Restaurant Review: Ganim's Deli San Francisco, CA

Ganim's Deli
1135 18th Street
San Francisco, CA
415-282-9289

* Eat-in or take-out
* Pretty sure it's cash only
* Some parking available on the street outside
* Fairly close to the MUNI T line

I'm loath to tell people about quiet little spots that I've found in the city that serve good food at good prices, but then on the other hand I want to see Ganim's do well and get an upsurge in business because they rock. I think it's far out enough (and I'm little read enough) that it'll be OK. This is a little deli at the intersection of 18th and Pennsylvania, up on the hill sort of between the neighborhoods of Potrero and Dogpatch, in a quiet little residential area not swamped with people. The city's off in the distance, a panoramic view from this high hilltop. Mostly the customer base is local residents, day laborers working nearby and yours truly when I ramble through.

The fish and chips at Ganim's sort of encapsulate everything that I love about it. I love fish and chips, yet I don't get it very often in San Francisco, even though fish is certainly abundant here - because of the prices! But at Ganim's you pay $3.69 here for one piece, $4.69 for two pieces, or $5.69 for three big pieces of fried cod and an ample serving of french fries. You know what other restaurants downtown charge for the same portions, only with less fries? Well, let's take two that I've reviewed recently - Munch Haven and Old Chelsea. Both downtown, both serving up the same manner of fried cod, but they charge over NINE FREAKING DOLLARS for the same thing you can get at Ganim's for under six! I see this sort of thing and I realize it ain't about logistics or costs, it's just about what the market will bear - so head on out to 18th Street and these other slightly more far flung locales where the market is a little more sane. Needless to say, this place is my fish n' chips haven in San Francisco.