much to lighten everything up. photo credit: Patrick Wong Fried Catfish & Garlic Noodles Combo The garlic noodles lean sweet, but complement the saltiness from the catfish well. The only problem is that the herbed cornmeal breading refuses to stay put on the juicy fish. It's a bit of a challenge to get everything in each bite. Still worth an order, though. photo credit: Patrick Wong Gumbo Keep an eye on the daily specials to find limited-supply dishes like this one. This bowl is so full of crab legs, shrimp, and sausage that it’s almost impossible to add the rice into it. The broth itself is savory and delicious—we just wish there was a lot more of it. photo credit: Patrick Wong Fried Shrimp Po’Boy The huge fried shrimp are crunchy and covered in shredded lettuce and a tangy thousand island-ish sauce. But the sandwich feels incomplete with a squished roll that you’ll barely notice. Prioritize the catfish over this. photo credit: Patrick Wong" - Patrick Wong