Alnico

Cuisine	SEA (Other), Brunch
Price	$$ (16-30)
Rating	7/10
Last Visit	Feb. 25, 2023
Location	SFBA: San Francisco: South

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General Notes

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Alnico is a new-ish brunch restaurant (opened March 2021) in the Mission serving up a variety of Filipino / Asian inspired dishes. This place has great reviews for good reason -- the food is fantastic and super aesthetic. Everything on the menu sounds delicious, and this is one of the few places in SF where I'm hoping to try literally every item on the menu at some point.

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Positives

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> Portions are very generous. The plates that most of their dishes are served on are MASSIVE. Come hungry and prepared.
> Food is really Instagram-friendly, if that's your thing.

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Negatives

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> The first time I came here, service was really slow (we waited like ~40m for our food). Didn't have that problem my second visit, though.
> Expect a long wait, especially on Saturdays and Sundays. It gets VERY popular. Luckily, the surrounding neighborhood is really nice and makes for a great walking adventure.

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Dishes Tasted

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• ★★☆☆ Chicken Wings-n-Waffles -- honey-soy glaze, waffles, black sesame butter. The chicken wings were very nice, and the black sesame butter is a nice touch. The waffles are pretty dry though, and not quite the texture I'm looking for in a waffle.
• ★★☆☆ Crab Omelette -- This was an item on their special menu, so you probably won't be able to find it. Pretty solid, but not particularly outstanding. The crab and the sauce are nice.
• ★★★☆ Niloco Mo Ako -- slow-cooked sesame soy short ribs, garlic rice, 2 sunny eggs, green onions. This is a delightful dish. The meat is fork-tender but a little bit on the drier side (could use a little more fat / juiciness, generally). The flavors are fantastic, and everything really comes together beautifully. Be warned: this is a pretty substantial amount of meat.
• ★★☆☆ Pork Belly (special) -- kalamansi-marinaded grilled pork belly, yucca fries, chimichurri, pineapple slaw, rice. The slaw was a bit disappointing (lacked much flavor), but the other components were delightful. The pork belly had a lovely charred smoky flavor, alongside the marinade. Chimichurri in this dish seemed strange at first, but it worked really well! The pork belly definitely could be a bit more tender, and some of the parts (mainly the skin) were pretty tough. The dish felt slightly drying and could use balance
• ★★★★ Calamansi Mint Refresher -- SO refreshing, perfectly balanced with the tartness / sweetness. The mint is pretty subtle, but it adds a nice touch.
• ★★★★ Ube Horchata -- Really well balanced! Other ube horchata I've had in the past have been too sweet, but the balance between the ube, sweetness, milk, and cinnamon. Delightful drink
• ★★★★ Ube Hotcakes -- Ube coconut sauce, mixed berries. Great dish. The flavors are subtle but mesh together well -- the combination of ube and coconut is delightful. Each component is executed well: pancakes are soft and fluffy and the sauce is the perfect consistency. Just the right level of sweetness, too.